AHC: Have Fort Ross Survive As An Independent City-State

SinghKing

Banned
As the title says. Have Russia's Fort Ross survive, a bastion of Slavdom in a sea of Anglo-America, and become an independent city-state like Monaco or Andorra.

Simply have the Russian-American Company offer the settlement to another potential purchaser in 1849 rather than John Sutter; a member of the Russian aristocracy, who manages to obtain the backing of Imperial Russia to become a tiny protectorate and escape annexation by the USA. ITTL, after the Tsardom falls to the Communist Revolution, Fort Ross effectively becomes an independent city state.
 
Interesting. This is a variant of the 'Alaska Remains Russian' divergance.

So what does it take for these little Russian posts to become more viable trading stations & greet Lewis & Clark or the Canadian traders as they decend from the Rockies?
 
Simply have the Russian-American Company offer the settlement to another potential purchaser in 1849 rather than John Sutter; a member of the Russian aristocracy, who manages to obtain the backing of Imperial Russia to become a tiny protectorate and escape annexation by the USA. ITTL, after the Tsardom falls to the Communist Revolution, Fort Ross effectively becomes an independent city state.

Workable, but once Imperial Russia collapses, you know American pressure to be annexed, likely already present, will almost certainly increase ten thousandfold.
 
Simply have the Russian-American Company offer the settlement to another potential purchaser in 1849 rather than John Sutter; a member of the Russian aristocracy, who manages to obtain the backing of Imperial Russia to become a tiny protectorate and escape annexation by the USA. ITTL, after the Tsardom falls to the Communist Revolution, Fort Ross effectively becomes an independent city state.

Interesting.

Workable, but once Imperial Russia collapses, you know American pressure to be annexed, likely already present, will almost certainly increase ten thousandfold.

True, it may well, but it also provides a viable, workable, and interesting possible destination for Tzarist/White Russian folks in the world, I get the feeling they would flood and hell it might even have some ability to make the US Government feel more interested in helping the Tzarist cause, especially if Fort Ross has a history of helping Americans/being friendly with them.
 
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