Russia Sold Alaska to America for $7.2 Million — So Why Did It Give Up So Much Land?

In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million — roughly two cents per acre. Critics called it "Seward's Folly" and "Andrew Johnson's Polar Bear Garden." But buried beneath that ice was gold, oil, natural gas, and the most strategically important military real estate in the Western Hemisphere. Prudhoe Bay alone has pumped over 17 billion barrels of oil. During the Cold War, Alaska became America's first line of nuclear defense against the Soviet Union — the very nation that sold it. So why did Russia voluntarily give up a landmass more than twice the size of Texas? This is the full story — from Vitus Bering's deadly 1741 expedition, to the collapse of the Russian fur trade, to the Crimean War that bankrupted an empire, to the midnight negotiation that changed the map of the world forever. Russia didn't sell Alaska because it was worthless. They sold it because they were broke, overstretched, and terrified of losing it to the British for free. What they didn't know was that they were handing over one of the most valuable pieces of land in human history. If you enjoy deep dives into the hidden forces behind history's biggest deals, make sure to like, subscribe, and hit the bell so you never miss a video. #Alaska #Russia #History #Geopolitics #SewardFolly #AlaskaPurchase #ColdWar #OilIndustry #ArcticStrategy #AmericanHistory #RussianEmpire #PrudhoeBay #GoldRush #Documentary #Finance #Empire #PowerAndMoney #HistoryExplained