A little over 150 years ago, on October 18, 1867, the Russian Empire sold its holdings in North America. This unconsidered decision – as it is now seen by many of our contemporaries – was influenced by several factors, the main of which was the fear of losing Alaska without any benefits at all. Russia's position on the international arena after losing the Crimean War was rather unstable, and the revenues from remote ownership turned out to be small.
Much has changed since then, and a negative opinion about the sale of Alaska firmly established in Russia, while in the United States this acquisition is considered to be undoubtedly successful. It is funny, but a century and a half ago, many Americans had a different opinion. Not so big of a sum of $ 7,200,000 was considered to be too high, and President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward were heavily criticized. Time, of course, put everything in the right place.
