"One hundred forty-five years ago today, on March 30, 1867, Russia sold Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to the US. Since then many Russians have been wondering why their government made such a decision. Sergei Sayenko attempts to answer the question.
Let us first have a look at the history. Discovered in 1732 by a Russian expedition led by Mikhail Gvozdyov and Ivan Fedorov, Alaska remained the only North American land owned by Russia. The development of Alaska`s territory was supervised by private investors and not the government. Before 1867 Alaska had been owned by the special state-sponsored Russian-American Company. After serfdom was abolished in Russia in 1861, to compensate landowners Emperor Alexander II had to borrow £15 million from the Rothschilds. But Russia had no money to pay off the debt. And then Alexander`s younger brother Konstantin suggested selling something Russia did not need much."
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