Commander Islands

Lore & Background

The Commander Islands were named after Commander Vitus Bering, whose ship St. Peter wrecked on Bering Island in 1741 during his return from Alaska. Bering died there, and about half the crew survived the winter thanks to the abundance of wildlife and the efforts of naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, who treated scurvy with seaweed. The survivors built a boat from the wreck and returned to Kamchatka with valuable sea otter pelts, sparking the Russian fur rush into Alaska.

In 1825, the Russian-American Company relocated Aleut (Unangan) people from the Aleutian Islands to the Commander Islands for the seal trade. Aleuts from Atka Island settled on Bering Island, and those from Attu Island settled on Medny Island. A mixed language, Mednyj Aleut, developed, combining Aleut roots with Russian verb inflection. Today, the population is about two-thirds Russian and one-third Aleut.

The islands' natural history includes the only known habitat of Steller's sea cow, a large sirenian hunted to extinction within 27 years of its discovery in 1741. The islands also host significant populations of northern fur seals, Steller sea lions, sea otters, and many whale species. The spectacled cormorant, a large flightless bird, was driven to extinction by around 1850.

Reader's Guide

The Commander Islands hold significance as a remote outpost of Russian territory in the North Pacific, bridging the Aleutian chain and serving as a key site for the fur trade that drove Russian expansion into Alaska. Their ecological importance is underscored by the Komandorsky Zapovednik, a strictly protected wilderness covering most of the land and adjacent marine habitat, nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005. The islands are a haven for marine mammals, including stable populations of sea otters and large rookeries of northern fur seals and Steller sea lions, as well as critical habitat for threatened whale species and over a million seabirds. The islands also represent a unique cultural blend, with a mixed Russian-Aleut population and the development of the Mednyj Aleut language. The extinction of Steller's sea cow and the spectacled cormorant serves as a historical caution about human impact on isolated ecosystems. Modern lichen surveys have identified the islands as a regional center of diversity for Teloschistales, suggesting the Aleutian Arc may act as a dispersal corridor for some species between North America and Asia.

Did You Know?

• The Commander Islands are the westernmost of the Aleutian Islands, separated from the closest US island, Attu Island, by 333 km.
• Steller's sea cow, a sirenian over 4,000 kg, was hunted to extinction within 27 years of its discovery in 1741 on Bering Island.
• The only permanently inhabited settlement is Nikolskoye on Bering Island, with an estimated population of 613 in 2009.
• The islands have no true forest; vegetation is dominated by lichens, mosses, and marshy plants.