You’ve probably heard the jokes. Sarah Palin famously got lampooned for a comment she didn't quite make about seeing Russia from her house, but the funny thing is, the geography behind the punchline is actually true. Alaska is close to Russia. Like, remarkably close. If you stand on the shores of Prince of Wales Cape, you are looking across a stretch of water that has defined global superpowers, indigenous migration, and even the way we tell time for centuries.
It’s not just a trivia point. It’s a geopolitical reality that feels almost tactile when you’re up there.
Most people look at a standard Mercator map and see two massive landmasses separated by a yawning chasm of blue. They see the "edge" of the world on both sides. But that’s a lie of 2D projection. In the Bering Strait, the gap between the United States and Russia shrinks down to a distance shorter than some people's morning commute. We are talking about a mere 55 miles between the mainland of Alaska’s Seward Peninsula and Russia’s Chukotka Peninsula. But even that 55-mile figure feels huge compared to the islands sitting right in the middle.
The Diomede Islands: Two and a Half Miles of Separation
If you want to understand why Alaska is close to Russia in the most literal sense, you have to look at Big Diomede and Little Diomede. These two rocky outcrops sit smack in the middle of the Bering Strait.
Big Diomede (Ostrov Ratmanova) belongs to Russia. Little Diomede (Ianaluk) belongs to the United States.
The distance between them? Roughly 2.4 miles.
Imagine that. You can sit on a porch in the village of Little Diomede—home to about 80 hardy souls—and watch the sunset over Russian territory. You’re looking at a different country, a different continent, and, weirdly enough, a different day. Because the International Date Line runs right between these two islands, Big Diomede is 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede. People call them "Yesterday Island" and "Tomorrow Island."
It’s surreal.
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The villagers in Little Diomede are mostly Inupiat. For them, the border is a relatively new invention. For thousands of years, families moved back and forth across the ice. They shared a language, a culture, and a history. Then the Cold War happened. In 1948, the "Ice Curtain" fell. Families were split. The Soviet Union relocated the indigenous population of Big Diomede to the mainland, turning the island into a military outpost. To this day, if you look across that 2.4-mile gap, you aren't looking at neighbors; you're looking at a restricted Russian military zone.
The Bering Land Bridge and Why It Matters Now
The fact that Alaska is close to Russia isn't just a quirk of modern borders. It’s the reason why humans are in the Americas at all. Roughly 20,000 years ago, during the last glacial maximum, sea levels dropped so low that a massive land bridge emerged. This wasn't a narrow strip of dirt. It was a vast sub-continent known as Beringia.
It was a highway.
Woolly mammoths, steppe bison, and the ancestors of Indigenous Americans walked across this grassy plain. They weren't "crossing a bridge" in their minds; they were just following the food. When the glaciers melted and the waters rose, the bridge vanished, leaving only the Diomede Islands as stepping stones.
Today, scientists are obsessed with this area. Why? Because the Bering Strait is one of the most productive marine ecosystems on the planet. As the Arctic ice thins, this narrow chasm is becoming a bottleneck for global shipping. If you control the strait, you control the gateway between the Pacific and the Arctic.
The "Bridge" That Never Was (And Might Never Be)
Every decade or so, some visionary or billionaire brings up the idea of a Bering Strait crossing. A bridge or a tunnel connecting Alaska and Russia. On paper, it’s a dream. You could theoretically drive from New York to London.
The engineering would be a nightmare.
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The water isn't actually that deep—only about 120 to 150 feet. That's shallow for an ocean. But the conditions are brutal. We’re talking about massive, shifting ice floes that can crush steel like a soda can. Then there's the infrastructure problem. On the Alaska side, the nearest major road ends in Nome, which is hundreds of miles away from the coast of the strait. On the Russian side, it’s even worse. You’d have to build thousands of miles of highway through permafrost and mountain ranges just to reach the tunnel entrance.
Then there's the politics. Let’s be real. Given the current state of US-Russian relations, the idea of a physical bridge is basically science fiction. The "Ice Curtain" might have softened in the 90s, but it’s definitely hardened again lately.
Walking Across the Ice: Is It Legal?
People ask this all the time: Can you walk from Alaska to Russia when the ocean freezes?
In theory? Yes. The water between the Diomedes freezes solid enough to support a human or even a dog sled. In 2006, an adventurer named Karl Bushby and his American companion Dimitri Kieffer actually did it. They walked across the frozen Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia.
They were promptly detained by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
They were nearly deported and banned from the country. It was a diplomatic mess. So, while Alaska is close to Russia physically, the legal and political distance is vast. You can't just trek across. There is no "border crossing" booth on the ice. If you try it, you’re looking at a jail cell in Anadyr.
Natural Neighbors: Wildlife Doesn't Care About Borders
While humans are restricted by visas and patrols, the wildlife in the region treats the Alaska-Russia border like it doesn't exist. Polar bears frequently roam across the pack ice between the two countries. Pacific walruses haul out on the beaches of both nations.
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In fact, the US and Russia have to work together on wildlife management. The "Shared Beringian Heritage Program" is a rare example of cooperation. It’s a recognition that the environment of Western Alaska and Eastern Russia is a single, unified system. The whales migrating through the strait don't know when they've entered Russian waters. They just follow the krill.
How to Actually See Russia From Alaska
If you want to see Russia with your own eyes, you can't just fly into Anchorage and look West. Anchorage is too far away. You have to get remote.
- Get to Nome. This is your jumping-off point. You can't drive there; you have to fly in on a jet from Anchorage.
- Charter a flight to Wales. This is the westernmost point of the American mainland. On a clear day—and "clear" is a big "if" in the foggy Bering Strait—you can see the ghost-like peaks of the Russian coast on the horizon.
- Visit Little Diomede. This is the Holy Grail. It requires a helicopter ride (usually for mail and supplies) or a very sketchy boat trip. From the village, Big Diomede is right there. It’s looming. It’s massive. It feels like you could throw a rock and hit it.
The Strategic Importance of the Gap
Why should we care that Alaska is close to Russia today? Because the Arctic is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world.
As the ice disappears, the Bering Strait is becoming a "choke point." Think of it like the Strait of Malacca or the Suez Canal. All the ship traffic coming from China and Japan heading to Europe via the Northern Sea Route has to pass through this tiny gap between Alaska and Russia.
The US Coast Guard and the Russian Border Guard are constantly monitoring this area. It’s a high-stakes game of observation. We’re seeing more "interceptions" of aircraft and more naval exercises in these waters than we have since the height of the 1980s.
Practical Reality Check
If you're planning a trip to experience the proximity, keep your expectations in check.
- The weather is the boss. You can spend a week in Wales and see nothing but white-out fog.
- It’s expensive. A flight from Anchorage to Nome is one thing, but bush planes to the coast are pricey.
- There are no facilities. This isn't a tourist trap. There are no gift shops selling "I saw Russia" mugs in the village of Wales. It’s raw, subsistence-living territory.
Actionable Steps for the Curious:
- Check the webcam: The University of Alaska Fairbanks often maintains cameras in the Arctic. Sometimes you can catch a glimpse of the strait in real-time without the $2,000 plane ticket.
- Study the "Bering Strait Transit Agreement": If you are a member of the indigenous population with family across the border, there are specific (though currently strained) rules for visa-free travel.
- Monitor the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): If you want to see when the "bridge" of ice actually forms, their daily satellite maps show exactly how much water remains between the two continents.
- Read "The Right to Be Cold" by Sheila Watt-Cloutier: To understand the human side of this geography, this book provides an incredible look at how the changing climate and borders affect the people living in the North.
Alaska and Russia are neighbors by a thread of water and a shared history of ice. Whether it's through the lens of a telescope on Little Diomede or a satellite tracking a polar bear, the proximity is a constant reminder that the world is much smaller—and much more interconnected—than we often realize.