Two islands in the arctic, approximately two miles apart, draw the line between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The island to the west, small and sparsely populated, records the time as 9:07 AM on January 13th, 2025. The island to the east, larger yet utterly barren, marks 6:07 AM on January 14th, 2025. These islands fall between what is known as the International Date Line. Their related nations? The United States of America and the Russian Federation.
Alaska was originally Russian territory. When it was purchased by the US in 1867, its citizens assumed their daily routines as usual. Most areas of younger North America were plentiful in small communities of diverse cultures that acted as a mini version of their home countries. It was not until the Industrial Revolution and more importantly World War Two that these communities started noticeably dissolving. The Pacific coast of the US was already tense due to the eastern battles against Imperial Japan, but as Soviet Russia became a larger presence as well, the Alaskans up north suffered a quiet displacement.
Years ago during the winter, the ocean between Siberia and Alaska froze over. The indigenous peoples of the region, most notably the Chukchi and Inupiat, would travel over that ice bridge to see relatives on the other side. During the Cold War that followed America and Russia’s allied triumph, the Siberian-Alaskan region became a clear point of contention between the two called the Ice Curtain. The local population, still mostly consisting of its Natives, was heavily divided and torn apart. The inhabitants of Big Diomede (Known in Russia as Ratmanov Island) were displaced to mainland Russia in 1948 and replaced with a military base. Little Diomede is still populated in the current day, with a population of approximately less than 100 people. Mainland Alaska makes efforts to conserve these Native cultures through public and postsecondary education courses specializing in their craft and history. Even though Big Diomede remains a military base, the mainland houses those that were displaced, and they too remain an autonomous body in modern times.
