A short history of Russian America – the gain and loss of California and Alaska

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With all the talks of various reparations, territorial claims and such, I is both interesting and educational to remember the history the the Russian America, and remind certain actors that if the legality of other past documents can be brought into question, so can the sale of Alaska and California.

Below are several articles from “Argumenty i Fakty” that take a look at that history and mull over what could have been done differently. The last article in the series is illustrative of the battle with the monuments in the “Woke-Woke West” as a manifestation of a brainless demolition of history.

Table of contents:

Kindness, “kushka” and “luzhka”. What kind of memory did the Russians leave in California

11.09.2022

An Orthodox chapel in Fort Ross.Orthodox chapel in Fort Ross. / Frank Schulenburg / Commons.wikimedia.org

200 years ago, on the 11th of September 1812, the official opening of the Russian colony in California, founded back in March, was marked with cannon and rifle salute. It remained nameless all the preceding months and received the name only six months later. The Russian fortress “by drawing of a lot before the icon of the Saviour” was named Fort Ross.

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Happy New Year from the USSR! Postcards of the Bygone Era

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With the New Year coming up, it is time to look hopefully into the coming year and to send someone you love a post card with the best wishes. For me, few modern cards come close to the personality and warmth eminating from the vintage cards. In my family’s archive there are a number of such cards, that were collected by my grandparents from the time even before my mother was born.

Inspired by the article 15 nostalgic Soviet New Year postcards in Russia Beyond the Headlines and by a Telegram post showing how “In the city of Sovetsky, bus stops were decorated with drawings from old Soviet postcards.”, I started scanning this festive part of the collection.

Each postcard is represented with both the face and reverse sides, in the original, aged, paper colour and with the white balance restored (see the links under each picture for the additional versions). The cards are indexed by the year they were approved from printing, meaning that they were used to congratulate people with the next, coming, year.

1952-1953

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Bahmut or Artyomovsk? A historical look at the name of the city

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The battles for Bahmut/Artyomovsk have been raging for some time, the city becoming the focal point of defence the the Ukrainians were building up over the last 8 years, while hiding under the fig leaf of the Minsk peace accord. The Western/Ukrainian publications stick to the name Bahmut as a true “Ukrainian” one. (Incidentally, the name Bahmut has a Turkic sound to it.) The Russian side sticks with Artyomovsk. The article that I am going to translate below looks at the history of the name, and may be an eye-opened for both parties.

And so, the article in question, published in Deita.ru on the 26th of December 2022. Note that the names may alternatively be transliterated as Bakhmut and Artyomovsk.

Bahmut or Artyomovsk? What is wrong with the city’s name?

The conflict in Ukraine is being fought not only on the battlefield – with artillery and missiles, but also in the information space, where symbolism becomes the main weapon. The city of Bahmut, where fierce battles continue, has become a mini-field of a global information and semantic struggle. The Ukrainian modern name of the city is Bahmut, while Russian media and bloggers persistently use the Soviet toponym Artyomovsk.

This material of IA DEITA.RU is about where both names of the city came from, why the heated argument, and what is the problem with the position of our information attack.

Bahmut vs Artyomovsk

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An Honest Deal. How Peter I Bought the Baltic Territories from Sweden. With a bonus about an earlier purchase of Kiev.

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Seeing how the Baltic states (and Ukraine) jumped on the anti-Russian bandwagon, it is worth taking a historical detour into the not so distant past and take a look at a certain fact that those states are trying to erase…

First is a translation of an article from a St.Petersburg edition of “Argumenty i Fakty”, followed by fragment of a related historical article, and concluding with an even deeper dive to the time of the purchase of Kiev from Poland. What is common for these two cases is the fact, that Russia chose to buy the territories at a fair price, despite it having a position of a war winner, enabling it to “just take” those lands. Another aspect of that history is, well, a historical parallel that no one among the Western leadership wants to learn from, maybe because they have not studied history at school.

