After the sale of Russian-American possessions to the United States in 1867, it was officially named Russian Mission in the early 1900s.

The settlement was recorded as a Cup'ik village called "Ikogmiut," meaning "people of the point," in 1842 by the Imperial Russian Navy explorer Lavrenty Zagoskin.

The first Russian Orthodox mission in Interior Alaska was established here in 1851 by the Aleut priest Jacob Netsvetov.

[4] Russian Mission is located on the right (western) bank of the Yukon River in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, 25 miles southeast of Marshall.

Russian Mission falls within the transitional climate zone, characterized by tundra interspersed with boreal forests, and weather patterns of long, cold winters and shorter, warm summers.

Heavy northern winds often limit air access in the fall and winter.

[5] Russian Mission has a subarctic climate (Koppen: Dfc) with mild summers and long, snowy winters with annual snowfall averaging 71 inches (180 cm).

[10] It appeared on the 1890 census as "Ikogmiut", but included the nearby village of "Pokrovskaia" (called Pogoreshapka on the 1880 U.S.

Russian Mission's location on the Yukon River allows barge and small boat travel during the summer.