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The United States of America agreed to buy Alaska from Emperor Alexander II of Russia on March 20, 1867, for about $7.2 million dollars. A little known fact is that the Russians also agreed to forgive a debt of around $5 million dollars that the US owed them from the revolutionary and civil wars. The United States actually took possession of Alaska on October 18, 1867.

China and England also were interested in purchasing Alaska, and are even rumored to have offered better prices. However, Russia didn't want China to have direct access to a fur-producing land (the main export to the Orient from Russia was Siberian furs) and Russia was afraid that England was colonizing too much of the world, and selling them Alaska was literally inviting them to their doorstep.

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13y ago
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14y ago

It was purchased for 7.2 million dollars from Russia in 1867.

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Q: When and how did you get Alaska?
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