"Two Sisters, two Fates, two Destinies" A Russo-American TL

[NzRuJw]

-On this glorious day, 300 years ago, our two nations shook hands for the first time, placing the stepping stone in the solid foundations of our undying friendship. Our brotherhood is eternal, our fates interconnected like the most intricate weaving, and our destiny is one: To remain human at all costs!
Three centuries ago, we fought alongside your troops on the shores of Atlantic, and your men were spilling their blood in Crimea. And just a century ago, our nations faced the unforgettable evil of two Grand Wars, and our people, united in our struggle for freedom and our want for a better world, stood shoulder to shoulder, hand-in-hand, and marched through brimstone and fire. But today, when we stand here, together, united this common banner, we lift our heads and look into the sky; but no longer we seek for gods, no! Our vision is focused on the most ancient desires of humanity - stars!

From the speech of Anton Sergeev, President of Russo-American League for Unity and Freedom, New York, 2076
​

- Russian Empress Catherine the Great is undoubtedly, not only the most powerful woman, but also one of the most influential persons in human history. Rarely did so little words change so much in the overall course of history. Just as the Caesar was about to cross the Rubicon, he said only one thing: "Alea iacta est". He never knew how much impact that sole decision would have. Such was the case of Catherine, who could've never imagined how would she influence the world for centuries to come, when she said: "For the sake of freedom, we're going in".

"Catherine the Great - the Mother of Mothers", Andrew Preston, Vladivostok Publishings, 1967​

 

[alexmilman]

-On this glorious day, 300 years ago, our two nations shook hands for the first time, placing the stepping stone in the solid foundations of our undying friendship. Our brotherhood is eternal, our fates interconnected like the most intricate weaving, and our destiny is one: To remain human at all costs!
Three centuries ago, we fought alongside your troops on the shores of Atlantic, and your men were spilling their blood in Crimea. And just a century ago, our nations faced the unforgettable evil of two Grand Wars, and our people, united in our struggle for freedom and our want for a better world, stood shoulder to shoulder, hand-in-hand, and marched through brimstone and fire. But today, when we stand here, together, united this common banner, we lift our heads and look into the sky; but no longer we seek for gods, no! Our vision is focused on the most ancient desires of humanity - stars!

From the speech of Anton Sergeev, President of Russo-American League for Unity and Freedom, New York, 2076
​

- Russian Empress Catherine the Great is undoubtedly, not only the most powerful woman, but also one of the most influential persons in human history. Rarely did so little words change so much in the overall course of history. Just as the Caesar was about to cross the Rubicon, he said only one thing: "Alea iacta est". He never knew how much impact that sole decision would have. Such was the case of Catherine, who could've never imagined how would she influence the world for centuries to come, when she said: "For the sake of freedom, we're going in".

"Catherine the Great - the Mother of Mothers", Andrew Preston, Vladivostok Publishings, 1967​

In OTL Catherine refused the British request for the troops to deal with the colonists. However, sending troops to help the colonies would be a completely different issue even because these troops had to be transported against the British naval opposition. Of course, Russian Baltic fleet got itself quite a reputation by destroying the Ottoman navy during the war of 1768 - 74 but the British friendly neutrality was a prerequisite for bringing it to the Med and the British opposition would make its cross-Atlantic voyage close to impossible (ocean-going qualities of these ships were rather questionable and there were not enough of them to have a chance against the British navy, especially when overburdened by the troops). Not to mention that at this time Russia hardly could afford a new military conflict both because a costly war with the Ottoman just finished and because trade with Britain was quite important for Russian economy and Catherine was quite short of money.

Of course, a token jesture of sending few dozens “volunteers” would be a different story: not only would it be technically doable (numerous foreigners managed to do this sailing mostly from France) but it would also provide Catherine with a plausible deniability. But would it be enough for your schema?

OTOH, Catherine preaching freedom while giving away serfs by the tens of thousands sounds a little bit hypocritical even by her (rather relaxed) standards.