A fair deal. How Peter I bought the Baltic States from Sweden

Weekly magazine “Arguments and Facts” No. 35. Arguments and facts – Petersburg 31/08/2022


Peter the Great announces the Peace of Nystad (Nishtadt) on Trinity Square in St. Petersburg

The destruction of the monuments to the Soviet soldiers in the Baltic states drew the attention of the Russian society, and at the same time reminded of how these territories came to be a part of the Russian state.

The Northern Russian-Swedish War was concluded on September 10, 1721 with the signing of the Peace of Nystad (Nishtadt), as a result of which Peter the Great actually bought Livonia and Estlandia (modern Latvia and Estonia) from the Swedish Kingdom. Why did the tsar still decide to pay for the territories that were by that time already under the control of the Russian army?

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“Fainting Piglet”, aka. “Unconscious Piggy” Satirical Cartoons Explain the Core of Ukraine and Why SMO Was Unavoidable (with future updates)

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In the August of 2022 the CGI animator Evgenia from Krasnodar Krai started creating something that grew into an in-depth satirical reviews of all what was failing Ukraine, and explaining the Special Military Operation’s goals.

The character personifying Ukraine became a little wayward, Nazi-tainted piglet. The Russian title of the series is “Свинка в обмороке” (Svinka v obmoroke), which is a play on the shortened name of the Special Military Operation (SMO) – SVO in Russian. In English the series have got several varying names, trying to convey the essence: “Unconscious Piggy”, “Fainting Piglet”, “Piglet in a Swoon”, “Swooning Pig”.

All episodes are released at the official Telegram channel of the Fainting Piglet. Evgenia writes in the description: “The Piglet is not the whole of Ukraine, but only her demented part!” I have additionally uploaded them to Yandex Disk for easy download.

Jump to the newly-added episode(s)

While the later episodes were released bilingually, earlier episodes require translation (and most of them also require some context for the Western audience, who have been subjected to the heavy Mains Stream Media censorship). This honourable task was undertaken by the admin of The Putinger’s Cat Telegram channel.

As more and more episodes get release and translated, they are becoming increasingly more difficult to trace. And, additionally, not everyone has Telegram. That is why I decided to upload them to Odysee and create this collated post that will get updates as new episodes see the light of day.

But first, a very short clip that cuts to the chase, and shows the very essence of the conflict and the role Ukraine plays in it!

The very first Unconscious Pig episode – “What is Russia Punishing Ukraine For?” or “Why do Russians support the SMO?” – is finally translated! (Translation at Putinger’s Cat)

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The West Seeing Russia’s Strength as Weakness. A Testimonial on Telegram

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Today I observed a conversation in Putinger’s Cat Telegram channel chat that revolved about Russia and USSR and the Westerner’s view of Russia being weak, countered by a very good string of arguments by Milana Attison. The topic resonated strongly with what I’ve written earlier in this blog in the following articles about the Wild ’90s:

There were several lines of conversation going at once, but in reality they all boiled down to one thing: countering the centuries-old Western stereotype of bad USSR/Russia.

At first Milana replied to a member Jason, who postulated that everything was miserable in the USSR, based on some second-hand information, yet he did not make a distinction between the pre-War USSR or Russia after the 90’s.

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Some accounts of the Ukrainian continued war on their own – Russian – history, language and heritage

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One of the signs of the blossoming Nazism is a war of an ultra-nationalistic minority, waged on the culture and values of the majority in their own country. Ukraine has now outpaced Nazi Germany in this regard. In this post I will first translate an article from “Argumenty i Fakty” regarding the ongoing war on the historic monuments and Russian language in Ukraine, and after that I will reference several Telegram posts from several channels that underscore what this article talks about..

The Fall of Pushkin. The preschoolers of Kiev were forbidden to speak Russian


11.11.2022

“Completely excluded from the curricula of municipal institutions of preschool and general secondary education”

The total Ukrainization of the language sphere, legalized under Petro Poroshenko, is now reaching the smallest ones. Now children living in the Nezalezhnaya (translator note: “independent country”, aka. “404” or “Ukraine”) will not be allowed to speak Russian even in preschool institutions.

