 Complete the following phrase:  Fully-fledged diplomatic ties were established in 1809. In 1863, during the American Civil War 18611865, the Russian Navys Atlantic and Pacific fleets wintered in the American ports of New York and San Francisco, respectively. Some historians credit this visit as a major factor in deterring France and the UK from entering the war on the Confederate side. For many years, a myth persisted that during the American Civil War, Russia supported the Union against the Confederacy. In fact, Russia was strictly neutral. The myth was invented by the American State Department to mislead the British about American potential strength. Russia operated a small fur-trade operations in Alaska, coupled with missionaries to the natives. By 1861, the project lost money, threatened to antagonize the Americans, and could not be defended from Britain. In the Alaska Purchase of 1867 it was sold to the United States for 7.2 million, thereby creating a common sea border between the two countries that still exists today. In the late 19th century, American public opinion was shocked at the accurate reports of anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire mostly within the Pale of Settlement. It was a factor as late in American opposition to going to war against Germany with Russia as an ally in 1917, until the czar Nicholas II was 