An international controversy is brewing over the proposed renaming of the Russian Fort Elizabeth State Historical Park on Kaua’i to “Pa’ula’ula/Fort Elizabeth.” A book by UH-Hilo’s Dr. Peter Mills–Hawai’i’s Russian Adventure: A New Look at Old History (UH Press, 2002)–clarifies that the fort was built by Hawaiians as part of King Kaumuali’i’s own residential compound in 1816-1817, when Kaumuali’i formed an alliance with Dr. George Anton Schaffer of the Russian-American Company (RAC). Dr. Mills explains the ongoing controversy that has prompted the Russian Ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly, Anatanov, and thousands of Russians and Russian-Americans to protest the proposed renaming of this historic site on Hawai’i Island.

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