It became a part of the Russian Empire the following year in 1860 after the Convention of Peking, when Outer Manchuria was ceded by Qing China.

The island was charted in its entirety by an expedition led by the cartographer Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Babkin in 1862, as part of the survey of Peter the Great gulf after its acquisition.

[1][circular reference] By 1889, Fort Pospelov had been built on the island as part of the Vladivostok Fortress complex, as developed by Colonel K. I. Velichko.

The fort was built in an irregular trapezoid shape, with numerous artillery batteries which were meant to be able to fire into almost all the bays of Russky island in case of invasion.

Their commanders had failed to send them rations for months, and the matter became a national scandal regarding the state of the armed forces.

In April 2019, the island hosted a summit between President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.