Y’know, looking at the map, it actually would make more sense if Alaska were part of Canada . . . but, I can’t imagine any AH scenario where the Russians would have sold it to their Great-Game imperial rivals the British.
Russia never had a very high regard for Alaska. It sold the colony to the United States as a pay-off for diplomatic support during the American Civil War. America paid what was seen as a highly inflated price for worthless land as cover for paying off the Russians for their help.
In an AH world, a similar deal might have happened in the early twentieth century, when Russia, Britain, and France resolved their various colonial disputes in the face of the growing German threat. Britain could have bought Alaska as a means of funneling money to Russia.
Remember that at the time Alaska was sold, there wasn’t any gold, timber, oil, or even fisheries. Yes, there was whaling, but anyone could sail to Alaska and harvest whales. Even the fur trade was severely depressed due to overharvesting.
There never were very many Russians in Alaska, and they were constantly trying to keep out British/Canadians and Americans. Russia sold off Alaska because it was worthless, it cost money to administer, and they were unlikely to be able to hold on to in in the face of Canadian or American expansion.
Granted, any Russian sale of Alaska in the early 20th century would have to include the proviso that either its resources hadn’t been discovered or had already been extracted.
Help Help I’ve been trying for years to find that book which I reckon I read in the 80s or 90s, was it Forsyth or Ludlum and what is the name of it please?
I’ve almost exhausted efforts to find out.
I cannot find it in any description of plot on internet such as wikipedic and hoping someone can tell me so I can read it again.
Please and thankyou.
From your description I guess this
But it would not have changed the things that led to the revolution – the extremely class-ridden society of Russia, and the incompetence and stupidity of the Tsar’s court and government.