How Far Is Alaska From Russia? Know the Facts
Many people are surprised to learn just how close Alaska and Russia actually are. The two regions sit on opposite sides of the Bering Strait, a narrow stretch of ocean at the far northwest of North America and the far northeast of Asia.
Questions often arise about the distance between Alaska and Russia and whether you can travel between them easily. You might have heard someone quip, “Can you really see Russia from Alaska?” or wonder if it’s possible to walk or drive across when conditions are right.
In this article, we’ll explore how far is Alaska from Russia and what that means for traveling by plane, car, or water. We’ll also answer curiosities like whether you can walk between the two or see one from the other, and explain why, despite the short distance, visiting Russia from Alaska isn’t as simple as it sounds.
How Far Is Alaska From Russia at Its Closest Points
A satellite view of the Bering Strait in summer, with Russia’s mainland on the left and Alaska’s mainland on the right. The two small islands in the middle (Big Diomede and Little Diomede) are only about 2.4 miles (3.8 km) apart, marking the closest point between Russia and the United States.
At their closest point, Alaska and Russia are separated by only about 2.4 miles of water. This extremely short distance is between two small islands in the middle of the Bering Strait. On the Russian side is Big Diomede Island (also known as Imaqliq or Ratmanov Island), and on the U.S. side is Little Diomede Island.
Little Diomede Island is part of Alaska, while Big Diomede belongs to Russia. These two islands are so close together that in winter, the sea ice sometimes connects them. In fact, they’re famously separated by the International Date Line – so Big Diomede is almost a day ahead of Little Diomede despite being just a couple miles away!
Aside from these islands, the closest distance between the mainland of Alaska and the mainland of Russia is also relatively short – roughly 55 miles (88 kilometers) at the narrowest gap. That gap is between Cape Prince of Wales in western Alaska and Cape Dezhnev in far eastern Russia.
Fifty-five miles of ocean is all that divides the two great land masses at their nearest mainland points. This geography surprises many people, considering Alaska and Russia seem so far apart on most world maps.
How Far Is Alaska From Russia by Plane?
In terms of air travel, the distance between Alaska and Russia can be very short. If you could take a direct flight on a small plane from western Alaska to eastern Russia at the closest point, it would be a quick hop.
For example, the flight distance from Nome, Alaska to Provideniya, Russia (a small town in Chukotka, just across the Bering Strait) is only around 150–250 miles (about 240–400 kilometers) depending on the route.
A direct flight between those two towns could take under an hour. This means that by plane, Russia is literally minutes away from Alaska! In the past, there have even been special charter flights and small airline routes operating between Nome and Russian Far East towns like Provideniya or Anadyr.
However, there are no regular commercial flights between Alaska and Russia at present. Large passenger airlines do not have scheduled routes from Alaska’s big airports (like Anchorage or Fairbanks) directly into Russia.
If you search for flights, you won’t find an Alaska-to-Russia flight on major carriers. Travelers who want to go from Alaska to Russia typically have to fly a much longer route, usually connecting through another country.
For instance, someone might fly from Anchorage to Seattle or Los Angeles, then catch a flight to Tokyo or Seoul, and finally fly into Moscow or another Russian city. This is obviously a far greater distance (thousands of miles) compared to the tiny hop across the Bering Strait.
Why Can’t You Fly from Alaska to Russia?
Given how geographically close Alaska and Russia are, it’s natural to ask: why can’t you just fly directly from Alaska to Russia? The simple answer is that politics and practicalities get in the way, even though the distance is small.
During the Cold War era, the border between Alaska (USA) and the Soviet Union (now Russia) was essentially closed – often referred to as the “Ice Curtain.” Direct travel was not permitted. In the late 1980s, there were symbolic “friendship flights” that briefly opened the route, and after the Soviet Union’s collapse, some limited travel resumed. A small airline in Alaska even started offering charter flights across the Bering Strait.
However, Russian government restrictions make trips to the Chukotka region (the part of Russia closest to Alaska) complicated. Chukotka is considered a “closed” border region, meaning foreign visitors need special permission to enter, in addition to a Russian visa.
Organizing these permits can take a long time (sometimes months) and involves a lot of red tape. For an airline to run regular flights, they would need to ensure every passenger has the right permissions, which is not easy for routine travel.
On top of that, demand for flights is very low. The communities on both sides of the Bering Strait are small and remote. Most travelers between the U.S. and Russia are going to major cities, not tiny villages, so there isn’t a big commercial incentive for airlines to serve this route. A few adventurous travelers or local indigenous community visits aren’t enough to fill a Boeing or even a small commuter plane regularly.
