Russian officials were ridiculed on social media on Tuesday after Kremlin officials demanded that the United States return Alaska and California’s Fort Ross.
Oleg Matveychev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “political strategist,” appeared on Russian state news Sunday laying out a series of demands on Washington, including “the return of all Russian property belonging to the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and today’s Russia.” , which was captured in the United States, and so on.”
Many on social media were quick to ridicule the claim, which included handing over Antarctica because, as Matveychev said, Russia “discovered it, so it belongs to us.”
One Twitter user odyssues55 laughed at the demand, tweeting: “So Russia wants us to GIVE Alaska? HAHAHAHA.
“Pay the price, bitches. In 1867 we paid $7.2 million. In terms of today’s dollar, this is 138,024,000 dollars. Plus all the infrastructure (improvements) that we’ve made – let’s say $10 billion.”
Another Twitter user OSFP wrote: “Your country doesn’t have enough rubles to buy him back,” referring to the fact that the Russian ruble fell to seven tenths of 1 US cent after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine last month.
The Kremlin has also been ridiculed for imposing sanctions on President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton and other US officials, as Russian sanctions will not affect their daily lives.
Kremlin “political strategist” Oleg Matveychev shared a list of demands on Russian state television, including that America return Alaska and California’s Fort Ross, both originally Russian settlements.
Many were quick to ridicule Russia’s demands on social media as they were quick to point out that the US legally bought Alaska from Russia in 1867.
The colonial past of Russia in North America: the outposts of the Empire in Alaska, California and Hawaii in the 18th-19th centuries.
As history shows, the Russian Empire had a significant foothold in North America in the 19th century.
His first colony on the continent was established in Alaska in 1784 and named the Bay of the Three Saints. Thus arose the Russian-American Company, a trading group founded by Tsar Paul I in 1799, which contributed to the expansion of the Empire in North America.
The Russian ruler envisioned a monopoly that would trade furs with the locals as well as expand the empire’s colonial territory.
The Russian-American Company built Fort Ross less than three hours from present-day San Francisco in 1812. The settlement was sold into private hands in 1841 after its rich marine life dwindled and the inhabitants found farming conditions difficult. .
In 1815 and 1816, the company made a deal with the Kingdom of Hawaii to establish three short-lived outposts on its islands. The Russians were expelled from Hawaii in 1817 after the locals rebelled against them for building a fort and hoisting the Russian flag on their territory.
Alaska, Russia’s last territory in North America, was sold to the United States in 1867 during the presidency of Andrew Johnson for $7.2 million, which would be approximately $144.4 million in 2021.
The first Russian colony in Alaska was founded in 1784 and was named the Bay of Three Saints. Thus arose the Russian-American Company, a trading monopoly established by Tsar Paul I in 1799, which contributed to the expansion of the Empire in North America.
Alaska was sold to the US in 1867 during the presidency of Andrew Johnson for $7.2 million, which would be approximately $144.4 million in 2021.
Another Twitter user with the username AmoungHounds joked, “Sure, let’s give France back half of America while we’re here,” referring to the Louisiana Purchase, when America bought 828,000 square miles of land from France back in 1803.
Twitter user Nice Stories also noted the irony in Russia’s demands, writing: “I thought Russia wanted Alaska to disappear? They sold it to the US and commentators thought the US bought it stupidly.”
Twitter user Janice Hough joked, “Can we offer them Florida instead.”
Gezare Chaif, another Twitter user, shared an ageless joke: “Russia called, they want Alaska back.”
A Twitter user named Chris criticized Russia for making the demand after its invasion of Ukraine, tweeting: “Alaska was bought from Russia. But then again, Russia seems to take what it wants.”
Angie Fryer, another Twitter user, also scoffed at the idea of reclaiming Fort Ross, a small Russian settlement founded outside of present-day San Francisco in 1812.
“Ha ha. Fort Ross is a park with a museum and gift shop,” Fryer tweeted. ‘Happy.’
Chuck Clark, an Alaskan Twitter user, also joked about the requirements, writing, “Not that funny for those of us who live here! I don’t speak Russian and I don’t like vodka!
Another Twitter user named Twichyb described the demands as “crazy talk”.
“Reparations for sanctions or a bullet in the head? They are returning Antarctica because “we found it, it is ours.” I also think Alaska.
“At least Sarah Palin can let us know when they get here,” a Twitter user said, referring to jokes that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could see Russia from her home.
The Kremlin was also ridiculed when, after imposing sanctions on President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, CIA Director Bill Burns, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Deputy National Security Adviser Duleep Singh, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Biden’s son Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton’s former press secretary, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, and U.S. Export-Import Bank President Reta Joe Lewis.
Hillary Clinton ridiculed the sanctions imposed on her on Tuesday morning.
Others joined Clinton in laughing at the sanctions as they would amount to a small punishment against the 13 people named in the alleged punishment.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki mocked Russia’s attempts to impose sanctions on President Joe Biden, saying that Moscow may have accidentally imposed sanctions on his late father.
Spokeswoman Jen Psaki mocked the sanctions imposed on her and President Joe Biden, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Hillary Clinton, Hunter Biden and others, saying that none of them would be affected.
“None of us are planning tourist trips to Russia, and none of us have bank accounts that we can’t access, so we’ll move forward,” Psaki said sarcastically.
She added that Russian officials appear to have imposed sanctions on the president’s late father, as Biden is a “junior” who is not on the Russian list.
Clinton, a longtime critic of Putin, also ridiculed the sanctions against her.
“I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award,” she tweeted.
Other Twitter users joined in the ridicule, with one Twitter user named Jay writing, “Russia is cut off from world trade.” Isn’t the sanction from Russia in this case completely senseless?
Russia controlled several settlements in North America during the 19th century, among the two most famous of which were California’s Fort Ross and various colonies in Alaska.
Julie London Ferguson, another Twitter user, added that with the exception of Hunter, the only person on the list who was not a federal government official, the list was actually one of the “patriots.”
Another Twitter user under the pseudonym Stas Bey simply posted a laughing emoji in response to the sanctions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it is acting “in response to a series of unprecedented sanctions” and is introducing its own measures “on the basis of reciprocity.”
The Ministry of Defense called their actions “an inevitable consequence of the extremely Russophobic course of the current US administration, which, in a desperate attempt to maintain American hegemony, has relied, discarding all decorum, on the frontal compression of Russia.”
It comes amid a growing wave of anti-American propaganda from the Kremlin and other public figures following weeks of mounting economic pressure on Russia.