President Putin - the first Russian leader to visit Alaska.
President Putin became the first Russian leader to visit Alaska since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
According to RIA Novosti on August 9th, Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Alaska for a summit with his American counterpart will be the first in history, as no Russian leader has ever visited the country before.
During the Soviet era, several leaders visited Alaska, including Nikita Khrushchev, Alexey Kosygin, Leonid Brezhnev, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Boris Yeltsin.
President Putin has visited cities and states in the US such as New York, Texas, Maryland, Georgia, and Maine. His last visit to the US was 10 years ago – in September 2015.
The office of Governor Mike Dunleavy said the exact location of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska is still unknown.
"No, it hasn't been announced yet. This information will be released by the White House later," a representative from the Alaska Governor's Office replied when asked if his office knew where the meeting might take place.
The office also stated that the meeting was planned at the federal government level.
Following news of the summit in Alaska, Kirill Dmitriev, Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, called for the development of Russian-American cooperation in environmental protection, infrastructure, and energy in the Arctic and beyond.
“Alaska – a land like a ‘Russian American,’ famous for its fur crafts and unique ecosystem. Let’s make it a place to develop cooperative relations and make America an Arctic nation. Let’s develop Russian-American cooperation in environmental protection, infrastructure and energy in the Arctic and beyond,” said the Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, President Putin’s special envoy for foreign investment.
Alaska is the 49th state of the United States, but this cold, resource-rich land originally belonged to Russia and only "changed hands" after a deal more than 150 years ago.
Following the Crimean War of 1853-1856, Russia unexpectedly decided to sell Alaska. At that time, the United States and Russia were allies, so Russia approached the United States to discuss the Alaska deal.
Following discussions, the two sides finalized the sale of the island for $7.2 million.
