On the map of the United States, the territory of Alaska draws attention, a portion isolated from the rest of the country whose mainland only borders Canada. This is because that portion of territory was a “last minute” acquisition. Indeed, in 1867 the United States bought that entire state from Russia. He did it for a figure that at that time was considered high ($7.2 million). The Russians were dying of laughter: the Americans had paid a lot of money for one and a half million square kilometers of frozen desert that also had the disadvantage of being on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
Russian perception changed when gold was found in Alaska just two decades later. Then they bit their fists, realizing that they had made a mistake. For Americans, in addition to the gold reserves – which were quickly exhausted and never amounted to much – Alaska has throughout all this time been a sensational source of gas, oil and wood.
To delimit what territory remained on each side, the Russians and the Americans took the small Diomedes archipelago as their border. Thus, the big island belongs to Moscow, specifically to the Siberian autonomous department of Chukotka. The Lesser Diomede is from Alaska. The International Date Line passes between them.
The curiosity is that between both rocks there is a distance of 1.3 kilometers. In winter, when the sea freezes, you could walk from one country to another. Although in both there are military detachments that ensure that no one thinks of doing so. In fact, the original Inuit population that occupied these islands and that had the habit of changing locations in winter was expelled after the distribution. Here the so-called ice curtain was drawn.
Russia does not allow travelers to visit its Diomedes Island. There is a meager military base that until recently did not even receive a television signal or internet connection. The Americans do allow the arrival of curious people to Diomedes Menor, but the way to achieve this is by renting a helicopter in the Alaskan towns of Wales or Nome. If you cannot afford the expense but you have time and patience, a freighter passes by every four months carrying food and other goods to the islet.
Apart from observing the birds that inhabit it and sailing – being careful not to enter waters under Russian jurisdiction – to spot the seals, sperm whales and walruses that approach the coast, there is not much to do in Diomedes. The temperatures are not extreme for the latitude at which they are located (the average in winter is -14ºC), but you should still be well equipped, as you have to plan on staying at one of the meteorological or military stations. Of course, there are no businesses open.
As the international demarcation line passes between the two islands, even though they are just over a kilometer away, they are in very different time zones: when on the Greater Diomedes it is 12 noon, on the Minor it is 3 o'clock. afternoon of the previous day: clocks and calendars show 21 hours of difference. The light and times of sunrise and sunset are, of course, identical.