These are not fabrications, but an official statement published on the website of the Kiev City Council.

“Russian language is completely excluded from the curricula of municipal institutions of preschool and general secondary education in the capital,” it says, “According to the deputy of the Kiev City Council, chairman of the Standing Committee on education and science, family, youth and sports Vadim Vasilchuk, in the conditions of war with the Russian Federation, it is inappropriate and incorrect to conduct the educational process and to study Russian in preschool and general education institutions belonging to the municipal property of the territorial community of Kiev.

Related article:
The monument to Pushkin in Uzhgorod is already the third monument to the poet, dismantled recently in Ukraine. What will sober up Kiev? The construction of peace in Ukraine is not yet in sight.

“The deputy corps of the Kiev City Council has made a decision that will make it possible to avoid escalation of tension in society and strengthen the protection of the educational space of Kiev from the hybrid influences of the aggressor state. Language matters, and during the war it is a matter of national security,” Vasilchuk said.

“Organizational and legal actions”

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Reparations to Poland from Russia? And how much does Poland itself in fact owe Russia?

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A few weeks ago Poland made an official demand of Germany for the reparations for damages incurred during WWII. That, despite the fact that all reparations had already been settled after the War.
At the same time Poland had the audaciousness to say that they are considering a similar claim for reparations from Russia. That, despite Poland being one of the main benefactors from the USSR in the Soviet block.

In her highly-current report URGENT INTEL & SHOCKING RUMORS! Something Major is About to Change in Russia & Ukraine!! (BIG REPORT 6) Lada Ray wrote something that I thought resonated with this topic:

So I do hope Russians won’t try to whitewash the truth, when and if it comes out! Russians in the past whitewashed the crimes of others to keep peace in the family, so to speak, including the Poles, as well as Latvian, Finnish and German Nazis, and Bandera ukro-nazis after WWII. This led to the current situation! Better painful truth right away than a major problem years from now.

And indeed, Poland enjoyed Russian leniency and whitewashing of the “brotherly nation” after the war to a great extent. Just how great, and who should pay reparations to whom is explored in the article that I want to translate today. It was published on the 29th of September in “Argumenty i Fakty”:

The Hamburg Bill for Pan Duda. How much does Poland owe Russia?

The word “reparations” in Poland is gradually acquiring the character of a national sacrament. This time, President Andrzej Duda decided to talk about the reparations from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly. The object of the claim this time was Russia.

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Daily Shincho: DPR and Mariupol through the eyes of a Japanese journalist

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I came across this summary of an article in a Japanese newspaper Daily Shincho, written by a journalist who actually went to DPR and Mariupol and saw everything with her own eyes. Thus, the article is an outlier in the overall landscape of the Japanese pro-Ukrainian publications, and rather highlights the rule by becoming an exception. Still, every trickle of truth in the “Western” press is very much welcome!

Daily Shincho: DPR and Mariupol through the eyes of a Japanese journalist
14.09.2022

Japanese journalist Asuka Tokuyama visited Donetsk and Mariupol, after which she wrote an article published in the Daily Shincho. This article differs in many ways from those published in the Japanese media, since Tokyo officially supports Kiev.

“The Japanese Embassy in Moscow has a new “neighbour”. The Embassy of the Donetsk People’s Republic has officially opened across the street from our diplomatic mission. The fighting in the DPR was fierce then, the embassy was busy supporting evacuees and refugees, so the ceremony was not held”,

– writes Daily Shincho.

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The Legacy of Gorbachev. Germany is denying Russia what it got from Russia 30 years ago.

