Signs proclaiming “Alaska is ours!” have been spotted in Russia a day after a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the country could reclaim territory sold to the US in 1867. Multiple billboards bearing the slogan shocked residents in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk after they were spotted on Thursday, according to Krasnoyarsk news agency NGS24. A day earlier, Putin ally and State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin suggested that Russia could “take back” Alaska in retaliation for economic sanctions imposed on Russia after the country invaded Ukraine. While the billboards appeared just after an official suggested an invasion of the US state, they do not appear to have been placed by the Russian government. Krasnoyarsk restaurateur Vladimir Vladimirov told NGS24 that there were “several of them in different parts of the city”, but speculated that the billboards had been ordered by “some patriot”. A representative of a company in Krasnoyarsk called “Alaska,” which reportedly manufactures trailers, soon claimed responsibility for the billboards in comments to NGS24. The spokesman explained that the company director was “very patriotic” and had “decided to show that we are pro-patriotism” by placing the billboards around the city. Russian media watcher Dr. Ian Garner also shared an image of the billboard on Twitter, commenting, “they’ve gone absolutely nuts.” On Wednesday, Volodin and another top Russian official reportedly warned that sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and other Western countries over the war in Ukraine could lead to immediate military conflict, including a possible invasion of Alaska. “Let America always remember: there is a piece of land, Alaska,” Volodin said during a State Duma session, according to The Moscow Times. “When they try to manage our resources abroad, let them think before they act that we too have something to take back.” Pyotr Tolstoy, deputy speaker of the State Duma, also reportedly suggested holding a “referendum” for Alaskans to vote on joining Russia. While support for Alaska joining Russia is far from widespread, WhiteHouse.Gov petitions entitled “Alaska Back to Russia” garnered tens of thousands of signatures in 2014 and 2015. When asked for comment, a spokesman for Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy referred Newsweek to a tweet made in response to Russia’s threat to “retake” the state on Thursday. “To the Russian politicians who think they can take back Alaska: Good luck,” the Republican governor tweeted. The US bought the Alaska Territory from Russia on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million. Although the purchase soon proved to be an excellent value, the deal was criticized at the time as “Seward’s folly”, referring to then-Secretary of State William Seward, who had planned the purchase. Alaska officially became a US state on January 3, 1959. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian government for comment.
