Despite a relatively short history of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Canada drew attention of the Russian intellectuals more than 200 years ago. <...> The article analyzes the forming of the relations between Russia and Canada, as well as its present state. <...> Eventually, large territories on the other side of the Atlantic ruled by the British Empire drew the attention of Russian scholars and the government. <...> Similar geographic position, large spaces, ethnic diversity and indigenous populations gave food for all sorts of comparisons. <...> The first known direct references to Canada appeared in the writings of the famous Russian historian Nikolay Karamzin in the early 1800s1. <...> Karamzin’s perspective on Canada included comparison with the United States. <...> For some Russian intellectuals the likelihood of the two collisions being connected seemed strong, although the general public remained ignorant. <...> Russian media praised his “decisive measures” against the “rebels”. 121 Strategic partnership between Russia and British North America developed in the 1830s when the Russian-American Company, a fur trading venture in Russian America, established close relations with the Hudson’s Bay Company which then controlled large territories in the west of Canada. <...> In 1839 the Hudson’s Bay Company became the provisioner of food and other supplies to Russian settlers in New Archangel, Alaska. <...> George Simpson, the governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, visited New Archangel regularly and even made a remarkable journey from Alaska to St. Petersbourg by sled and carriage in 1841–1842. <...> Historically immigrants from Eastern Europe played a great role in Canada’s history. <...> Historically the first Russian immigrants to Canada were some Russian explorers of Alaska who came as early as the late 16th century. <...> But the first substantial number of immigrants from Russia came to Canada in the early 20th century. <...> Until recently Canadian records classified these people as “Russians”, as they were coming from the Russian Empire. <...> The matter was further complicated by the fact that a lot of Ukrainians, Jews and Poles were also coming to Canada from Austro-Hungary — which at that time owned large territories with predominantly Slavic population. <...> Economic growth and westward expansion permitted Canada to accept large numbers of these people and provide them with land and work in its newly-added provinces — Manitoba, Saskatchewan <...>