Vitus Bering undertook an expedition on behalf of the Russian Navy in 1741 and made the first European contact with Alaska.He brought high quality sea otter pelts back to Russia with him. This started a rush from Siberia towards Alaska resulting in a permanent European (Russian) settlement in 1784.
Yes, Alaska was previously owned by Russia. It was (officially) purchased in 1867 by the US via William Seward. The purchase of Alaska for 7.2 million dollars was viewed as … Seward's Folly because no one saw any financial reason for the purchase. One could argue that this label was lifted when both gold and large quantities of oil were discovered in the state. Russia has had a policy of expansion for hundreds of years. This expansion was markedly increased under Peter I (The Great), and Catherine II (The Great) especially. Vitus Bering undertook an expedition on behalf of the Russian Navy in 1741 and made the first European contact with Alaska. He brought high quality sea otter pelts back to Russia with him. This started a rush from Siberia towards Alaska resulting in a permanent European (Russian) settlement in 1784.  Report Abuse. On the grand scale Alaska was owned by the Russian Empire until it was purchased and owned by the U.S. There was probably some negotiation between the U.S. and Canada to tinker with and set the exact boundaries. Immigration and major business activity was not always tightly controlled by the country claiming ownership.  That is why Russia decided to sell Alaska. In late March of 1867 Russia’s envoy to the US, Eduard Stoeckl, and the US Secretary of State William Henry Seward signed a deal on the Alaska purchase. The territory of more than 1.5 million square km was sold for $7.2 million ($120 million in today’s dollars). The sum was transferred to the Rothschilds. The 1867 Treaty of Cession, in which the United States purchased Alaska from the Russian empire, marked an unusually peaceful transition. The purchase of Alaska was done under amicable circumstances, and both Russia and the U.S. felt they gained from the Treaty. In this lesson, students use primary sources from Russia and the U.S. to examine the respective Russian and American rationales for agreeing to the sale. March 30, 1867 Secretary of State William H. Seward agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million on March 30, 1867 The US $7.2 million check used to pay for Alaska ($121 million in 2015 dollars). The Alaska Purchase was the United States' acquisition of Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the United States Senate. Russia wanted to sell its Alaskan territory, fearing that it might be seized if war broke out with Britain. With the purchase of Alaska, negotiated by Secretary Seward, the United States acquired an area twice as large as Texas, but it was not until the great Klondike gold strike in 1896 that Alaska came to be seen generally as a valuable addition to American territory. April 20, 2014 Georgy Manaev, RBTH. In 1867, Russia sold the territory of Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million. A mere 50 years later, the Americans had earned that amount back 100 times over. How could the imperial officials have given up such a choice parcel? Best Answer: Alaska was purchased from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million ($113 million in today's dollars) at about two cents acre The first European contact with Alaska occurred in 1741, when Vitus Bering led an expedition for the Russian Navy aboard the St. Peter. Sitka, renamed New Archangel from 1804 to 1867, on Baranof Island in the Alexander Archipelago in what is now the Alaska panhandle became the capital of Russian America and remained the capital after the colony was transferred to the United States. On March 30, 1867, the United States reached an agreement to purchase Alaska from Russia for a price of $7.2 million. The Treaty with Russia was negotiated and signed by Secretary of State William Seward and Russian Minister to the United States Edouard de Stoeckl. Critics of the deal to purchase Alaska called it Sewards Folly or Sewards Icebox.. Opposition to the purchase of Alaska subsided with the Klondike Gold Strike in 1896. The purchase of Alaska was done under amicable circumstances, and both Russia and the U.S. felt they gained from the Treaty. In this lesson, students use primary sources from Russia and the U.S. to examine the respective Russian and American rationales for agreeing to the sale.
http://www.answers.com/Q/When_did_Russia_own_Alaska http://www.answers.com/Q/How_did_Russia_come_to_own_Alaska https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090918100537AArYA9c http://sputniknews.com/voiceofrussia/2012_03_30/70148263/ http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alaska.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Purchase http://rbth.com/arts/2014/04/20/why_did_russia_sell_alaska_to_the_united_states_36061.html https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110116172637AA99ssK http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alaska.html
how did russia own alaska