Kremlin propagandists mulled three U.S. states as targets for a potential Russian invasion during a segment that aired on state TV.
Vladimir Solovyov, one of the most well-known figures in Kremlin-backed media, and Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of state-controlled media organization RT, made the remarks on a show that airs on Russia-1. An excerpt was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs.
State TV propagandists routinely float the idea of either striking or seizing the territory of NATO members. The pair suggested Russia could invade the U.S. states of Alaska, California or Hawaii.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment via email.
Alaska was once part of Russia. In 1867 it was sold to the U.S. for $7.2 million after then-U.S. President Andrew Johnson signed the Alaska Treaty. It was formally transferred by Russia to the U.S. on October 18, 1867, and it gained the status of a state on January 3, 1959.
During a discussion about why Russia would want to seize Portugal, Solovyov quipped that Lisbon has never been Russian, and Simonyan added that Alaska was, at one point.
"And California was. But why do we need Lisbon?" another co-host asked.
Despite the this assertion, California was never part of Russia, although in the early 19th century Russia established the outpost of Fort Ross in what is now Sonoma County, California, with Russian colonists living there between 1812 and 1841.
"You don't need it, but I like it very much," responded Solovyov.
"I prefer California, too," said Simonyan.
"Why such a strange choice? Why the either/or?" asked Solvyov.
Simonyan responded: "You have to start somewhere. I'd even choose Hawaii over California. I've never been there."
Russia founded three short-lived forts on the Hawaiian island of Kauai in 1817. Hawaii was a kingdom until 1893 and became a republic in 1894, before ceding itself to the U.S. in 1898, and becoming a state in 1959.
"I'm not a military man, but I reason the way I was taught by outstanding Soviet military commanders: you have to go to natural obstacles. Right?" Solovyov said. "That's why we must go to the ocean!"
In January, a Siberian shaman predicted that Alaska and California would become part of Russia in 2023.
"The United States of America and their people, of course, it's a pity," Russia's deputy head shaman Artur Tsybikov said in a video shared by Gerashchenko.
"America may soon be divided into several parts, and several states will declare sovereignty. Most likely, Alaska and California will return to the Russian Federation," he said.
"A Russian shaman predicts that the U.S. will be divided in 2023, with Alaska and California probably becoming a part of Russia. Russia will obviously prosper, according to him (thanks to Alaska and California, I guess?)," Gerashchenko tweeted Thursday.
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Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
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