‘Your country doesn’t have that many rubles to buy it back!’ Social media users mercilessly mocks Russia after Kremlin apparatchik demanded US give it back Alaska
- Many took to social media on Tuesday to mock the Kremlin’s demands that the U.S. return Alaska and California’s Fort Ross to Russia
- The Kremlin’s ‘spin doctor,’ Oleg Matveychev, had called on America to return the properties despite the fact that the U.S. legally purchased Alaska in 1867
- Many on social media called it ironic for Russia to demand American land that was purchased for $7.2 million but is now worth more than $144 million
- Russia was also mocked for the sanctions it placed against 13 Americans, including Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton and Hunter Biden
- ‘I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award,’ Clinton tweeted as she poked fun at the sanction that would not affect her
Social media users fired broadsides at the Kremlin after a Russian official made the outlandish demand for the U.S. to return Alaska and California’s Fort Ross to the war-hungry Putin regime.
Oleg Matveychev, a ‘spin doctor’ for Russian President Vladimir Putin, demanded that Washington ‘return 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’ during an appearance on Russian state news on Sunday.
Many on social media were quick to mock the Duma member’s dumbfounded demands, which also included handing over the Antarctic because, as Matveychev said, Russia ‘discovered it, so it belongs to us.’
One Twitter user with the handle odyssues55 laughed at the demand, tweeting: ‘So Russia wants us to GIVE back Alaska? HAHAHAHA.
‘Pay the price b***hes. We paid $7.2 million in 1867. Adjusted for today’s dollar that’s $138,024,000. Plus all of the infrastructure (improvements) we have made – lets just call it $10 billion.’
Another Twitter user with the handle OSFP wrote: ‘Your country doesn’t have that many rubles to buy it back,’ referencing the fact that Russian currency crashed to seven-tenths of 1 American cent after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine last month.
The Kremlin’s call for American reparations were nearly as useless as the sanctions the Russians announced on President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden, Hilary Clinton and other US officials.
Kremlin ‘spin doctor’ Oleg Matveychev shared a list of demands on Russian state TV, including that America give back Alaska and California’s Fort Ross, both originally Russian settlements
Many were quick to mock Russia’s demands on social media as they were quick to point out that the US legally purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867
Russia’s colonial past in North America: The Empire’s outposts in Alaska, California and Hawaii in the 18th and 19th centuries
The Russian Empire had a significant foothold in North America during the 19th century, history shows.
Its first colony on the continent was founded in Alaska in 1784, named Three Saints Bay. There began the Russian-American Company, a trading group chartered by Czar Paul I in 1799 which drove the Empire’s expansion in North America.
The Russian ruler envisioned a monopoly that would trade furs with natives of the region as well as expand the empire’s colonial territory.
The Russian-American company built Fort Ross, less than three hours outside of modern-day San Francisco, in 1812. The settlement was sold into private hands in 1841, after its rich marine life had been depleted and residents found the conditions for farming difficult.
In 1815 and 1816 the company struck a deal with the Kingdom of Hawaii to open three short-lived outposts on its islands. The Russians were thrown out of Hawaii in 1817 after locals revolted against them for building a fort and raising a Russian flag on their territory.
Alaska, Russia’s final North American territory, was sold to the US in 1867 during Andrew Johnson’s presidency for $7.2 million — which would be approximately $144.4 million in 2021.
The first Russian colony on Alaska was founded in 1784, named Three Saints Bay. There began the Russian-American Company, a trading monopoly chartered by Czar Paul I in 1799 which drove the Empire’s expansion in North America.
Alaska was sold to the US in 1867 during Andrew Johnson’s presidency for $7.2 million – which would be approximately $144.4 million in 2021.
Another Twitter user with handle AmoungHounds joked, ‘Sure, let’s give France half of America back, while we’re at it,’ referencing the Louisiana Purchase when America bought 828,000-square miles of land from France back in 1803.
A Twitter user with the name Nice Stories also noted the irony in Russia’s demands, writing, ‘I thought Russia wanted Alaska gone? They sold it to the U.S. and commentators thought the U.S. was dumb for buying it.’
Twitter user Janice Hough joked, ‘Could we offer them Florida instead.’
Gesare Chife, another Twitter user, chimed in with a timeless joke format: ‘Russia called, they want Alaska back.’
A Twitter user with the name Chris slammed Russia for making the demand following its invasion of Ukraine, tweeting: ‘Alaska was bought from Russia. But then again Russia appears to take what it wants.’
Angie Fryer, another Twitter user, also laughed at the idea of returning Fort Ross, a small Russian settlement established outside modern-day San Francisco in 1812.
‘Haha. Fort Ross is a park with a museum/gift shop,’ Fryer tweeted. ‘Hilarious.’
Chuck Clark, a Twitter user from Alaska, also joked about the demands, writing, ‘Not so funny for those of us that live here! I don’t speak Russian nor like vodka!’
Another Twitter user with the handle Twichyb summarized the demands a ‘crazy talk.’
‘Reparations for sanctions or a bullet to the head? They’re taking back Antarctica because “we found it, it’s ours”. I guess Alaska too.
‘At least Sarah Palin can let us know when they get here,’ the Twitter user said, referencing jokes that former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin could see Russia from her house.
The Kremlin was also ridiculed after it placed sanctions on President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, CIA Director Bill Burns, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Biden’s son Hunter Biden, former-Press Secretary Hilary Clinton, Deputy Secretary of Treasury Wally Adeyemo and President of Export-Import Bank of the US Reta Jo Lewis.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki laughed off the sanctioned placed against her and President Joe Biden, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Hilary Clinton, Hunter Biden and others, saying none of them would be affected by it.
‘None of us are planning tourist trips to Russia and none of us have bank accounts that we won’t be able to access, so we will forge ahead,’ Psaki said in a sarcastic tone.
She added that Russian officials seemed to have placed the sanctions against the president’s late father, as Biden is a ‘junior,’ which was not noted in the Russian list.
Clinton, a long-time critic of Putin, also poked fun at the sanctions placed against her.
‘I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award,’ she said in a tweet.
Others on Twitter joined in the mockery with one Twitter user with the name Jay writing, ‘Russia has been cut off from world trade. Isn’t a sanction from Russia completely pointless at this point?’
Russia ran several settlements in North America during the 19th century, among two of the most prominent being California’s Fort Ross and various colonies in Alaska
Julie London Ferguson, another Twitter user, added that with the exception Hunter, the only person on the list who has not served as a federal government official, the list was actually one of ‘patriots.’
Another Twitter user with handle name Stas Bey simply posted laughing emojis in reaction to the sanctions.
In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was acting ‘in response to a series of unprecedented sanctions’ and was imposing its own measures ‘on the basis of reciprocity.’
The ministry said its actions were an ‘inevitable consequence of the extremely Russophobic course taken by the current US Administration, which, in a desperate attempt to maintain American hegemony, has relied, discarding all decency, on the frontal constricting of Russia.’
It comes amid a growing wave on anti-U.S. propaganda from the Kremlin and other public figures after weeks of mounting economic pressure on Russia.
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