Russian Colonization of Alaska

In Russian Colonization of Alaska, Andrei Val'terovich Grinëv examines the sociohistorical origins of the former Russian colonies in Alaska, or "Russian America,"between 1741 and 1799.Beginning withthe Second Kamchatka Expedition of Vitus Ivanovich Bering and Aleksei IlyichChirikov's discovery of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands and ending with the formation of the Russian-American Company's monopoly ofthe Russian colonial endeavor in the Americas, Russian Colonization of Alaskaoffers a definitive, revisionist examination of Tsarist Russia'sforay into the imperial contest in North America. Russian Colonization of Alaskais the first comprehensive study to analyze the origin and evolution of Russian colonization based on research into political economy, history, and ethnography. Grin?v's study elaborates thesocial, political, spiritual, ideological, personal, and psychological aspects of Russian America. He also accounts for the idiosyncrasies of the natural environment, competition from other North American empires, Alaska Natives, and individual colonial diplomats. The colonization of Alaska, rather than being simply a continuation of the colonization of Siberia by Russians, was insteadpart of overarching Russian and global history.