Furthermore, due to recent international tensions and sanctions (for example, the deterioration of U.S.-Russia relations in the 2020s), direct travel links have been suspended.
American airlines currently do not fly to Russia at all, and Russian airspace is off-limits for many Western carriers. Even the niche charter flights from Alaska have been put on hold for now because of these issues.
How Far Is Alaska From Russia by Car?
Traveling by car from Alaska to Russia is an adventure that captures the imagination – after all, on a map it looks like you could almost drive across the gap. But in reality, you cannot drive from Alaska to Russia directly.
The main obstacle is the Bering Strait, the body of water between the two. At its narrowest, this strait is about 55 miles across, and there are no roads, bridges, or tunnels connecting the two continents. If you’re thinking about distance “by car,” you’d have to account for a journey that includes a big water crossing, which cars obviously can’t do on their own.
Let’s consider the scenario: The road system in Alaska ends long before you reach the westernmost point. The last Alaskan town on the mainland near the Bering Strait is called Wales (near Cape Prince of Wales), and there’s no highway that goes all the way there from the rest of Alaska – the area is extremely remote.
On the Russian side, the easternmost point (Cape Dezhnev area) is also a remote tundra with no major roads connecting it to the rest of Russia’s highway network. So even before the water, you’d be dealing with trackless wilderness.
Even in winter, driving is not feasible. Some people might wonder if the ocean freezes enough to create an ice road for vehicles. While the Bering Strait does develop sea ice in winter, it’s not stable, solid land – it’s constantly shifting ice floes with open gaps of water.
It would be incredibly dangerous to attempt to drive a car or even a snowmobile over the frozen strait. The ice can crack or drift, and weather conditions are brutal. There have been no official attempts to establish any kind of ice bridge for vehicles.
So, by car the distance is moot – there is no drivable route for the roughly 55 miles of ocean between Alaska and Russia. The only theoretical way to do it would be to ship your car by boat across the strait or perhaps take a completely different long way around the globe (for instance, driving through Canada to reach a Russian-accessible ferry, which is not practical).
How Far Is Alaska From Russia by Water?
If driving isn’t possible, what about traveling by water? The distance by water at the closest point is about 55 miles, as mentioned earlier. This is the span you would need to cross by boat or ship to get from one side to the other at the Bering Strait’s narrowest part. In theory, a journey of 55 miles over water is not that great – experienced boaters cover such distances routinely. So, can you take a ferry or boat from Alaska to Russia?
Currently, there are no official ferry services or passenger boats that run between Alaska and Russia. Unlike some other international straits (for example, those in Europe where ferries connect countries across water), the Bering Strait has no such infrastructure. The reasons are partly the low population and demand, and partly political.
There simply aren’t cities on each side that would generate regular ferry passengers. Also, both governments would have to agree on establishing an international port of entry there, which hasn’t happened.
That said, it is physically possible to cross the Bering Strait by boat under the right conditions. Adventurers have done it in the past. Small expeditions have used sea kayaks, canoes, or even jet skis to travel from Alaska to Russia or vice versa during calm summer weather
If one were to take a private boat from Alaska to Russia, aside from the distance, they’d have to deal with harsh weather and currents in the Bering Sea. Fog, sudden storms, and cold water make this a risky voyage for anyone not properly equipped.
And importantly, upon reaching the other side, you can’t just come ashore freely – you’d be arriving without going through an official port of entry, which is illegal. In fact, there was a recent incident where two people from Russia sailed a small boat to Alaska (to escape a military draft) and landed on a remote Alaskan island.
They were promptly taken into custody by U.S. authorities because that’s not a sanctioned entry point. Similarly, if you boated from Alaska to the Russian side unannounced, you could be detained for entering illegally.
In summary, by water Alaska is about 50–55 miles from Russia at the closest crossing, a distance that a boat could cover in a day. But no regular water transport exists for ordinary travelers, and any attempt would require careful planning, safety precautions, and legal clearances. For now, the waters between Alaska and Russia remain a barrier that is only occasionally and daringly crossed by adventurous souls.
Can You Walk from Alaska to Russia?
Considering the short distance between the Diomede Islands (just 2.4 miles), a bold question arises: Can you walk from Alaska to Russia? Surprisingly, yes – in theory, you could walk between Alaska and Russia at certain times of the year, but it’s not simple or safe.
Each winter, when temperatures drop far enough, the Bering Strait develops sea ice. In particularly cold winters, an ice bridge forms between Little Diomede Island (Alaska) and Big Diomede Island (Russia).
