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Aleksandr A. Baranov

Russian governor of Alaska
Also known as: Aleksandr A. Baranof

Quick Summary

Aleksandr A. Baranov was a Russian fur trader and the first governor of Russian America, which encompassed territories including Alaska. He directed the operations of the Russian-American Company, which was established to create colonies and conduct fur trading in North America. Baranov moved the company's headquarters to Novo-Arkhangelsk (now Sitka, Alaska) in 1804, after a successful, though contested, establishment against the Tlingit people. The Russian-American Company governed Alaska until Russia sold the territory to the United States in 1867. Russia's decision to sell was influenced by the financial strain from the Crimean War and a strategic shift towards Asian expansion.1234

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