ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - On October 18, 1867, the United States formally acquired Alaska from Russia in a landmark $7.2 million deal that would reshape the future of North America. The purchase was ...

Presidents Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska to talk about a costly Russian war involving Crimea, bringing up parallels of the circumstances that led Russia to sell Alaska to the U.S. in the 1800s.

Russia lost a war in Crimea in the middle of the 19th century. It left the country deep in debt, and to ease that burden, Russia cut a real estate deal with the U.S. and sold Alaska to the Americans.