7. Answer the following questions:

•  What was the main source of incomes to the Russian treasury from Russian America?

• What fact concerning Alaska became obvious for the Russian imperial family?

• Why was the importance of Alaska lessened?

• Who of the Russian Emperors sold Alaska?

• Why did some Russian statesmen oppose the sale?

• What did the Hudson’s Bay Company want to obtain the possessions of the Russian America for?

• What factors joined Russia and the USA?

• For how much was Alaska sold?

• Which were the consequences of obtaining Alaska by the USA?

8. Prove that the territory of Russian America was practically uninhabited.

9. Write the reasons if the selling of Russian America was a wise or not wise decision. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________­­­________

10. Convert $7.2 million to the current rate of roubles.

11. Complete the sentences:

• Russia’s contemporaneous acquisition of new lands meant ______________________

________________________________________________________________________________

• The better access to the Pacific Ocean passed through ___________________________

• The future of Russia on the Pacific was connected with __________________________

• The recent enemy of Russia was ______________________________________________

• The only potential buyer of Alaska were the USA, because _______________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

• Presidents James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln didn’t react positively to Russian offers because ___________________________________________________________________

• Russian possessions were sold practically for nothing ___________________________

• Russian colonization of Alaska produced a rich history of great importance because

_______________________________________________________________________________

12. On your own. Use the Internet and other sources to find some information about the attack of the Kamchatka Peninsula by the ships of the British Royal Navy.

13. Give a key sentence to each paragraph.

14. Give a summary of the text.

15. Read the text, translate and discuss.

Исторические факты

•  Российская империя продала труд­но­доступную и необжитую тер­ри­торию по 2 цента за акр, то есть все­го в полтора раза де­шевле, чем бы­ла продана наполе­онов­ской Фран­цией и намного бо́льшая (2 100 000 км²) и вполне освоенная тер­ри­то­­рия исторической Луи­зи­аны: только за порт Нью-Орлеана Аме­рика перво­на­чаль­но предлагала 10 млн. долларов в более «ве­­сомом» долларе самого начала XIX века.

• В то же самое время, когда была про­да­­­на Аляска, одно-единственное трёх­этаж­ное здание в центре Нью-Йорка – нью-йоркского окружного суда, стоило каз­на­чей­­ству штата Нью-Йорк дороже, чем пра­ви­­­тельству США – вся Аляска.