United States <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Purchase" id="mwqQ" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Alaska Purchase">takes possession of</a> Alaska after purchasing it from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire" id="mwqg" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Russian Empire">Russia</a> for $7.2<span id="mwqw" typeof="mw:Entity"> </span>million. Celebrated annually in the state as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Day" id="mwrA" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Alaska Day">Alaska Day</a>.