Thread: Russian American Company 1799-1867

Originally Posted by translations.nm.ru

I see. Well, the document I can see on the picture may very well have been ratified by a Senat clerk. But it is not a treaty. It may be a Czar's address to his subjects or to the Senate, announcing that such and such a treaty has been signed. It is possible that the treaty iself can be found on the following pages of this document. But the document itself is not a treaty, it is just the full offical title of Russian emperors.
"Божиею Споспешествующею милостию Мы, " etc, etc. There is nothing but his full title on this page.

May be. I heard that Lenin had given away Russian copy of the treaty in exchange of the trade agreement with US. So this can be one of that documents.

It would make sense to have a Russian version of the treaty, as it, after all, sells Russian land.

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

It would make sense to have a Russian version of the treaty, as it, after all, sells Russian land.

You must realize that many Russian noblemen of the period spoke French better than Russian. So it is not impossible that only English and French copies were signed. Besides, French was the main language of international diplomacy of that time.

Of course, these days, diplomatic norms require that all international treaties should be made in languages of both parties, but that is a fairly recent norm. Until 17th century, most international treaties were writtem in Latin, and after that, in French.

I just finished reading BERING'S SEARCH FOR THE STRAIT, The First Kamchatka Expedition Translated from a Russian book. Bering didn't land in Russia this expidition, but a nut-case trip all the same.
Peter the Great's instructions for the first Kamchatka expedition:

1, You are to build one or two boats, with decks, either in Kamchatka or in some other place.

2, You are to procede in these boats along the land that lies to the north. and according to the expectations (since the end is not known), it appears that land [is] part of America.

3, You are to search for the place where it is joined to America, and proceed to some settlement that belongs to a European power; or if you sight some European ship, find out from it what the coast is called, and write it down, go ashore yourself and obtain accurate information; locate it on a map and return here.

After a nice hike from St. Petersburgh...