Mikhail Malakhov has been to the North Pole 31 times, he says, following in the footsteps of generations of Russian explorers.

He even did a trip on skis.

So his latest adventure is a cinch. For nearly a month, Mr. Malakhov has been kayaking upriver with the salmon and hiking through mountainous bear country in the summer cool of southwest Alaska.

A hundred and 50 years after Russia sold Alaska to the United States, Mr. Malakhov and a small team are retracing routes blazed by earlier Russian explorers in the 1800s. His aim, aside from thrills, is to draw attention to Russia’s deep history in North America — just as dark suspicions spread about Russia’s influence in American politics.

“It’s an easily forgotten part of history,” said Tim Kelly, who is a keeper of the Russian legacy down in California.