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After Gorbachev’s passing, a lot can be said about his deeds and legacy. Little of it will be positive.
At best, he’s remembered as a bumbling fool, who started reforms that he was in no position to bring to a positive fruition.
At worst he – along with Yeltsin – is remembered as a malicious traitor to the Russian world, responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people as the result of the demolition of the USSR, which started several years before the fateful events of 1991.
As a middle-ground, I would recommend Scott Ritter’s article in Consortium News SCOTT RITTER: Mikhail Gorbachev, a Vector of Change

My today’s translation takes a look at Gorbachev’s legacy from a different angle – from the perspective of the reunification of Germany. It was in 2014 that first read a short comment about the German counter-historical stance on the reunification of Crimea in light of the prior reunification of Germany. Back then it was just that – a comment in some other discussion. Yesterday I came across an article at the Federal News Agency site that makes a much deeper , and more passionate dive into the matter. And article, a translation of which I am presenting below.

Germany refuses the Russians what Russians gave her thirty years ago

03.09.2022


Pravda Komsomolskaya/Russian Look

In Germany, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is very much loved. Much more than in Russia and many former Soviet republics. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was even called “the best German” because he did a huge historical thing for the German people. He united a divided Germany.

But he demolished his own country.

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Finnish blogger: That’s why half the world owes Russia to the grave

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I am reposting an article under the same name from the English edition of NewsFront. This is probably the best – in its brevity – description of Russia’s role in state-building in the recent history! This is the kind of material that cannot be re-posted or re-told too few times.

In the list the author mentions the Napoleonic time, and in this regard I want to especially draw attention to Holland that exists as a state today solely thanks to the Russian effort in 1813: “Russians Are Coming!”: Restoration of the Dutch Kingdom. Year 1813.

The list also mentions Kazahstan, and the statement there is best understood in light of purveying of a certain map of the USSR from exactly 100 years ago – from 1922, something that I did a short time ago in A short look at the short history of Kazakhstan through the lens of a 1922 map.

Finnish blogger: That’s why half the world owes Russia to the grave

A blogger from the Finnish city of Oulu Veikko Korhonen, as most modern Finns periodically fell under the corrupting influence of pro-Western history textbooks.

Everything related to Russia there was usually poured with total mud, the joint Russian-Finnish history was presented as a nightmare, and the pernicious influence of the present was constantly supported by stories about the aggressiveness and hostility of the nearest neighbour.

Fortunately, Veikko Korhonen had a very wise and well-educated grandmother, and so he knew very well about the true course of our joint history.

And once, tired of constant disputes with anti-Russian compatriots, he wrote a small article on his Facebook page, and whenever he met another Russophobe, just gave him direct link.

Are you asking about the results of Russia’s “aggression”? They are as follows: half of Europe and part of Asia got their statehood from the hands of this particular state.

Let’s remember who:

– Finland in 1802 and 1918. (Until 1802, never had its own state).

– Latvia in 1918 (before 1918 it never had its own state).

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The denazification of Ukraine should take into account the mistakes and shortcomings in the denazification of Germany in 1940-1960

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The demilitarisation of Ukraine (and the Greater Ukraine – that is NATO) is going to switch into another gear in a few days, and it will hopefully be concluded to a satisfactory degree some time in the next year.

This brings to the fore the other objective – denazification of the former Ukraine. Here, one must draw on the experience of the denazification of Germany done after the conclusion of WWII – in fact on the outcomes of two different approaches to the denazification. I am presenting below a translation of a historical work, that was published on Lenta.ru, with a back-up re-publicationon Cont. The article gives an excellent retrospective of the process. One thing that it should have mentioned is the process of denazification on the Banderite-festered territories of the Western Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and in the Blatic states. Sadly, after Hrushev came to power, he undid much of the effort to prosecute the Bandera Nazi collaborators, pardoning all of them. The majority settled in the city of Kharkov, which is one of the explanations why Kharkov of all cities had such an unexpectedly large concentration of the neo-Nazi Bandera followers – the descendents of those insufficiently denazified banderites.

The denazification project. How did the USSR and the West arrange the denazification of Germany after World War II?


