Hey everyone. This is Gary. I'm off this week traveling and attending a conference and while I'm away I've lined up some vintage episodes and deep cuts that most of you probably haven't heard before and even if you have heard, a refresher never hurts.

I'll be back again with brand new episodes on January 30th.

In 1867, United States Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with the Empire of Russia

to purchase the territory of what would be called Alaska.

The United States purchased it for two cents an acre.

At the time it was called one of the worst deals in American history.

Today it's considered the greatest bargain of all time. Learn more about the purchase of

Alaska on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. The Russian presence in the Americas dates back to the early 18th century.

Traders and merchants who spread across

Siberia just kept going when they reached the Pacific Ocean. If Siberia was

distant from the Russian population centers in Europe, then Alaska was really far away. In fact, it earned the nickname

Siberia's Siberia. Russia's interest in Alaska was in furs and trapping. The sea otter was of primary interest

to the few Russians who bothered to settle.

Most Russian efforts in the region in the 18th century were never really serious.

In 1799, the Russian crown established the Russian American Company, Russia's first joint stock corporation.

The company was organized along the lines of other European companies such as the British and

Dutch East India companies.

The Russians mostly stayed close to the coast and didn't establish

any camps or towns in the interior. Their primary goal was to dominate trade in

the North Pacific and they even set up forts as far away as California and Hawaii. However, none of these

attempts at colonization in the Americas was ever very successful. Due to

the sheer distance of Alaska from St. Petersburg. Transportation costs were enormous.

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