High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Russian American Line was a subsidiary steamship line of the East Asiatic Company that was in business from 1900 until the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917. In 1906 it began passenger service from Libau to New York after the Hamburg America Line acquired a controlling interest in the line. After the Russian Revolution, services ended in 1917. Some of the line`s ships came under control of the Cunard Line and were operated as troop ships during World War I. After the Armistice, most of the line`s ships were sold or transferred to the Baltic American Line, another subsidiary of the East Asiatic Company.