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I've been juggling a couple of ideas for a non-ASB TL for a while, one of which is a TL which looks into a limited Russian settlement in Hokkaido in the 19th Century, possibly earlier. Won't give away details (unless requested via PM), but I was wondering how far could the Russians have gone in settling in the island, and how could it be made possible. Another point of contention would be how (in)defensible would these settlements have been against the Japanese, given their reliance on the Russian Pacific Fleet for protection.

What I'm going for in my TL is an Alaska-like situation, where the Russians eventually decided on abandoning the settlements one way or another, but with a significant population (whether purely Russian or mixed Ainu-Russian settlers) left behind under Japanese rule. If there are issues with my scenario, feel free to let me know. I appreciate your help.
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