It was a gesture that immediately caught the eye. President Donald Trump, pointing at Russian leader Vladimir Putin, captured in a black-and-white photo that seemed to leap straight out of history.

After the American Civil War ended in 1865, Secretary of State William Seward took up Russia’s longstanding offer to buy Alaska. On March 30, 1867, Washington agreed to buy Alaska from Russia for ...

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.