Absolutely. They got there first, actually. Ever heard of the Russian River in California? Russian presence was historical and strong all along the Pacific northwest border of North America, going back to 1732 when Vitus Bering discovered and mapped the Bering Sea and Alaska. The Russian colonization of the Americas was extensive and covers the period from 1732 to 1867, when the Russian Empire laid claim to northern Pacific Coast territories in the Americas. These Russian colonial possessions in the Americas are collectively known as Russian America and traces are still around in culture and architecture in the area today. The first significant Russian presence in California was when they built Fort Ross in 1812 near Bodega Bay. This somewhat alarmed the Spanish, who then promptly built the Presidio in San Francisco in response, to stop any further Russian southward expansion. Now the original Russians in North America were all fishermen, seal hunters and fur traders, but when the California gold rush hit in 1848, the Russians got in on that action as well. Generally speaking, because of their past history in the area, they were better accepted and treated than the Chinese or Mexicans were that also tried to get in on the gold rush. No actual records were kept of how many of the '49'ers were Russian, but 300,000 prospectors showed up, and at least some of them were Russian and in the area already so they were undoubtedly one of the first to show up. They even got a river named after them, though the original name was of course, in Russian. The river takes its current name from Ivan Kuskov of the Russian-American Company, who explored the river in the early 1800's and established the Fort Ross colony 10 mi northwest of its mouth. The Russians called it the Slavyanka River, meaning "Slav River".and of course it was later mined for gold, along with most of the other rivers in California. They established three ranches near Fort Ross, one of which, the Kostromitinov Ranch, was along the Russian River near the mouth of Willow Creek. Other names of the Russian River include Misallaako, Rio Ruso, and the Shabaikai.