This means the narrow gap of water becomes frozen solid or at least filled with packed ice floes. At those times, it is technically possible to walk across the ice from one island to the other. In other words, an intrepid person could start on U.S. soil and walk to Russian soil on frozen sea.
However, “possible” does not mean “permissible” or “safe.” Walking from Alaska to Russia across the ice would be extremely dangerous and illegal. The sea ice is unpredictable – it can crack, shift, or break up due to currents and winds even in very cold conditions.
You could be stranded on drifting ice or fall into frigid water. The risk of hypothermia or getting trapped is high, and there is no rescue service out there ready to help a rogue ice-crosser.
A few adventurers throughout history have attempted crossings on foot (or by sled) when the strait froze. Some have succeeded in reaching the other side, only to be promptly arrested because they entered the country without permission. Both the United States and Russia treat the Bering Strait as an international border.
There are no official border stations on the ice – of course not – so walking across is considered an unauthorized border crossing. During the Cold War, nobody would have dared; nowadays, anyone who tries can expect legal consequences. For example, Russian border guards have detained individuals who showed up on the Chukotka coast after trekking over the ice.
For the average person, walking from Alaska to Russia is not a viable or legal method of travel. It makes for an interesting bit of trivia that you could walk between the two countries when the conditions allow, but attempting it is strongly discouraged. It’s much wiser (and safer) to use proper channels – get a visa, and take a plane – if one wishes to travel between these two far-north neighbors.
Can You See Russia from Alaska?
The idea that you can see Russia from Alaska entered popular culture some years ago, and it turns out there is a nugget of truth to it. Can you see Russia from Alaska? The answer is yes – but only from extremely remote parts of Alaska, not from the mainland’s big cities. If you are standing in the right spot, you really can gaze out and see Russian land on the horizon.
The most famous spot for this is Little Diomede Island in Alaska. As we mentioned, Little Diomede is just a couple of miles away from Russia’s Big Diomede Island. Residents of Little Diomede (there is a small native village there) can easily see the cliffs of Big Diomede across the water.
On a clear day, it’s unmistakable – that landmass on the horizon is Russia. In fact, from the western shore of Little Diomede, the Russian island is so close that you can even make out details like rocky slopes.
So, if “seeing Russia from Alaska” is your goal, theoretically you’d have to travel to Little Diomede to do it, which itself is an adventure (you’d need to get there by charter flight or helicopter from mainland Alaska).
What about from the Alaskan mainland? At the very tip of mainland Alaska, near Wales (the village on Cape Prince of Wales), you are about 55 miles from the nearest Russian coast. Fifty-five miles is quite far for the naked eye.
Due to the Earth’s curvature, you generally cannot see something that’s dozens of miles away at sea level. Even though Russia is out there to the west, an observer standing on the Alaskan beach isn’t going to see the Russian mainland with unaided eyes.
However, from elevated points or with very clear atmospheric conditions, people have reported seeing the outline of Big Diomede Island or the shimmer of the Russian mountains from the Alaskan side. It’s not something you’d notice casually – certainly not from Anchorage or any populated area – but from the far western tip on a perfect day, a faint view might be possible.
The popular joke about seeing Russia from one’s house in Alaska was a humorous exaggeration. In reality, only in the far western Aleutian Islands and the Bering Strait region can Alaska “see” Russia. Interestingly, from Big Diomede (Russia), there are no permanent inhabitants, and it’s essentially a military outpost.
On that side, looking towards Little Diomede, Russians can indeed see the U.S. as well – it’s the mirror image view. For most Alaskans (and Russians), though, the other country is out of sight and out of mind in day-to-day life. It’s fascinating to know that at one pinpoint in the world, the two countries are close enough for a direct line of sight across the waves.
Conclusion
Alaska and Russia are separated by geography, politics, and history – yet at one place they are only a stone’s throw apart. The question of “how far is Alaska from Russia” has many answers depending on how you look at it.
In pure distance, the gap is incredibly small, just a few miles at the narrowest point between Little Diomede and Big Diomede Islands. By plane, a short flight could connect the two in less than an hour, but travel is restricted and no commercial flights bridge that gap today.
By car, the journey is impossible due to the lack of infrastructure and a 55-mile water barrier. By boat, one could cross the water in a matter of hours, yet no ferry or official vessel will take you, and the voyage can be perilous.
Walking is something only the ice and one’s daring (or desperation) would allow, and it remains a forbidden path. And yes, under the right conditions, an Alaskan can peer out and literally see the coast of Russia.
