At the turn of the 18th century, the mighty Russian Empire was just beginning to extend its influence across the Bering Sea into their newly acquired territory on their third occupied continent: North America. Spearheading this expansion eastward was the Russian American Company, which had been tasked by Emperor Pavel I with a mission to built trading relationships with the native people and expand Russia’s colonial interests in the New World. Pavlovsk (modern-day Kodiak, Alaska) and Novo Arkhangelsk (modern-day Sitka, Alaska) were established as the seats of governance in Russian America,…
