Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov (1765, Totma, Vologda Province, Arkhangelsk Governorate, 1823, Totma, Vologda Governorate) was a Russian explorer who studied Alaska and California, as well as the founder and commandant of Fort Ross in California.

He came from the merchant class of Totma. In 1787, he reached Irkutsk. On May 20, 1790, he signed an agreement with the Kargopol merchant A. A. Baranov, who lived in Irkutsk, for a maritime expedition to the American shores for the North-East Company of Golikov and Shelikhov.

From 1790, Baranov became the manager of all overseas territories of the company, which was engaged in trade and strengthening Russian positions in open lands.

Kuskov served as the governor on Kodiak Island in 1796 and 1800, in Novo-Arkhangelsk in 1806 and 1814, was the head of the Konstantinovskaya fortress in Nuchak in 1798 and 1799, managed the Russian settlement in Yakutat Bay in 1802 and 1803, and led expeditions from Yakutat Bay to Sitka Island in 1801 and 1802.

According to the plan of Rezanov and Baranov, on August 30, 1812, the Russian fortress Fort Ross was established in California, north of San Francisco Bay, 18 miles (24 kilometers) north of Bodega Bay.

Kuskov was appointed commandant of the fortress until the end of 1821. The colony developed gardens, livestock farming, and shipbuilding. An agreement was made between the company representative and the leaders of the Indian tribes, which legally secured the transfer of Russian possessions in California to the Russian-American Company.

In 1821, I. A. Kuskov retired and returned to Totma on July 4, 1823.

He is buried on the grounds of the Spaso-Sumorin Monastery. The exact burial site is unknown, but a wooden cross and an anchor have been placed at the presumed location.