Women in Alaska's History

Catherine the II	Natasha Shelikof
Anna Baranof	Irina Yanovskii

The Russians were the first Europeans to live in Alaska. They were there mostly because of the great supply of furs. The first trappers and traders came to Alaska in the late 1500s. Alaska was the Russian frontier of the day. It was a common saying among the Russians was "God is in heaven and the Czar is far away". They used this to justify just about anything. They demanded a heavy tribute of furs from all of the natives they encountered. They often took hostages to enforce the tribute.

Very few Russian women came to Alaska. Those who did met great hardships. Most of the women came to Alaska to help their husbands govern the new Alaskan settlements. Some came because they were teachers. And a few of them were instrumental in our history without ever leaving their country.

Picture of a Polar Bear Catherine the Great sent Gregorii Shelikhov to Alaska to control the fur trade. His company, the Shelikhov Trading Company and its successor, the Russian-American Company controlled the fur industry. Shelikhov hired Alexander Baranof. Baranof served the company for 30 years. He became something of a legend. He was the kind of person that commanded respect, awe, and fear. Baranof eventually came to be an administrator over the colonies. His daughter, Anna, had an important role in Alaska's history.

These early traders sought furs that would bring a good price in the markets of Europe. They hunted several species of animals to extinction. Captain James Cook wrote this describing the Russians destructiveness:

"There are Russians on all the principal islands between this {Unalaska} and Kamchatka for the sole purpose of furring and the first and great object is the Sea or Otter or the fur seal."

With the Russians came Russian Catholics. They began to teach the natives their religion. There is still a dominance of the Catholic religion among Alaskan natives today. But upon the arrival of Margaretha Etholen, wife of the governor of Russian America, the Lutheran church was introduced to the natives; who up to that point had been taught nothing but Catholic religion.