One of the weird historical tidbits that's always amused me is the degree of positive relations between Russia and the US during the 19th Century, given that one was a liberal Republic, and the other a bastion of reactionary monarchism. There were decent realpolitik reasons for said friendship, but, other than the sale of Alaska, it never seemed to amount to much. Your challenge is to draw the two continental titans into as close a relationship as possible by the 20th century. Bonus points if you do it via a successful Decembrist revolution or something similar, but genuine good feelings at all levels for each other in both countries is the aim.