The
Shelikhov-Golikov Company (SGC) was a Russian
fur trading venture, originally founded by
Irkutsk entrepreneurs
Grigory Shelikhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov in 1783. Formed in
Eastern Siberia during the 1780s along with several competing companies, the SGC had operations in
Kurile Islands and areas that later became
Russian America. Russian ventures had previously been focused on maritime operations under
promyshlenniki, though costs had continued to rise as more distant
sea otter populations had to be exploited. Centered on the
Kodiak and several
Aleutian Islands, the majority of the company's indentured laborer was recruited among the
Aleut and
Alutiiq nations. A common practice amongst Russian companies was to take hostages from various villages, to force maritime hunters to gather otter furs. Shelikhov led aggressions on Kodiak Island against the indigenous Alutiiqs in 1784, known as the
Awa'uq Massacre, where Russian employees killed over 2,000 people according to some estimates. In consequence of the massacre, the Island became fully controlled by the company.