Insanity of War
Russia Wants a California State Park as Reparations
After 161 years Sonoma’s Fort Ross becomes the vanguard again
Wait, what? The Russians want the fort back? It’s been 161 years since the Russians sold Fort Ross to John Sutter. 7 years later Sutter would be distracted by the California Gold Rush and nothing really much went on at the settlement in Sonoma until 1909 when it would become a State Park.
The only remaining Russian-built structure at the Fort Ross State Historical is the Rotchev House, the surrounding stockade, block towers, chapel, and other structures are all reconstructed. It is an interesting stop on a tour of the Sonoma Coast but pales against the beauty of the rugged cliffs and towering forests of the region.
This week Oleg Matveychev, a member of the Russian parliament, suggested Russia should look to take back former claimed territories in North America including Fort Ross and of course Alaska. I think his desire is misplaced. These places should be coveted for their natural beauty, not the glory of the Russian state.
Both Fort Ross and Alaska were purchased which is unusual in the history of American expansionism and we still have the receipts.
It may seem silly to reach back over a century to renege on a deal but there is recent involvement by Russian oligarchs. The industrial investment company, Renova Group has a community outreach office that provides financial support for the park. Renoval is headed by Viktor Vekselberg who, though Ukrainian-born, has a keen interesting Russian history and culture so it is no surprise he might shell out $1.5 million to support the history of Russian trade in North America. Small price to pay for a man with two private jets and a $120 million yacht. A “filler up” at the dock is $279,000 not including energy drinks and a few lottery tickets.
Vekselberg was sanctioned in 2018 for Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election and had to close off support for Fort Ross so the financial impact to the park in 2022 remains the same.
So why is Oleg Matveychev interested in staking territory in North America? Is this some sort of Cold War saber-rattling? Not really. There is no interest in making the 1966 comedy, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming a real-life event. Though I do enjoy the irony of that movie being shot in Fort Bragg just 83 miles up the coast from Fort Bragg.
The real reason is Matveychev is taking a page from Guilliani’s playbook by proposing outrageous ideas and accusations to provide cover for his boss. This is the third pillar of the 4D model of disinformation. Dismissal, Distortion, Distraction, and Dismay. Matveychev distracts from whether the invasion is morally right by talking about the harm Russia has received as a consequence of their actions when he talks about reparations.
“We should be thinking about reparations from the damage that was caused by the sanctions and the war itself because that too costs money and we should get it back. The return of 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.”
This was a friendly interview and the host Vladimir Soloviev was actually the one to name the state park when asking “Are you including Alaska and Fort Ross?”. Matveychev then went on as propagandists will do to include Olympic medals and anything else he could pull out of his ass. I really wish he had said all this standing outside Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
The commentary of Russian propagandists, including Tucker and Boebert, not only deserved to be ridiculed, it is our civic duty to lampoon these liars before they can attain credibility. War is serious but humor can be a weapon in our fight for democracy.
