Nikolai Rezanov
With Shelikhov's death in 1795 his widow, Natalia Shelikova, was left in control of the company. Golikov soon departed, and became a partner with Nikolai Mylnikov, another Irkutsk based fur trader. The assets remaining in Natalia's control were renamed to the American Company. Natalia delegated more responsibilities of the daily operations in Russian America upon Aleksandr Andreyevich Baranov, and used her son-in-law, Nikolai Rezanov to curry favor with the Imperial Court. Tsar Paul I was found to be far more receptive to a Russian fur monopoly than his deceased mother. Rezanov was able to broker an amalgamation between the American Company and the rival Irkutsk Company of Mylnikov on 20 July 1797, creating the United American Company. Natalia sold her assets to the UAC for ₽600,000 and reinvested a third of the proceeds as capital in the new venture. Two years later the Russian government announced the Ukase of 1799, which granted a fur monopoly in Russian America to the United American Company and established the Russian-American Company.