The following list of suggested readings includes works that should be available in most Alaskan school or public libraries and that will provide more information about subjects discussed in this unit. It is not intended as a comprehensive bibliography of sources on the Russian period of Alaska history.

General Books

Bancroft, Hubert Howe
HISTORY OF ALASKA 1730-1885 (Chapters 1-27). New York: Antiquarian Press Ltd., 1970.
First published in 1886, this richly detailed history draws on sources no longer available.

Brooks, Alfred Hulse
BLAZING ALASKA'S TRAILS (Chapters 8 to 14). 2d ed. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 1953.
Although written early in the twentieth century, this remains a valuable source.

Chevigny, Hector
RUSSIAN AMERICA, THE GREAT ALASKAN VENTURE 1741-1867. New York: The Viking Press, 1965.
Lively account of the Russian experience in Alaska.

Dmytryshyn, Basil and E.A.P. Crownhart-Vaughan
COLONIAL RUSSIAN AMERICA, KYRILL T. KHLEBNIKOV'S REPORTS 1817-1832. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1976.
Reports of a Russian-American Company official who spent 38 years in company service, including 17 years in Alaska.
THE END OF RUSSIAN AMERICA, CAPTAIN P.N. GOLOVIN'S LAST REPORT 1862. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1979.
Compiled by an official of the Russian-American Company as a result of an inspection trip, this reviews many Russian activities in Alaska.

Gibson, James R.
IMPERIAL RUSSIA IN FRONTIER AMERICA, THE CHANGING GEOGRAPHY OF SUPPLY OF RUSSIAN AMERICA, 1784-1867. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976.
A geographer looks at Russian activity in Alaska.

Khiebnikov, K.T.
BARANOV, CHIEF MANAGER OF THE RUSSIAN COLONIES IN AMERICA.
Translated by Colin Bearne and edited by Richard A. Pierce. Materials for the Study of Alaska History, No. 3. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: The Limestone Press, 1973.
Traces the life of Alexander Baranov from his 1792 arrival in Alaska to his death.

Pierce, Richard A.
RUSSIAN AMERICA: A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY, Materials for the Study of Alaska History, No. 33. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: The Limestone Press, 1990.

Chapter 3-1/Russians come to Alaska

Books

Berkh.VasiliiN.
A CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS OR THE EXPLOITS OF RUSSIAN MERCHANTS WITH A SUPPLEMENT OF HISTORICAL DATA ON THE FUR TRADE. Materials for the Study of Alaska History, No. 5. Translated by Dmitri Krenov and edited by Richard A. Pierce. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: The Limestone Press, 1974.
Describes Russian discoveries and fur-trading in the Aleutian Islands.

Fisher, Raymond H.
BERING'S VOYAGES, WHITHER AND WHY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977.
Examines the reasons for Bering's voyages.

Colder, Frank A.
BERING'S VOYAGES: AN ACCOUNT OF THE EFFORTS OF THE RUSSIANS TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP OF ASIA AND AMERICA, 2 vols. Edited by W.L.G. Joerg. American Geographical Society Research Series No. 1. New York: Octagon Books, 1968.
Analyzes the reasons for and describes Bering's 1725 and 1741 voyages of exploration, with information on the Gvozdev voyage of 1732.

Shelikhov, Gregorii A VOYAGE TO AMERICA, 1783-1786. Translated by Marina Ramsay and edited by Richard A. Pierce. Materials for the Study of Alaska History, No. 19. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: The Limestone Press, 1981.
Shelikhov's report on establishing the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska.

Waxell, Sven
THE RUSSIAN EXPEDITION TO AMERICA. New York: Collier Books, 1962.
The lieutenant who took command of the 1741-1742 expedition after Bering's death gives his version of the expedition.

Articles

Falk, Marvin
"Vitus Bering," in EXPLORATION IN ALASKA. Anchorage: Cook Inlet Historical Society, 1980: 103-108.
Summarizes Bering and his work.

Kerner, Robert Joseph
"The Russian Eastward Movement: Some Observations on Its Historical Significance" in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967: 3-19.
Traces Russian expansion eastward from Europe to the Pacific.

Mull, Gill and George Plafker
"The First Russian Landings in Alaska," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 6 (3) (Summer 1976): 134-154.
Reconstructs where the people of Bering's 1741 expedition landed and went on Kayak Island.

Patty, Stanton
"Bering's Grave," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 1 (1) (Winter 1971): 27-28. Discusses the end of Bering's 1741 voyage and where Bering is buried.

Van Horn, Walter
"Vitus Bering: Chronology," in EXPLORATION IN ALASKA. Anchorage: Cook Inlet Historical Society, 1980: 109-113.
Dates significant events in Bering's career of exploration.

Chapter 3-2/Settlement and population patterns Books

Fedorova, Svetlana G.
THE RUSSIAN POPULATION IN ALASKA AND CALIFORNIA, LATE 18TH CENTURY - 1867. Edited and translated by Richard A. Pierce and Alton S. Donnelly. Materials for the Study of Alaska History, No. 4. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: The Limestone Press, 1973.
Describes number, locations, and activities of Russians in Alaska before 1867.

Golovin, Pavel N.
CIVIL AND SAVAGE ENCOUNTERS, THE WORLDLY TRAVEL LETTERS OF AN IMPERIAL RUSSIAN NAVY OFFICER 1860-1861. Translated and annotated by Basil Dmytryshyn and E.A.P. Crown hart-Vaughan. Portland: The Press of the Oregon Historical Society, 1983.
Pages 75-143 describe the people and daily life of Sitka in the early 1860s.

Articles

Andrews, Clarence L.
"Settlement of Sitka" in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967: 47-55.
Describes the founding of the Russian post at Sitka, its 1802 destruction and 1805 rebuilding.

Du Four, John
"The Russian Withdrawal from California" in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967: 133-146.
Explains why the Russians closed their California post after 30 years.

Hanable, William S.
"New Russia," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 3 (2) (Spring 1973): 77-80. Describes the founding of the Russian post at Yakutat and its 1804 destruction.
"Russian Alaska: Challenge for Historical Archaeology," in ALASKA IN PERSPECTIVE 1 (3) (1978): 1-11.
Points out the potential of historical archaeology for helping to learn more about Russian activity in Alaska.

Kari, James
"Kalifornsky, The Californian from Cook Inlet," in ALASKA IN PERSPECTIVE 5 (1) (1983): 1-11. Sketches the life of an Athabaskan who served the Russian-American Company in California.

Pierce, Richard A.
"Georg Anton Schaffer, Russia's Man in Hawaii, 1815-1817" in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967:71-81.
Presents Russian efforts to establish a trading post in Hawaii.

Chapter 3-3/Food, shelter, clothing, and technology

This information is scattered throughout many of the other sources listed in these Suggested Readings, particularly first-hand accounts of visits to Alaska between 1741 and 1867.

Chapter 3-4/Exploration

Books

Hanable, Williams.
"The Mednaia Reka," (Chapter 2) in his ALASKA'S COPPER RIVER, THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES. Anchorage: Alaska Historical Society, 1982: 15-34.
Discusses Russian exploration of the Copper River.

Michael, Henry N., editor
LIEUTENANT ZAGOSKIN'S TRAVELS IN RUSSIAN AMERICA 1842-1844. Anthropology of the North: Translations from Russian Sources/No. 7. Toronto: University of Toronto Press for the Arctic Institute of North America, 1967.
Presents Zagoskin's account of his explorations in Alaska.

Shalkop, Antoinette, editor
EXPLORATION IN ALASKA. Anchorage: Cook Inlet Historical Society, 1980.
Presents papers on exploration in Alaska given during 1978 as part of a Captain Cook bicentennial lecture series.

Articles

Brooks, Alfred H.
"History of Exploration and Surveys" in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967: 21-44.
Traces investigations of Alaska by explorers of all nationalities.

