Why Russia Sold Alaska For Pennies (The Real Reason)

In 1867, the Russian Empire made a decision that would haunt them for the next 150 years. They sold 586,000 square miles of territory—the size of Texas, California, and Montana combined—to the United States for a check of $7.2 Million.

That comes out to 2 cents per acre.

At the time, the Americans were mocked for buying it. The newspapers called it "Seward's Folly" and "The Polar Bear Garden," convinced that Secretary of State William Seward had just wasted the treasury on a frozen, useless wasteland. But Russia wasn't stupid—they were desperate.

In this video, we uncover the geopolitical nightmare that forced Tsar Alexander II to sell. Crippled by debt from the disastrous Crimean War and terrified that Great Britain (their arch-rival) would simply seize Alaska for free through Canada, Russia decided to liquidate the asset while they still could. They sold it to the Americans not just for the money, but to create a "buffer zone" against the British Empire.


In this video, we breakdown:
• The Crimean Debt: How a lost war in Europe bankrupt the Russian treasury and forced a fire sale of colonial assets.
• The " British Threat": Why Russia preferred the U.S. to have Alaska rather than letting it fall into British (Canadian) hands.
• The "Icebox" Myth: Why both sides believed the land was barren, missing the trillions of dollars in Gold and Oil hiding just beneath the ice.
• The ROI: Calculating the return on investment for the U.S. (spoiler: one gold rush paid for the purchase 100x over).


Disclaimer: This video was created with the assistance of AI tools and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is a historical analysis of the 1867 Alaska Purchase.


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