New Russia
New Russia was a Russian-American Company trading post, fur station, and penal settlement established in 1796 on the Yakutat Peninsula of present-day Alaska.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
New Russia was a Russian colonial trading post and penal settlement established by the Russian-American Company in 1796 on the Phipps Peninsula at Yakutat Bay, in what is now Yakutat Borough, Alaska. Although the name can resemble that of a commercial brand, New Russia was a historical settlement rather than a modern consumer or corporate brand. It formed part of Russia’s network of North American outposts created to support the maritime fur trade, protect Russian interests, and extend settlement along the Alaskan coast. The location was considered strategically important because of its position on Yakutat Bay and its access to coastal and inland resources. The Russian-American Company contemplated the site as a possible capital of Russian America. Alexander Baranov, the company’s chief administrator, negotiated the purchase of land from local Tlingit people in 1794, with a settlement planned for the following year. That initial effort was abandoned after Tlingit hostility toward a Russian hunting party made the proposed settlement appear unsafe. A larger colonizing party eventually reached the site in June 1796. The group consisted of 192 Russians, who built two substantial log structures, a palisade, and a blockhouse. The settlement served several overlapping purposes: it supported fur hunting and trade, housed Russian personnel and transported laborers, and operated as a penal colony. By 1805, New Russia had expanded to seven buildings inside its stockade and five additional buildings outside it. The settlement also included a small shipyard that produced two boats. Relations with the Tlingit remained tense throughout the settlement’s existence. Tlingit communities resisted Russian intrusion, particularly the disruption of local political authority, trade networks, hunting practices, and access to land and resources. Tlingit attacks on Russian hunting parties occurred periodically. The wider conflict intensified after the Tlingit destruction of Redoubt St. Archangel Michael in 1802. Baranov subsequently used New Russia as a base connected with the 1804 Russian military response that led to the establishment of the settlement at present-day Sitka. In 1805, Tlingit forces attacked New Russia and burned the settlement. Contemporary accounts reported that most occupants were killed, with only a small number of women and children surviving. The post was never reoccupied. The attack prevented the Russians from establishing a durable presence in Yakutat Bay and marked a decisive setback for Russian expansion in that area. It also remains an important episode in the history of Russian-Tlingit relations and the broader colonial history of Alaska. By the nineteenth century, the abandoned settlement had become an archaeological site. American traders visiting the area in the 1870s reported cellar depressions overgrown with large trees. Later archaeological investigation identified remnants including a section of log wall and a subsurface charcoal layer consistent with the settlement’s destruction by fire. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. There is no current commercial operation under the New Russia name.
History
New Russia emerged during the expansion of the Russian-American Company across Alaska and the North Pacific. The company established a chain of coastal posts to exploit the maritime fur trade, maintain logistical links, and strengthen Russia’s territorial claims. Yakutat Bay was attractive because it offered access to coastal waters and resource areas, while also occupying a position between other Russian settlements farther west and south. Alexander Baranov negotiated the purchase of land from local Tlingit people in 1794 and considered the area as a possible capital for Russian America. A planned settlement in 1795 was cancelled after a Russian hunting party encountered hostility from the Tlingit. The Russians returned the following year with a much larger group. In June 1796, 192 settlers arrived and began constructing the post. Its first major facilities included two large log buildings, a palisade, and a blockhouse. The settlement combined commercial, military, and coercive functions. It was used as a fur-trading station and as a penal colony, reflecting the Russian-American Company’s reliance on transported labor and controlled colonial settlements. The post gradually expanded. By 1805, seven buildings stood inside the stockade and five more were located outside it. A small shipyard also produced two boats, indicating that the settlement was intended to support more than seasonal hunting activity. The Russians’ presence remained contested. Tlingit communities continued to oppose Russian encroachment and attacked hunting parties associated with the settlement. These local conflicts formed part of the broader Russo-Tlingit War of 1802–1805. After Tlingit forces destroyed Redoubt St. Archangel Michael in 1802, Baranov organized a Russian counteroffensive. New Russia served as a staging point connected with the 1804 operation that resulted in the founding of the Russian settlement at Sitka. The post was attacked in 1805. Tlingit forces burned the buildings inside and outside the stockade, and most of the inhabitants were killed. A few women and children survived. The Russians did not rebuild or reoccupy the site, and Tlingit resistance effectively blocked further Russian penetration into Yakutat Bay for the remainder of the Russian colonial period. The abandoned post left limited visible remains. Visitors in the 1870s described cellar holes that had become overgrown with mature trees. A state archaeological survey in 1971 recorded a remaining section of log wall, while subsurface evidence included a charcoal layer associated with the settlement’s destruction. Reports of cannonballs and iron fragments have also contributed to local recognition of the site, although the surviving landscape is now heavily forested and provides little obvious surface evidence. New Russia was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. Its historical importance lies in the combined evidence it provides about Russian colonization, the fur trade, penal settlement, maritime logistics, and Tlingit resistance. The site is best understood as a historical and archaeological place-name rather than an active brand or operating enterprise.
- 1978
Designated a National Historic Landmark
[1]New Russia was recognized as a National Historic Landmark because of its importance to Alaska’s colonial and archaeological history.
- 1972
Added to the National Register of Historic Places
[1]The former settlement site received formal recognition as a historic property in the United States.
- 1805
Settlement destroyed and abandoned
[1]Tlingit forces burned the post and killed most of its occupants. New Russia was never reoccupied.
- 1804
Russian counteroperation launched
[1]Alexander Baranov used the New Russia area in connection with the Russian response that led to the founding of the settlement at present-day Sitka.
- 1802
Tlingit attack on Redoubt St. Archangel Michael
[1]The destruction of the Russian settlement at present-day Old Sitka intensified the wider conflict between Russian colonists and Tlingit communities.
- 1796
New Russia established
[1]A party of 192 Russians landed in June and constructed the initial buildings, palisade, and blockhouse.
- 1795
First settlement attempt abandoned
[1]A planned settlement was called off after Tlingit hostility toward a Russian hunting party raised immediate security concerns.
- 1794
Land acquired for a proposed settlement
[1]Alexander Baranov negotiated the purchase of land from local Tlingit people, and the Russian-American Company began considering a settlement at Yakutat Bay.
Products and positioning
A strategic Russian-American Company outpost supporting the maritime fur trade, colonial expansion, and penal settlement in Yakutat Bay.
Maritime fur trade · 1796
Fur-trading operations
New Russia functioned as a Russian-American Company fur-trading and hunting outpost. Its commercial role was tied to the wider North Pacific maritime fur economy, although the available reference material does not identify specific species, prices, or annual trade volumes.
Shipbuilding
Locally built boats
The settlement included a small shipyard that had built two boats by 1805. These vessels supported the post’s coastal transport and logistical needs, but the available material does not specify their designs, names, or exact uses.
Brand decisions
1805
Post abandoned after destructionOtherBackground
Continuing conflict between Russian settlers and Tlingit communities culminated in an attack on New Russia.
Action taken
After the buildings were burned and most occupants killed, the Russian-American Company did not rebuild or reoccupy the site.
Aftermath
The abandonment ended the Russian settlement at Yakutat and limited Russian penetration into Yakutat Bay.
1795
Settlement attempt postponed after Tlingit resistanceStrategyBackground
The Russian-American Company intended to establish a settlement at Yakutat, but a hunting party encountered hostility from local Tlingit people before the planned settlers arrived.
Action taken
The company cancelled the 1795 settlement attempt and delayed the establishment of a larger post until the following year.
Aftermath
A larger Russian party ultimately established New Russia in 1796, but relations remained hostile and the settlement was destroyed in 1805.
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