2 Russians sailed 300 miles across the Bering Strait to a remote island in Alaska to avoid Putin's military draft
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Read full article 2 Russians sailed 300 miles across the Bering Strait to a remote island in Alaska to avoid Putin's military draft
Russian President Vladimir Putin points while visiting the exhibition after riding a train across the bridge linking Russia and Crimean Peninsula at Taman railways station on December 23, 2019 near Anapa, RussiaMikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
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Two Russians sailed hundreds of miles to a remote Alaskan island, local and federal officials said.
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According to a media report, the individuals were fleeing Putin's military mobilization.
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A Homeland Security official told Insider the individuals were sent to Anchorage to be processed.
Two Russians trying to avoid President Vladimir Putin's partial military mobilization sailed hundreds of miles across the Bering Strait to a remote Alaskan island, according to a report and multiple officials.
The individuals landed Tuesday in a small boat near the city of Gambell, local outlet KTUU reported Wednesday. Local authorities then informed the Coast Guard of what happened.
The Russians told some locals that they sailed from Egvekinot, a remote village in eastern Russia about 300 miles away, according to the report. Other villagers said the men informed them that they fled the Russian military.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy confirmed the incident during a Wednesday press conference and said "my understanding is that they're in Anchorage now, being dealt with by federal authorities."
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed this to Insider on Thursday, and said "the individuals were transported to Anchorage for inspection, which includes a screening and vetting process, and then subsequently processed in accordance with applicable US immigration laws under the Immigration and Nationality Act."
Gambell is a city of about 500 people located on the northwest tip of St. Lawrence Island, which is along the middle of the Bering Strait. Gambell is about 200 miles from the city of Nome, on Alaska's mainland.
Egvekinot, Russia and Gambell, Alaska.Screenshot/Google Maps
Last month, after Putin announced the partial military mobilization of his country's reservists, many Russians attempted to flee so they wouldn't be sent to fight in Ukraine. As they did, Russians faced traffic jams at borders with neighboring countries and sold-out or very expensive flights.
Putin's announcement came after weeks of military setbacks in Ukraine. Now, weeks later, his troops continue to face aggressive counteroffensive moves by Ukrainian forces that have forced Russian troops into retreat
"We don't anticipate a continual stream of individuals or a flotilla of individuals — we have no indication that's going to happen. So this may be a one-off," Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said, adding that the situation "was a surprise to us."
"Who knows what's going to happen in the future, if more individuals from Russia attempt to leave Russia through the Bering Strait," he added.
US Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan said in a joint statement Thursday that the two individuals have requested asylum in the US.
Murkowski criticized federal authorities in her statement for their response to the Russian nationals and said it was too slow. She praised the response from local officials and state agencies.
"This incident makes two things clear: First, the Russian people don't want to fight Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine," Sullivan said in his Thursday statement. "Second, given Alaska's proximity to Russia, our state has a vital role to play in securing America's national security."
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St. Lawrence island has around 600 people and 95% are indigenous people of Alaska mostly Yukip.
If there were Russians they probably were not welcomed with open arms. If they were Siberians they would have been welcomed.
A highly dangerous crossing and certainly the last resort to get out of Russia and the draft.
what an extreme choice, especially at this time of year.
Extreme choice is an understatement, devan....That is some of the most dangerous water in the world any time of the year.
One cannot help but applaud the sheer unmittigated guts it took to attempt and accomplish a trip like that in rough seas like that.
I hope we don't disclose their identities and put family members in Russia in jeopardy.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Long before either Sullivan or Murkowski were born at the height of WWII the Alaska Territorial Guard, better known as the ''Eskimo Scouts'' guarded the shores of Alaska made up on unpaid Alaskans the majoirty of which were the Indigenous people of Alaska they guarded our shores. They were chosen because of the vast knowledge of the land, their ability to move undetected and their markesmanship skills. Over 6,000 Indigenous Alaskans were part of the ''Eskimo Scouts''.
