AHC:Russia a north American power

The challenge is to give Russia the most extensive possible influence on the north American continent. This means expansive territory as well as large scale immigration of Russian people to these territories. Ideally these territories will remain a part of the empire for as long as feasible, when they inevitably become independent they can't be absorbed into any English speaking country. Basically I want an independent russophone state on the west coast with its own distinct cultural identity. Earliest POD is 1650.
 
Earliest POD is 1650.

Okay:

1. Have Dezhnev's charts make it to some colonial governor, prompting a 17th. c. atempt at crossing the Bering Straits

2. Have someone else in charge of the initial expeditions to Dauria, obtsaining grain from the Daurs through trade instead of driving them out and precipitating the later clash with Jurchens and Korea,

..

minor pod: Leave the fort in Chukotka to rot, and offer a trade/protectorate instead of endless slaughter on both sides. That should free up a alot of resources to have the Cossacks go explore the Aleutian islands and eventually Alaska.

Those are your "earlier discovery" setups.

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Now...manpower (18th c. onwards) is actually not that terribly difficult: just have a government that wants settlement and is willing to let serfs be sold to the American settlement project. They will never outnumber the British but they just might be too many to dislodge completely (a-la the French on the other coast).

This requires seizing a good agricultural area. So British Columbia/Washington's Salish lands, or the Columbia river, or beter yet SF Bay (though that could be done later when Spain is weak).

In the late colonial period allow/import foreigners. Probably Chinese. Voila. Once the gold rush starts that should be easy enough (Yukon, Alaska, BC, Columbia basin and California all being *russophone).

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Now this Russian America might still get conquered, but it will retain a distinct cultural setup.

There you go.
 
The USA will conquer anything there, if it exists. You'll have to butterfly them.
Nope. The US and Russia actually had good relations....so with more investment, more faith in the project and a good deal more sense, you could end up with a Russian west coast.
 

mowque

Banned
Nope. The US and Russia actually had good relations....so with more investment, more faith in the project and a good deal more sense, you could end up with a Russian west coast.

*shakes head* Good relations are all well and good, but if we let Manifest Density get started...Much better to nip that in the bud. Even if Washington is crazy about Russian integrity, settlers will flood the region.
 
Nope. The US and Russia actually had good relations....so with more investment, more faith in the project and a good deal more sense, you could end up with a Russian west coast.

who says the usa will exsist?...if britain sees a more expansive russia on the west coast, their likly to strengthen their postion on the east side of the continent, likly butterflying the usa away
 
who says the usa will exsist?...if britain sees a more expansive russia on the west coast, their likly to strengthen their postion on the east side of the continent, likly butterflying the usa away

With a POD as far back as Dezhnev or Khabarov, lots of things could be butterflied away. It's a lot of time for things to play out different.
 

FDW

Banned
who says the usa will exsist?...if britain sees a more expansive russia on the west coast, their likly to strengthen their postion on the east side of the continent, likly butterflying the usa away

And there's also the fact that the Spanish might try to solidify their hold on California if it really appears that the Russians are trying to intrude in the area, or even the possibility of an Asian state pulling it off. (Which is actually somewhat doable with the POD, though somewhat unlikely, as it would probably involve taking down both the Tokugawa and Qing, though the latter hadn't solidified it's grip on power yet)
 
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