The Russian American Company was chartered in 1799. Baranov fought the Tlingit in the Battle of 1804 in, well, 1804, which established the center of the Russian American Company (and Russian America) in Sitka. Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867. From that math, they only had about 60 years to expand, and they did okay. read more
The Russian Empire (Russian: Российская Империя) or Russia was an empire that existed across Eurasia and North America from 1721, following the end of the Great Northern War, until the Republic was proclaimed by the Provisional Government that took power after the February Revolution of 1917. read more
From 1721 Russia was expanding, its empire was the second largest contiguous empire in history – from Europe east to North America. Look at Alaska, Afghanistan, Iran and India (the 19th not the 20th century), also the Russian presence in China (the Boxer Rebellion) and its competition for the decaying Ottoman Empire especially in the Balkans. read more