MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS Correspondent Viktoria Melnikova/. Russian and US travelers plan a seaplane expedition along the Alaska - Siberia Air Route (ALSIB), co-organizer of the Baikal - Alaska: in the Footsteps of ALSIB expedition, businessman and traveler Anatoly Kazakevich told TASS.
The ALSIB air route was used to ferry to the USSR from the US about 8,000 aircraft: fighters, bombers, training and transport aircraft as part of the Lend-Lease program.
"Together with my friend, a pilot, we've prepared the Baikal -Alaska: in the Footsteps of ALSIB expedition. In July 2026, we will fly on six Russian-made seaplanes along the famous Alaska-Siberia air route, to return to Irkutsk. As far as I know, nobody has done this since August 1945. Requirements for participants are tough, including shared values such as patriotism and service to the Fatherland. This expedition is an act of public diplomacy, to study history, to learn the geography of Russia's east and the United States' Alaska. <…> We want to reiterate that Russia and the United States may be true allies, and this experience of mutual assistance is our true history," he said.
The organizers have structured the route and refueling locations: Irkutsk - Kirensk - Yakutsk - Magadan - Anadyr - Providence Bay - Nome (the US) - Fairbanks - Anchorage - Kodiak - Sitka, and back.
Major cities will host air shows and presentations. The departure will be from Irkutsk. The return route will be 20,000 km long. The expedition, which will continue for about one month, will include conferences on ALSIB's history and the history of cities, and meetings with people and networking. The upcoming Threads of Friendship conference is scheduled for November 21.
The expedition's idea has emerged from a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the US President Donald Trump in Alaska in August 2025, the co-organizer said.
"This is a clear sign that we need to support the presidents and build relations between people. Right, right now, the sky over Alaska is closed to Russia, but experts from Alaska have confirmed the common project is possible and interesting. The US pilots, reporters, and travelers have confirmed their participation, and the organizing committee has the international status. More than 150 people have joined the initiative over a few weeks.<...> The US has formed an initiative group, led by Jeff Geer, the Bravo 369 Flight Foundation's president and executive director. The initiative group features Paul Fuhs (Northern Forum, Alaska), well-known journalist Scott Ritter, and others. The seaplanes' owners have confirmed participation. An important result of this project will be a film created by a joint international team of best of the best, and we have been negotiating with directors," he added.
Repeating merchants' route on inflatable catamaran
For Anatoly, the Baikal - Alaska: in the Footsteps of ALSIB expedition is not the first journey. In 2017 - 2019, he organized the Baikal - Alaska expedition to repeat the route of Siberian merchants.
That expedition covered more than 15,000 km on the Iskatel ocean-class sailing and motor catamaran within three summer seasons and five and a half months of running time from Irkutsk, where the Russian-American Company was located, to Sitka, the former capital of Russian America. After the expedition, all collected information has been presented at the Baikal - Alaska Park Hotel on the Angara River. The exposition focuses on the common history of Russia and the United States.
About ALSIB
The route's American part began in Great Falls (Montana) and ended in Nome (Alaska).
The Soviet section began in the village of Uelkal (Chukotka) and ended in Krasnoyarsk.
The route from Fairbanks (Alaska) to Krasnoyarsk was more than 6,500km long.
Famous polar pilot Vasily Molokov designed the route.