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This is about mutual history. The settlement of the American side of the Pacific Rim took a long time, was incredibly difficult, and took a vast toll in human lives.

The Russians had gotten involved when their acquisitions in Siberia proved to be "short" on furs.

This was due to the vast droughts and famines that had pretty much driven all the people to the coastal regions, or even offshore to Hokkaido Island. (Remember the great droughts and famines that hit Europe in the late 1700s and 1800s ~ these were just as bad, but particularly devastating in Siberia).

Not only were there no people the Russians discovered there were few fur bearing animals in the region. They discovered (recall Vitus Bering) what they wanted in Alaska which being a smaller peninsula was wetter than the Asian mainland and had survived the disaster.

Many of the earliest "Russian" fur traders were actually Danes, Swedes and Finns. Part of the deal for working for the Czar on these frighteningly long trips all the way to America was to sign on with the Russian Orthodox church.

It was inevitable that they would meet people of similar origin coming from the other direction ~ and that occurred at Fort Ross.

In the end some of the men who set out from Nikel Oblast walked almost all the way around the world!

I think their efforts are worth recalling ~ and there's nothing wrong with cutting the Russians in on it. This is also their history.