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Okay, so, in our timeline, as far as I know, Britain was the United States' primary partner and cultural influence for much of the 20th century, due to their alliance in both world wars, good relations afterwards, and, of course, their similar cultures and shared language.

In many timelines where Germany wins WW1, the US has a similar relationship with Germany, especially if the US was a German ally, despite the lack of a shared language (although it should be noted that, before WW1, a large minority in America spoke German as their primary language, and a sizable percentage of Americans even today have German ancestry).

However, I was wondering, how could a similar relationship be fostered between America and Russia in an alternate timeline, despite the lack of both similar culture and a shared language, and (initially) without a large Russian-speaking minority (keep in mind I did say "initially"; as the timeline continues to diverge we will likely see increasingly large amounts of Russian immigration to America and possibly vice versa)?

You can have a POD no earlier than 1776, and this influence has to be felt by 1950 at the absolute latest. The earlier the better.

Bonus points will be awarded if Russia eventually becomes democratic.

Points will be decreased (but still given) if America becomes a dictatorship/goes AuthDem on us.

If you somehow create a timeline where Russia is democratic and America is a dictatorship (but they're still allies and partners), I shall tear out my hair. Please do not take this as a challenge (well, unless the thread has a lot of more standard replies, then I won't mind as much).

Okay, so that is your challenge, should you choose to accept it...
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