The U.S. State Department has laughingly rebuffed any notion that Russian President Vladimir Putin could lay claim to Alaska, in response to reports stemming from Putin's decree focused on historic Russian real estate holdings abroad. The decree has sparked speculations of a revanchist push that could extend as far as the American state, once a Russian territory.
Vedant Patel, the State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, humorously dismissed the idea during a press briefing. "Certainly, he is not getting it back," Patel said, eliciting laughter, while addressing Moscow's supposed aspirations on Alaska.
The controversial decree, signed by Putin, is ambiguous in its scope and intention, directing resources towards the "searching for real estate in the Russian Federation, the former Russian Empire, the former USSR, proper registration of rights...and legal protection of this property." The Kremlin has not provided further clarification, despite inquiries from various news outlets.
This development has led to a flurry of reactions from ultranationalist bloggers calling for renewed Russian aggression against countries currently controlling former Russian lands, including the U.S., NATO states, and Central Asian countries. Conversely, pro-Ukrainian social media accounts have erroneously claimed that Putin declared the 1867 sale of Alaska to the U.S. illegal or illegitimate.
Despite Putin's historical dismissal of the Alaska sale as "inexpensive," the decree has fueled speculation, particularly among his allies, that Russia may revisit the issue as a territorial dispute. Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister, facetiously commented on X (formerly known as Twitter), "We've been waiting for it to be returned any day. Now war is unavoidable," followed by a laughing emoji.
Revanchism, the desire to reclaim lost territories, is a cornerstone of Putin's Russian state ideology. This has been evident in Russia's aggression towards Ukraine, from Crimea in 2014 to the claimed annexation of parts of Ukraine in 2022. In 2021, Putin's essay dismissing the concept of an independent Ukrainian nation further emphasized this stance.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) highlighted the ambiguity of the decree's scope, suggesting potential Kremlin exploitation to exercise claims over properties in neighboring countries. This could be a strategy to destabilize these nations using soft power mechanisms.
Ultra-nationalist groups, meanwhile, have suggested that Alaska might be just the start of a broader campaign to reclaim former Russian territories. Such rhetoric has been dismissed by analysts as improbable but indicative of growing discontent within Russia over Putin's handling of the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. response, marked by humor and dismissal, underscores the unlikelihood of Russia's territorial claims on Alaska gaining any serious traction. However, the situation highlights the complex and evolving nature of Russia's foreign policy under Putin, particularly in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
