Research Highlights Series, No. 1

RUSSIANS AND RUSSIAN AMERICA

The Archives and Manuscripts Department holds a number of collections relating to Russian America, the purchase of Alaska by the United States government, and the transition to the new government. The most important of these are the following.

The Russian Orthodox Church:

Russian Block House - Sitka

The first organized Christian missionary efforts in Alaska were the work of the priests and missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church. That church served both as a moral force and as a promoter of education under both the Russian and American governments.

Russian Orthodox American Messenger. Alaska Index Project. Index and Articles; 1896-1973, 1985. 2 cu. ft.
The project involved the indexing and filming of the Messenger, an important resource on Russian Orthodox churches and on villages in Alaska. The index, Alaska Names and Places in the Russian Orthodox American Messenger, was compiled by Barbara Sweetland Smith and Ann Sudkamp. The collection includes the index, an annotated list of articles about Alaska, and copies of the articles.

Image from the Archives Collection

Return To Research Highlights Series Page

Last updated June 23, 1999.