How have the relations between the United States of America and Russia changed since 1776

Figure 1. The official 7.2 million dollar check purchasing Alaska.

Relations between the United States and the Russian Empire and what eventually became the Soviet Union, and then back to Russia, have evolved tremendously since 1776. Even at the height of the Cold War, the relationship was often complex and sometimes involved cooperation. Russia also gave the United States some of its most significant and valuable territories.

Early Relationship

The earliest official relationship between the United States and Russia began in 1776, very soon after the Declaration of Independence. Russia was generally positive and supportive of the colonial revolt against Great Britain. Officially, Russia wanted to avoid conflict with Britain and declared neutrality but saw the benefits of weakening Great Britain and unofficially supported the revolt. Catherine the Great did genuinely feel that Britain was to blame for the war. She created a neutrality declaration in the war that also allowed trade between the warring states and Russia.

Great Britain did try to bribe the Russians, by giving them the island of Menorca in the Mediterranean, in joining the war against the Americans, but Russia refused. Catherine did refuse to formally recognize the United States during the war, refusing the request of the American ambassador Francis Dana sent to talk to Catherine to supporting the new United States.

While privately supporting the American Revolution, as a way to weaken Britain, Russia also worried about the effect of the revolution on its population, which was still bound by the strict policies of serfdom. Some historians suggest the American Revolution inspired the Decembrist revolt that took place in 1825. Military officers led a revolt military officers against Tsar Nicholas I. At the time, Russia was generally embroiled in European politics and mostly ignored events in North America. Russia only sought to expand its trade presence in Alaska and parts of the western areas of North America to capitalize on the lucrative fur trade. The concerns of the Tsarist Regime were because in 1917, during the Russian Revolution, the leaders of the rebellion cited the American Revolution as an inspiration for their revolt.

The next significant events did not occur until the American Civil War. Before this time and after, Russian immigrants, mostly Jews, did begin to arrive in the United States. The Russian Empire formally supported the Union side during the Civil War, once again as a move to counter Great Britain. The worry for Russia was Britain would join the South and weaken the United States. Russia's formal support of the Union may have swayed the British not to support the South, as Great Britain would not have wanted to start a war with Russia at the time soon after the Crimea War (1853-1856), which was costly to Russia and Great Britain.

In 1868, William Seward, the Secretary of State for the United States, helped organize the purchase of Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million dollars (Figure 1). Russia, at this time, was still recovering from the Crimea War and needed money to finance its recovery. This led to their desire to sell Alaska to the United States. Previously, Alaska had been essential for the fur trade, but by this time many otters and beavers were hunted almost to extinction, and it became much less profitable. Russia also saw it as a way to counter the British because it put the United States in a position to block Great Britain, via Canada, which they ruled at the time, from occupying the region.

Already in the 1850s, the Russians had considered selling Alaska to the United States. Seward thought trade with Asia would eventually be essential for the United States and he saw Alaska as a base for which to use for trade. Some derided his decision, calling it famously "Seward's Folly." Even though Russia and the United States now were near each other in Alaska, there were only minor contacts through the early 20th century. Both countries were interested in expanding their interests elsewhere. The United States did get involved in brokering the treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War in the Treaty of Portsmouth.

The Fall of the Russian Empire Period

Figure 2. Missles in Cuba.

The United States did not engage significantly with Russia again until the Russian Civil War in 1918, as they now feared the rise of the Bolshevik. The allies in World War I were concerned with the rise of the Bolshevik, where they actively sent support and even volunteers to fight with the so-called White Movement. The war went badly for the White Movement, and the Red Army proved victories in most regions it fought, forming what would become the Soviet Union. Using its position in Alaska, the United States send support to the Russian Far East. The situation did not stabilize until about 1922, with the United States still refusing to recognize the now established Soviet Union until after 1922. Although the United States sided with the White Movement due to fears for socialism and communism, the rise of the Soviet Union created the first Red Scare with concerns over conspiracies. The fear of radical movements governed how the United States saw the Soviet Union, with the case of Sacco and Vanzetti being an example of fear prevalent in the United States of anyone it saw as potentially radical.