Chevigny, Hector
"The Tragedy of Anna Petrovna" in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967: 57-69.
Reports on one ill-fated Russian exploration attempt.

Pierce, Richard A.
"Russian Exploration in North America," in EXPLORATION IN ALASKA. Anchorage: Cook Inlet Historical Society, 1980: 115-128.
Summarizes Russian explorations in Alaska.

Pierce, Richard A. and Alexander Doll
"Alaskan Treasure," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 1 (1) (Winter 1971): 2-7.
Recounts attempts to find "possession plates" left in Alaska by Russian explorers.

Pierce, Richard A. and Mary Sadouski
"Krenitsyn and Levashov's Aleutian Expedition," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 3 (4) (Autumn 1973): 204-210.
Gives background and results of a 1769 Russian investigation of the Aleutian Islands.

Chapter 3-5/The fur trade

Books

Chevigny, Hector
LORD OF ALASKA, BARANOVANDTHE RUSSIAN ADVENTURE. New York: The Viking Press, 1944.
Presents the fur trade by writing about Baranov's work in Alaska.

Okun,S.B.
THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN COMPANY. Edited by B.D. Grekov and translated by Carl Ginsburg. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1951.
A Soviet historian looks at the economic activities of the Russian-American Company.

Tikhmenev, P.A.
A HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN COMPANY. Translated and edited by Richard A. Pierce and Alton S. Donnelly. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1978.
This new edition of an 1862 history of the Russian-American Company, written by a Russian with access to company records, gives great detail about the company's activities.

Articles

Schneider, William
"Trapping Furbearers in Alaska: A Legacy and, Perhaps a Destiny," in ALASKA IN PERSPECTIVE 3 (1) (1980): 1-23.
Emphasizes the fur trade's effect on Alaska Natives.

Chapter 3-6/Other economic activities Articles

Dilliplane, Timothy L.
"Mining in Russian America: A Research Objective" in MINING IN ALASKA'S PAST. Edited by Michael S. Kennedy. Office of History and Archaeology Series No. 27. Anchorage: Alaska Division of Parks, 1980: 231-246.
Surveys Russian interest in mining in Alaska and discusses possible archaeological investigation of this subject.
"Shipbuilding in Russian America: A Sampling of the Literature" in TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA'S PAST. Edited by Michael S. Kennedy. Office of History and Archaeology Series No. 30. Anchorage: Alaska Division of Parks, 1982: 5-27.
Surveys Russian shipbuilding in Alaska.

Colder, Frank A.
"Mining in Alaska Before 1867" in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967: 149-156.
Tells about Russian mining of various minerals in Alaska.

Pierce, Richard A.
"The Russian Coal Mine on the Kenai," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 5 (2) (Spring 1975): 104-108.
Reproduces in part Enoch Furuhjelm's account of his development of the mine.

Chapter 3-7/Political and social organization

Articles

Colder, Frank A.
"The Attitude of the Russian Government Toward Alaska," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 1 (2) (Spring 1971): 53-55.
Traces the changing attitude of the Russian government toward Russian colonies in Alaska.

Johnson, Laura S.
"A Petition for Anna Grigoryevna," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 11 (1981): 213-215.
Discusses provisions made by Alexander Baranov for his Alaskan wife after his death.

Pierce, Richard A.
"Alaska's Russian Governors," a series in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 1 (3) (Winter 1971) through 3 (1) (Winter 1973).
Sketches backgrounds and Alaskan activities of Chief Managers of the Russian-American Company through 1867, with information on their wives and families.

Chapter 3-8/Art, culture, education, recreation, and religion

Books

Black, LydiaT, editor
THE JOURNALS OF IAKOV NETSVETOV: THE ATKHA YEARS, 1828-1844. Materials for the Study of Alaska History, No. 16. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: The Limestone Press, 1980.
Netsvetov's record of his service on Atka.

Elliott, Henry W.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF AUTHORS ON RUSSIAN AMERICA AND ALASKA. Occasional Paper No. 2. Transcription and bibliography by John W. Carnahan. Anchorage: Anchorage Historical and Fine Arts Museum, 1976.
Includes biographies of Russians and others who wrote about Alaska prior to 1867.

Gregory, Bishop (Afonsky)
A HISTORY OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN ALASKA (1794-1917). Kodiak: Saint Herman's Theological Seminary, 1977.
Detailed history of Orthodox Church activities in Alaska by a church scholar who is Bishop of Alaska.

Shalkop, R.L.
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ART IN ALASKA. Translations by Antoinette Shalkop. Anchorage: Anchorage Historical and Fine Arts Museum, 1973.
Describes icons presented in a museum exhibit and gives a short history of the evolution of icons.

Smith, Barbara S.
RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY IN ALASKA. Anchorage: Barbara S. Smith for the Alaska Historical Commission, 1980.
Inventory of church archives that includes a summary history of the church's work in Alaska.

Articles

Black, LydiaT.
"The Curious Case of the Unalaska Icons," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 12 (2) (Spring 1982): 7-11.
Reports finding icons probably done about 1825 by an Aleut artist at Unalaska.

McCollom, Pat
"The Story of Icons," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 2 (1) (Winter 1971): 25-37. Explains the purpose and evolution of icons.

Patty, Stanton
"Mission to Zagorsk," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 2 (2) (Spring 1972): 34-40.
An American journalist describes a visit to the grave of Saint Innocent (Father Veniaminov).

Pierce, Richard A.
"Voznesenskii, Scientist in Alaska," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 5 (1) (Winter 1975): 11-15.
Describes the Alaskan work of a nineteenth century Russian scientist.

Tero, Richard D.
"Alaska, 1779: Father Riobo's Narrative," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 3 (2) Spring 1973): 81-88.
Reproduces the notes of a Roman Catholic priest who accompanied a 1779 Spanish expedition to Alaska.

Williams, Glyndwr
"Alaska Revealed: Cook's Explorations in 1778," in EXPLORATION IN ALASKA. Anchorage: Cook Inlet Historical Society, 1980: 69-113.
Discusses Cook's Alaskan explorations.

Chapter 3-10/American contact with Russian America

Books

Jensen, Ronald J.
THE ALASKA PURCHASE AND RUSSIAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS. Seattle: University or Washington Press, 1975.
Summarizes events leading up to the sale of Russian interests in Alaska to the United States.

Miller, David Hunter
THE ALASKA TREATY. Materials for the Study of Alaska History, No. 18. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: The Limestone Press, 1981.
Comprehensive analysis of the treaty by which Russia sold its Alaskan interests to the United States.

Sherwood, Morgan
"Young Wine in New Bottles," (Chapter 2) in his EXPLORATION IN ALASKA 1865-1900. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965: 15-35.
Analyzes the Western Union Telegraph Expedition exploration of Alaska prior to 1867.

Articles

DeArmond, R.N.
"War's End in Bering Sea," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 11 (1981): 80-83.
Describes the Confederate raiding ship Shenandoab's destruction of the American Arctic whaling fleet.

Keithan.E.L.
"Alaska Ice, Inc." in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967: 173-186.
Explains American involvement in the ice-cutting industry of Russian America.

Lipton, Barbara
"Yankee Woman on an Arctic Whaler," in THE ALASKA JOURNAL 7 (1) (Winter 1977): 50-55.
Mary Louisa Burtch Brewster's account of a voyage aboard the whaler Tiger to Alaskan waters.

Mazour, Anatole G.
"The Prelude to Russia's Departure from America," in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967: 159-170.
Analyzes the reasons Russia sold its Alaskan interests to the United States.

Vevier, Charles
"The Collins Overland Line and American Continentalism," in Morgan Sherwood's ALASKA AND ITS HISTORY. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967:209-230.
Explains political background of effort to build an around-the-world telegraph line through Alaska.