Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has signed an odd decree that relates to Moscow’s historic real estate holdings. This could mean that Putin is trying to “recover” land that was once under Russian control or part of the Russian Empire.
The decree signed by the Russian government last week, according to the official, “allocates funds for the search, registration and legal protection of Russian property abroad, including in former territories and Soviet Union. ”
The former Russian territory includes Alaska, Central Asia, and Europe.
According to Newsweek, the Russian Foreign Ministry and Foreign Property Management Enterprise were tasked with carrying out the task, of “finding, protecting, and registering the ‘property’ in question”.
In 1867 the United States bought Alaska from Russia for $7,2 million. The United States called the purchase “Seward’s Folly” after William Seward, Secretary of State who was instrumental in its acquisition. Czarist Russia wanted to get rid of what it considered 586,412 acres of useless wilderness.
They’re wrong.
The U.S. State Department smiled slyly as it said that Putin could not get Alaska back.
Vedant Patel, State Department principal deputy spokesperson and chief spokesperson for the press told a Monday morning press conference that he would not get it back. His audience laughed.
In recent months, some Russians have expressed similar thoughts.
The Hill:
Although Putin appeared to downplay the agreement, Russian legislator Sergei Mironov suggested in December that Moscow will reclaim former territories soon.
Mironov said on X (formerly Twitter), that the United States must think about their future.
Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev made it a macabre joke.
According to a State Department representative, Russia is not getting back Alaska, which was sold to the U.S. in the 19th century.
This is it, then. And we’ve been waiting for it to be returned any day. Now war is unavoidable 😂
— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) January 22, 2024
Putin tries to appease radical revanchists who share his vision for a reconstituted Soviet Empire. Alaska may be out of reach, but Poland and Eastern Europe which were once under Soviet rule aren’t laughing.
