On Sunday, a member of Russia’s parliament called for reparations from the United States over sanctions it placed on Russia for invading Ukraine, including the return of historic Russian settlements in Alaska and California.
Parliament member Oleg Matveychev, who often speaks on behalf of top government officials, made the demands while speaking on Russian state TV, according to the Daily Mail.
“We should be thinking about reparations from the damage that was caused by the sanctions and the war itself, because that too costs money and we should get it back,” Matveychev said, even though it was Russia that started the war.
Matveychev added that he wants “the return of all Russian properties, those of the Russian empire, the Soviet Union and current Russia, which has been seized in the United States, and so on.”
This would include Alaska and Fort Ross in California which were part of the Russian empire in the 18th and 19th centuries before being sold to the United States.
When asked specifically about Alaska and Fort Ross, Matveychev said, “That was my next point. As well as the Antarctic. We discovered it, so it belongs to us.”
In response to Matveychev’s demands, Republican Governor of Alaska Mike Dunleavy wrote on Twitter, “Good luck with that! Not if we have something to say about it. We have hundreds of thousands of armed Alaskans and military members that will see it differently.”
Good luck with that! Not if we have something to say about it. We have hundreds of thousands of armed Alaskans and military members that will see it differently. https://t.co/ji0Hiza1TE
— Governor Mike Dunleavy (@GovDunleavy) March 15, 2022
