[1] From the 18th century until 1917, the United States and Russia maintained mostly cordial relations, with occasional cultural and commercial exchanges.

Large-scale migration to the U.S. from Russia began in the late 19th century, mostly attracting Jews, Poles, Lithuanians, and Finns but also a few ethnic Russians.

Catherine and Panin interacted with the British government through James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury, at the Russian court.

Throughout the Revolutionary War, Catherine believed an independent American nation would be ideal for Russian business interests.

Moreover, if the Americans gained their independence, Britain would have to turn to other countries such as Russia to supply it with the resources that could no longer be acquired from North America, such as timber for the Royal Navy.

That set out Russia's international stance on the American Revolution and focused on the importance of allowing neutral vessels to travel freely to any Russian port without them being searched or harassed by the Navigation Acts.

While the declaration kept Russia officially neutral, it supported many of France's own pro-American policies and resisted Britain's efforts to defeat the Americans via naval blockades.

The declaration also gave the North American rebels an emotional lift, as they realized Russia was not solidly aligned with Great Britain.

As a world power that had previously allied with Britain, Russia was an obvious choice to assist with logistical and military support, as well as diplomatic efforts.

She was particularly disturbed by the Seven Years' War during which Catherine observed Britain's efforts to exit the conflict discreetly, which left Russia's ally Prussia vulnerable to defeat.

While her dislike of the British ministry likely influenced her decision, Catherine formally cited the fact that her army needed rest after it had just finished more than six years of war.

This time, Harris simply asked for Russia to convince France to exit the war and to force the Americans to fight alone.

[15][16] The Monroe Doctrine was partly aimed at Holy Alliance support of intervention in Latin America which Russia several times tried to get the United States to join, as well as the Ukase of 1821 banning non-Russian ships from the Northwest Coast.

The Russo-American Treaty of 1824 set parallel 54°40′ north as the boundary between Russian America and the Anglo-American Oregon Country.

During the American Civil War, Russia supported the Union, largely because it believed that the U.S. served as a counterbalance to its geopolitical rival, the United Kingdom.

In 1863, the Russian Navy's Baltic and Pacific fleets wintered in the American ports of New York and San Francisco, respectively.

[17] The Alexander Nevsky and the other vessels of the Atlantic squadron stayed in American waters for seven months (September 1863 to June 1864).

[18] 1865 saw a major project attempted: the building of a Russian-U.S. telegraph line from Seattle, through British Columbia, Russian America (Alaska) and Siberia.

Russia soon afterward occupied Manchuria, and the United States asserted the Open Door Policy to forestall Russian and German territorial demands from leading to a partition of China into closed colonies.

With him gone, the Wilson administration used the new provisional government to describe how the democratic nations were fighting against autocratic old empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary.