Orthodoxy, Culture and Language: Alaska in Russia’s Religious Diplomacy of the 21st Century

The article is devoted to the analysis of the religious factor of the Russian foreign diplomacy in the light of Vladimir Putin’s high-profile visit to Alaska n August 15, 2025. The paper studies a special place of Alaska in the historical imagination of Russian political and church discourse. The status of this particular territory in Russian state worldview – the former “Russian America” – is indicative: it refers to the idea of an unfinished imperial legacy. The research doesn’t touch a main event that included a meeting with US President Donald Trump but an off-schedule meeting with Archbishop Alexei (Trader) of Sitka and Alaska, during which a symbolic presentation of icons took place. This act requires interpretation in the broader context of the religious diplomacy of the Russian Federation, where the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) occupies a key place as an instrument of “soft power”. Therefore, the visit to the Archbishop of Alaska should not be perceived as private or accidental, but as a multi-level action that combines historical allusions, religious symbolism, and modern strategies of hybrid warfare.