Alaska was of course a Russian colonial possession until 1867, and Fort Ross in California was controlled by the Russian-American Company throughout much of the first half of the nineteenth century. Some modern maps seem to indicate the entire North American west coast down to Fort Ross was part of Russian America at its greatest extent, but I've never heard of any tangible Russian colonial presence in the vicinity of present-day Washington.
Did the Russian-American Company or other representatives of the Russian Empire ever attempt a settlement or trading post in Washington? Are there any documented Russian expeditions or exploration efforts around the Washington coast or Salish Sea?
If not, was there any Russian presence of note in the broader region that would become the Oregon Country, or was Fort Ross really the lone west coast outlier from their Alaskan settlements?
Thanks!
There are still Russian Orthodox communities in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, as well as old Russian graveyards that you will encounter in the rural areas of the valley here, so yes there is still a lingering presence of Imperial Russia in the Pacific Northwest, albeit it is very small.
Like the Amish in Pennsylvania, the remaining Russian communities haven't melted into the larger American culture because of deeply held religious beliefs. You can identify them sometimes in public here because the women wear a particular kind of head covering at all times, as well as ankle-length dresses of very drab or plain fabric, and never any makeup.
Post-colonial era, there were many Russian Jewish immigrants to Oregon in the 1980's, when they were allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union, where their religious practices subjected them to persecution.
This site gives a good overview of Russian cultural influences in Oregon: https://sites.google.com/a/lclark.edu/rsco/immigrant-communities/old-believers