Of the five major European powers that influenced the history of North America, it is the Russian colonial presence in the New World that is by far the least known. From 1741 until 1867, the Russian Empire stretched into Alaska and parts of California and Hawaii and was known as Russian America. Sepia-toned illustrations add to the historical text in this brief, yet fascinating history. The objective of this booklet is to explain the complex political, social, economic, and religious factors that brought the Russians to North America, as well as to provide a broad outline of the history of the Russian American Company and the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska.