Cover
This work is dedicated to the class of ’53,
Kent School
Preface
The aim of The St. Petersburg Connection is twofold: first, to trace the historical path of the amicable, supportive relations between the United States and Russia that held firm for nearly a century and a half; second, to sketch a fleeting picture of an age that made it possible. In the bygone days of my teaching career, I strove to impress upon students that the critical aspects of historical events are not primarily to do with when they happened or in the details of what transpired. The pith of history lies in an understanding of why they happened and what the results were.
Historical events do not occur in isolation — outside forces are invariably at work. The United States did not enter World War I on account of the Lusitania’s sinking; it declared war because of events unfolding in Europe and the Far East. Saddam Hussein was not executed because he was nasty with his own people in Iraq; he met his end because he was perceived as a threat to Arab neighbours and to the larger world. The whys and wherefores of history must therefore be examined in the broadest perspective. And so, the story of Russian–American friendship calls attention to the likes of Britain, Japan, and Spain, to Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and Honolulu.
Fundamental to any history are the personalities of the principals involved. A history of the Roman Empire can be had in the biographies of a hundred of its leading citizens. A history of the American Revolution can be had in the stories of two dozen of its leaders. A history of World War II, for example, will inevitably focus on the ambitions of Hitler and the resolve of Churchill (together with the velleity of Chamberlain), the personality of Roosevelt, the ruthlessness and wile of Stalin, the tactical skills of Eisenhower, and the decisiveness of Truman.
This narrative follows the same model, focusing on the individuals involved — not only the famous like Abraham Lincoln and Tsar Alexander I, but also less-notable figures such as William Seward and Nikolai Rezanov, as well as the likes of the virtually unknown: Nero Prince, Andrei Dashkov, and John Ledyard. Regardless of whether they were dominant or peripheral figures, all played roles in the story of Russian–American relations.
The scholastic purist may question my lack of strict adherence to contemporary academic form in this book. I make no apologies and offer no pretense that this is a scholarly treatise. The St. Petersburg Connection is a story … a compelling one that needs telling.
Alexis S. Troubetzkoy
Labelle, Quebec
Acknowledgements
For their assistance and unfailing courtesies during the researching and development of this book, I wish to thank the staffs of the New York City Public Library, the Robarts Library of the University of Toronto, Oxford’s Bodleian Library, the George Washington University Library, the Free Library of Philadelphia, the University of British Columbia Library, as well as the British Columbia Provincial Archive.
Much of the inspiration for The St. Petersburg Connection came from Alexandre Tarsaidzé’s Czars and Presidents. I am particularly grateful to Norman E. Saul of the University of Kansas for his brilliant and comprehensive studies of Russian-American relations. In this work, I have made liberal use of the references Dr. Saul cites in his two major books on the subject, Distant Friends: The United States and Russia, 1763–1867 and Concord and Conflict: The United States and Russia, 1867–1914.
In addition to Dr. Saul’s writings, I refer readers wishing to explore the subject more fully to the work of John F. Dulles and Frank A. Golder, whose books are listed in the bibliography.
Thank you to Dominic Farrell of Dundurn Press for his astute editing of the manuscript, and to my good friend Cameron Macleod for his map work. As always thanks to my agent and friend Bill Hanna of Acacia House Publishing Services, who offered helpful advice and encouragement as this work progressed.
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
Courtesy Cameron Macleod Jones.
Timeline
1648 Semyon Dezhnev the first European to sail through the Bering Strait
1682 Peter I (The Great) proclaimed tsar at the age of ten and is forced to rule jointly with his brother Ivan under the patronage of their sister, Sophia
1703 Tsar Peter selects site for St. Petersburg
1725 Vitus Bering’s first expedition Catherine I succeeds Peter and becomes the first woman to rule imperial Russia
1727 Peter II succeeds Catherine
1730 Anna succeeds Peter II
1733 Bering’s second expedition
1741 Elizabeth overthrows the infant Ivan VI and the regent Anna Leopoldovna
1743 Emelian Basov voyage
1745 Yakov Chupov voyage to Aleutians
1762 Peter III formally abdicates and is then killed
1762 Catherine II (The Great) becomes empress of Russia
1778 Captain James Cook arrives in British Columbia
1781 Francis Dana becomes first U.S. envoy to St. Petersburg Northeastern Company formed
1787 U.S. explorer John Ledyard in Russia
1788 Russia attacks Turkey John Meares arrives in British Columbia
1789 George Washington becomes first U.S. president
1790 Washington selects District of Columbia as U.S. capital John Paul Jones is made commodore of U.S. fleet Alexander Baranov travels to Alaska to set up a Russian-American Company trading post Meares arrives in Nootka
1791 Captain George Vancouver arrives in British Columbia Robert Gray travels to the Columbia River
1792 Demetrius Gallitzen arrives in Maryland
1793 Alexander Mackenzie crosses the Rockies
1794 Spain and the United Kingdom sign the Nootka Convention, avoiding war
1796 Paul I succeeds Catherine and becomes Russian tsar Washington negotiates U.S. treaty with the Barbary pirates
1797 John Adams becomes U.S. president
1801 Alexander I succeeds Paul I as Russian tsar Thomas Jefferson becomes U.S. president
1803 Louisiana Purchase Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy, the “American” Tolstoy, sails in the Pacific
1804 Napoleon is crowned emperor
1805 Lewis and Clark’s expedition Russian diplomat Rezanov arrives in Sitka and California
1807 Peninsular War begins
1809 James Madison becomes U.S. president Russia officially gives diplomatic recognition to the United States John Quincy Adam assumes post in St. Petersburg
1810 John Jacob Astor establishes the Astoria in Oregon
1812 Napoleon invades Moscow United States invades Canada (War of 1812) Fort Ross is founded in California
1814 Napoleon is exiled to Elba The British burn Washington Treaty of Ghent is signed Holy Alliance
1815 Battle of Waterloo Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena Kozlov affair
1817 James Monroe becomes U.S. president Russian flag flies in Hawaii
1823 Monroe Doctrine
1824