8th of April 2022
by Alevtina Zapolskaya


The trial of Nazi war criminals at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg. Photo: AP

Denazification is named among the main goals of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. But unlike demilitarization, which methods and goals are quite clear, few people are able to say what exactly lies behind the concept of “denazification” today. According to Moscow’s official position, its meaning is to abolish all laws and institutions that discriminate against citizens on the basis of language and nationality. And it’s time to turn to history in order to determine how this work should be carried out in practice. After the Second World War, Germany underwent a complex and multi-stage process of denazification. This gave her the opportunity to build relations with her neighbours from scratch and eventually become part of the world community. However, Moscow’s experience in this regard differed from the approach adopted in the zones controlled by the allied forces of the United States, Great Britain and France. What was the difference between the two approaches to denazification, why did USSR achieve the best results and how applicable this experience is today, — was analysed by Lenta.ru.

Goals and objectives

Battles were still raging on the fronts of the Second World War, while the allied countries were already thinking about what peaceful life would be like after the defeat of the Third Reich. Everyone understood perfectly well that the post-war settlement should also be political. It was necessary not only to destroy the German war machine, but also the regime itself, which unleashed the largest war in world history.

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Stop Nazi Games – an animation by French Barracuda that says it all in under 2 minutes

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This short animation by the French studio “Barracuda” says all there is to say about the root cause to the current conflict in Ukraine and other world conflicts in just under 2 minutes. A true case of when a picture – or a shot video – says more, than a 1000 words.

A must-watch John Mark Dougan interview – “I took a LIBERAL, ANTI WAR Protester to see the truth in Donbass, and THIS Happened!”

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UPDATE 30.05.2024: This post is retained for historical purposes. John Mark Dougan has discredited and dishonoured himself, as best described in the following post by Graham Phillips:

The interview/project that he published yesterday is something that everyone should watch, especially those, sceptical of the situation in Donbass.

This is my most powerful interview yet. I took Maria, a fierce liberal, anti-war protester to the FRONT LINES of the war in the Donbass to see things for herself, to speak to the people for herself. This woman, with balls of steel, even walked with me through the streets of Svyatogorsk, with Ukrainian snipers just 200 meters away, to speak to civilians trapped in their basements and bring them food. How much of what she believed was right? Or wrong? This is an interview you must see to believe.

UPDATE: In March 2023 YouTube deleted the entire channel of John Mark Dougan (to fortify free speech, I presume), so here is the documentary on John’s Odysee channel:

Not much to add, just some comments from YT that sum it up the best:

As Schopenhauer stated: ‘Truth has three stages. First, it’s ridiculed. Second, it is violentally opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident’. Truth is not what we would like it to be: Truth is the naked reality… God bless you, John, for showing the Truth to the world…

When you discover that the people you trust lied to you, it’s like finding your lover with another person. It’s shocking, heartbreaking, betrayal, confused.
I think she experienced all of these feelings. And I’m sorry she went through that. I’m thankful you were there when it “hit her”.

It’s hard for me to comment… because I have never doubted my country, my president’s intentions, I have never felt ashamed for a second that I am Russian. I perfectly remember the events of 2014 in Odessa, when all the channels showed how people were burning, how the Nazis of the right sector drove, locked and set people on fire. It was hell. After that, I didn’t have a single question about the existence of Nazism in Ukraine. I only had the question “Why did we wait 8 years?”. Over 14,000 people have died in the Donbas during this time. It is enough to see a photo of only one alley of angels, as it becomes clear why this should be stopped. I admire Putin’s patience, but at the same time I understand that he is acting too gently. After all, Azov and APU are now equal. Those who littered Donetsk with petal mines deserve the most severe punishment.
But respect for Maria for allowing doubts to lead her on the right path.
Mark, Thomas, thank you so much! What you are doing is truly priceless!

PS: Indoctrination of Ukrainian Children, Interview with Yan Gagin