Grigory Shelikhov

Lore & Background

Starting in 1775, Shelikhov organized voyages of merchant ships to the Kuril Islands and the Aleutian Islands for fur trading. In 1783–1786, he led an expedition to the coastal shores of the mainland, founding the first permanent Russian settlements in North America under his Shelikhov-Golikov Company, established in 1783 with Ivan Larionovich Golikov.

In April 1784, Shelikhov arrived at Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island with two ships. The indigenous Koniaga defended themselves at Refuge Rock, but Shelikhov's armed forces, using guns and cannons, killed hundreds of Alutiiq, including women and children, and took hundreds of hostages. He then founded the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska along Three Saints Bay.

In 1790, Shelikhov hired Alexandr Baranov to manage his fur trading enterprise in Russian America. In 1799, the Shelikhov-Golikov Company assets were merged into the royal Russian-American Company under his son-in-law, Nikolai Rezanov.

Reader's Guide

Grigory Shelikhov's significance lies in his role as the founder of the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska, which laid the groundwork for Russian colonization of the region. His Shelikhov-Golikov Company was the direct predecessor of the Russian-American Company, a state-sponsored monopoly that dominated Russian fur trading in North America. However, his legacy is deeply controversial due to the 1784 Awa'uq Massacre, where his forces killed hundreds of Alutiiq people, including women and children, and took hostages to force submission. This event marked a violent beginning to permanent Russian presence in Alaska. Shelikhov's name endures in geographical features such as a gulf in the Sea of Okhotsk, a strait between Alaska and Kodiak Island, a bay on Kruzof Island, and a town in Irkutsk Oblast. A statue of him stands in his native Rylsk. His hiring of Alexandr Baranov in 1790 ensured the continuation of his enterprise, which eventually became the Russian-American Company under his son-in-law Nikolai Rezanov.

Did You Know?

• Shelikhov's forces killed hundreds of Alutiiq, including women and children, in the 1784 Awa'uq Massacre.
• He founded the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska at Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island.
• His Shelikhov-Golikov Company was the predecessor of the Russian-American Company, founded in 1799.
• A gulf in the Sea of Okhotsk, a strait between Alaska and Kodiak Island, and a town in Irkutsk Oblast bear his name.