What would have been the effect of the Klondike Gold Rush occurring in 1866, instead of 1896? Would Alaska have gone from distant white elephant to the jewel in the crown of the Russian Empire? How would this have affected Russian military priorities? If Russia began to assert itself as a Pacific power, how would this have affected the Russo-Japanese War? It's easy to see the Trans-Siberian Railway completed a decade earlier on the strength of Alaskan gold, allowing for easier troop deployments at Vladivostok. Given the claims of Russian America to parts of Canada and California, how would a more assertive Russia confronted British and American territorial ambitions?