Yep.
Maj. Marvin "Muktuk" Marston decided that Japan just might be interested in Alaska in WWII and set about to organize a force of Alaskans that became the Alaska Territorial Guard. He set off by dogsled to recruit Aleut, Yupiaq and Alaskans with other tribal affiliations, along some onn-indigenous Alaskans living in the territory.
Almost all of the 6,500 were unpaid volunteers and they were well prepared for this mission as lifelong hunters and trackers who knew the land and its climate.
The "Eskimo Scouts" were a joint effort, made up of members of many ethnic groups: Aleut, Athabaskan, Inupiaq, Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Yupik and most likely others.
When the U.S. Government needed them, Alaska’s Native population came out in droves. From the beaches of Bristol Bay to the far corners of Bethel, Kotzebue and Barrow, villagers didn’t hesitate to provide Alaska with a line of defense after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Col. Marvin “Muktuk” Marston, who’d been put in charge of organizing the Alaska Territorial Guard, traveled along 5,200 miles of western Alaska coastline to personally address the Natives, including a stop in the Norton Sound village of King Island:
“Men and women of King Island, I am here representing the President of the United States and the Governor of Alaska (Ernest Gruening). You know that we are at war with the Japanese.
“I have been to Kuskokwim, Point Barrow and up to Kobuk and the Noatak rivers to visit all of you. I have seen more Eskimos than any Eskimo, and everywhere I find them to be fine people and fine Americans. They are helping in this war 100 percent.
“We need you to be the eyes and ears of the Army. You know how to hunt the seal and the walrus. You’re fine shots. I want every man who is willing to join the Alaska Territorial Guard.”
As Marston and Capt. Carl Scheibner traveled by dog sled with an interpreter along the coast and into the Interior, they recruited and organized the homeland defense. Approximately 6,000 Natives were asked to join the Guard, and although there was no money to pay the force and little equipment available, 100 percent enlisted.
These were the original “Eskimo Scouts.”
The Scouts were accomplished shooters. And even though the government could only issue them outdated Enfield rifles, they made every shot count.
In his book “Men of the Tundra,” Marston recounts a ceremony that lasted hours because all 3,000 in attendance received medals for “expert marksman.”
The Inupiat and the Yup’ik learned the art of military reconnaissance along the shores of the Bering Sea. Young men and women routinely patrolled the coastline, keeping a sharp eye out for intruders in a war that would eventually reach Alaska by way of the Aleutians.
Alaska disbanded the Territorial Guard in 1947, with no fanfare for the volunteers who proudly wore World War I-era uniforms bearing a blue patch with the stars of the Big Dipper.
It wasn’t until 2004 that the Alaska unit was officially recognized as military veterans. The U.S. Army finally granted formal military discharge certificates to former members of the Guard, which now only numbers a few. And those who qualify also can receive a headstone, a U.S. flag and burial in a national cemetery.
Yes, and since then, Alaskan natives have served on active duty and within the Guard at much higher rates than other groups.
Indeed they have as part of the indigenous people of America it is our blood and culture.
It is also a sad commentary that the Aleut people who were both in the Eskimo Scouts and also on active duty in both Europe and Asia that 1,000 of the Aleut people were put in ''internment camps'' where 10% died of various causes of which the main one was lack of medical care and lack of food. In addition, 40 Aleut people were captured by the Japanese when they invaded Attu and were shipped to Japan as POWs where half of them died.
The POWs and those in the internment camp were never allowed to return to their homes in Attu.
Finally, the US government paid reparations at the same time that the US Japanese were paid reparations, the difference being that the Japanese received $20,000 and the Aleut people received $12,000 the final insult.
This is quite the conundrum for those rightwing Russia loving conservatives who are also dead set against illegal immigration and any claims of seeking asylum...
meh, their attitudes towards draft dodgers have turned 180 degrees since 2015...