Alaska Purchase Wikipedia page tells that “having faced a catastrophic defeat in the Crimean War, Moscow began exploring the possibility of selling the state’s Alaskan possessions.”
One can say that the USA received an incredible bargain ONLY thanks to the courage and sacrifices of the British and French leadership and soldiers.
Moscow had to sell Alaska so relatively cheaply for two reasons:
- They feared that Britain would just seize it through Canada.
- They also found it useless and chose better to sell it rather watchching the enemy take it.
The Crimean War started on March 27, 1854: Parallels to current Russia’s War on Ukraine >
Crimea, or ancient Taurica has a much deeper relation to Kyiv Rus than many realize. The “Gardariki, Ukraine” ebook takes a new perspective on the topic.
Curiously, the US$7.2 million check used to pay for Alaska was composed in English and French. Why not Russian? It is because that ‘great language’ was considered a simple people’s language and too rude to use in court in that ’empire’. The language of the Muscovite ‘elite’ was French. In fact, Russian is a dialect of Ukrainian language, – famous lexicographer Vladimir Dal concluded.
