In a move that may rattle some Russia-watchers in the US, the Russian Defense Ministry suggested establishing a new holiday, the Russian America Day. The new honorary date may be set in Russia as soon as 2020.
Imperial Russia was one of European nations that went to explore and colonize the New World. Geography dictated that its primary interest was in North America’s Pacific Coast, with Russian settlements dotting Alaska and going as far as Fort Ross in California and Fort Elizabeth in Hawaii.
The Russian-American Company, which was created in 1799, served as the vehicle for spreading Russian interests in North America, first on behalf of big Siberian merchants and later directed by the imperial military and civilian bureaucracy.
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