Pro-Kremlin Company Plants 'Return Alaska' Petition on White House Website

A petition calling for the return of Alaska to Russia, signed by more than 35,000 people, was uploaded to the White House website by pro-Kremlin supporters, claims the Moscow Times.

The newspaper said Russian organisation Government Communication G2C uploaded the petition calling for the "secession of Alaska from the US and [to] Russia".

Alexander Zhukov, company director assistant, claimed the petition - which needed to achieve 100,000 signatures before coming to the attention of legislators - was only uploaded to prove that anyone could post anything on the White House website.

"The objective of the petition is not to bring Alaska back to Russia," said Zhukov.

"Our goal is to show the White House that its petition system is a flawed democratic tool that allows anybody to ask for anything. We understand that this is not plausible."

The petition, and its increasing popularity however, comes at a time when the international community has beome increasingly wary of Russian expansionism.

Alaska, which is rich in natural resources, was sold to the US for $7.2 million in 1867 in a deal that Russians still consider to be a huge mistake by the Tsarist autocracy.

Only four kilometres separates Russia's Big Diomede Island from Alaska's Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait.

Following the Crimea referendum, popular mock-up photos have emerged online of protesting "Alaskan" penguins holding Russian placards that state "Crimea is ours", "Alaska is next", and "Only Putin".