As far as Russia was concerned it was useless tundra. The Russians got everything the could out of Alaska. Russians in Alaska hunted most of the fur bearing animals either into or near extinction. They had no use for Alaska as is cost more to operate than it ever brought profits. As gold hadn't been discovered yet it was basically useless land and what did Russia have an abundance of? That's right. Useless land!
The other aspect isn't purely economic but rather militarily. Had the gold rush happened under Russian administration either the US or Britain would've invaded, most likely the US. Russia of the time had very little money and with that barely had any kind of navy. The Russian pacific fleet cosisted of 3 frigates and 3 smaller ships. The US of the time had two small fleets. The Pacific Squadron and the Asiatic Squadron. One of which had 7 ships and the other i cant for the life of me find any numbers for.
The other aspect isn't purely economic but rather militarily. Had the gold rush happened under Russian administration either the US or Britain would've invaded, most likely the US. Russia of the time had very little money and with that barely had any kind of navy. The Russian pacific fleet cosisted of 3 frigates and 3 smaller ships. The US of the time had two small fleets. The Pacific Squadron and the Asiatic Squadron. One of which had 7 ships and the other i cant for the life of me find any numbers for.