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RE: Hoar Frost #club100
Hah! Yes, the Russians sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million dollars. If they hadn't Great Britain would probably have just taken it from them and now it would be a part of Canada.
What did the Tsar spend the money on? A new castle? :-P
The tsar practically gave Alaska away for nothing. Alaska was almost ungovernable from St. Petersburg at the time. So he made the right move. Otherwise, people would simply have told the tsar - we are leaving you. But in a more crude form.
It wasn't nothing at the time. $7million was a lot of cash back then. And the Americans mocked the idea. They called it "Seward's folly" and thought it was a ridiculous waste of money. Seward was the (US Secretary of State). They also called it "President Johnson's polar bear garden".
In hindsight, it was a good deal for both parties. At least Russia got the money because it really is true that Great Britain would have annexed it for themselves. It is the only reason why the Americans were willing to pay what they did for it.