The Soviet Union

With the rise of Fascism in the 1930s and the entry of the United States in World War II, Fascism became the enemy. The United States and the Soviet Union toned down their rhetoric against each other, and the United States actively sent military supplies. Even before the war ended, however, in 1944, the Americans began fearing the rise of the Soviets in eastern Europe. Some even called for the United States to immediately start a war with the Soviets, fearing that Stalin would continue his conquest of Europe. Truman decided against this and instead chose to create an alliance with the Western European states in the form of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. The Cold War was now in full swing, but already in 1964, the United States signed a formal treaty with the Soviets, establishing consular services, and attempting to improve some diplomatic contacts. The Cuban Missle Crisis in 1962 highlighted the hight of fear in the Cold War, as both countries came close to starting a nuclear war, but quietly resolved the issue when each country withdrew nuclear missiles that were stationed near each other, with the United States withdrawing missiles from Turkey and the Soviets withdrawing from Cuba (Figure 2). They also agreed to prevent similar crises in the future by creating the so-called red telephone.

During the Nixon era, a new policy of Détente attempted to ease relations with the Soviets. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) began the eventually led to the first arms control treaties that limited nuclear weapons. Détente eventually ended with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and election of Ronald Regan, who campaigned against Détente, where he saw it as a one-way benefit to the Soviets. The Cold War, in the early 1980s, had once again picked up, with movies and propaganda on both sides depicting the other in a negative light. Interestingly, Regan did allow farmers to trade with the Soviets, as Carter had stopped the trade and hurt American farmers.

Regan famously called the Soviet Union an 'evil empire' and began a policy of military expansion, in the hopes of bankrupting the Soviet Union. This, along with the rise of Gorbachev, did lead to new developments, including the Perestroika reforms in the Soviet Union. By this time, the Soviets began losing control with open revolts and eagerness for populations to break away from the Soviet's hold on power in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The collapse of the Soviet Union became inevitable.

Post-Cold War Period

During the period of Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999), the now newly created Russian state experience widespread corruption and economic weakness. Russian initially opened itself to the United States and other countries, seeking economic assistance. With privatization, corruption only increased as the so-called oligarchs and others began to take hold of Russia's major economic assets, initially at meager prices. In the United States, much of the period was seen as euphoric as it ended the Cold War, but problems in Russia required a new political change, leading to the rise of Vladimir Putin in 2000.

Since the 1990s, the United States increasingly took unilateral actions that had begun to provoke Russia. This increased after September 1lth, with the Iraq War in 2003 and other issues becoming significant sources of dispute between the countries. Russia increasingly saw the United States as too unilateral. The expansion of NATO had also been a constant source of tension. In 2010, Obama and Medvedev did begin to mend relations, signing new treaties to limit nuclear weapons. Tensions once again increased after 2012, with the War in Syria, the Edward Snowden Affair, accusations of violations on nuclear agreements, and general increased Russian assertiveness internationally and in its immediate region being among the issues of tension. The United States also sanctioned Russia after in 2014 after Russia seized Crimea and supported a military conflict in eastern Ukraine. The sanctions targeted alleged associates of the Vladimir Putin.

In 2016, things may have taken a new twist with accusations of Russian tampering in the United States election. However, since 2016, tensions have sometimes been hostile but also positive, with the United States even calling for Russia to rejoin the G-7. There is a clear split between President Donald Trump and the United States Congress. Trump's position on Russia is problematic.

During the 2016 Presidential election, Donald Trump openly asked Russia to hack Hillary Clinton. There have been several allegations that Donald Trump or his campaign conspired with Russia to hack the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign. Additionally, substantial documentary evidence has leaked that Donald Trump's company was in negotiations with the Russian government to build a Trump Tower in Moscow until August of 2016 near the end of the presidential campaign.

Trump has denied that either he or his campaign worked with Russia or was actively seeking to get permission from Putin's government to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Rusia has also denied interfering the United States election, but the United States intelligence agencies have overwhelmingly supported the conclusion that Russia actively interfered with the 2016 election. The disagreements between the US Congress and the President have also created a schizophrenic foreign policy in regards to Russia.

Summary

Russia and the United States have had some level of diplomatic relations since the American Revolution. Russia greatly benefited the United States by selling it Alaska at a very cheap price, even by 1860s standards. Things became highly negative between the two countries during the Cold War, but even then the relationship was somewhat complex as both saw that the other could create great harm. Since the end of the Cold War, the initial euphoria in the United States has given way to mostly negativity in diplomatic relations, while Russia attempts to reassert itself as a great power, often in conflict with the United States.