Siberian fur trade

The fur trade also precipitated a decline in the number of fur-bearing animals and resulted in Siberia being conquered by Russia.

[1] Sable quickly became the most valuable and popular type of Siberian fur, and still maintains the distinction to this day.

[3] The Stroganov family, wealthy merchant-capitalists with extensive resources and influence in Russia, played a significant role in developing Siberia's fur trade.

Yasak, otherwise known as Iasak, refers to the fur tax that the natives of Siberia were forced to pay to the tsarist government of Russia.

[7] Russians would set up winter camps known as zimovya while they waited for the Siberians to hunt and pay their taxes in fur.

If a native tribe, community, or individual did not comply to the tax or otherwise resisted, they would face government-backed Cossack raids.

[9] Fox, squirrel, and ermine pelts were also accepted as yasuk after sable populations began to decline due to overhunting.

[9] Russian traders, hunters, and explorers reached the Pacific coastline by 1650 and were collecting fur tribute from most natives along the coast.

[9] Beyond the yasuk, the Russians had two principal ways of obtaining Siberian furs: through hunting the animals themselves or through trading.

[10] They worked together as a group making traps, collecting food and drink, and building camps in the harsh climate.

Working in groups gave these trappers protection against harsh Siberian winters, against unexpected attacks, and other dangers they could encounter if they were alone.

[9] The most commonly traded items included Russian-made goods such as metal wares and ironworks, hunting equipment and firearms, and food and drink supplies.

The native Siberians did not have much knowledge of the worth of their furs, and Russian traders commonly took advantage of this ignorance.

For example, one report from Okhotosk told of a trader who kidnapped all the children from the local native Tungus so he could sell them back to their parents for a sable pelt apiece.

[9] In some cases, the traders would hold the native women and children as hostages (amanat) and in doing so they would force the fathers, brothers, and husbands to bring them furs in return for their loved ones’ safety.

[10] The fur hunting expeditions into Siberia were mostly conducted in groups ranging from six to sixty men based at small winter peasant huts in the Siberian taiga.

The groups baited pit traps with fish or meat to catch sable, and tracked other prey with nets and dogs.

[4] These rivers connected the major fur gathering centers and provided for relatively quick transport between them.

In addition to sable, black and white fox, ermine, beaver, squirrel, lynx, wolf, wolverine, rabbit, marten, walrus, sea otter, and polar bear were also hunted for their pelts.

[9] Private traders sold roughly 350,000 rubles' worth of Siberian furs annually during the seventeenth century.

[9] A few good fox pelts in 1623 could buy fifty acres of land, a decent cabin, five horses, ten head of cattle, twenty sheep, and still have capital left over.

For example, Russian men brought to Siberia for the fur trade would often meet and marry native women there.

As the Siberian fur became popular, Siberia began to be considered more of an area filled with valuable natural resources, rather than a desolate wasteland.

[6] Russians expanded into Siberia rapidly, driven by the promise of fast fortunes through the fur trade.

The cities of Tobolsk, Tomsk, and Irkutsk became Siberia's leading urban centers, due primarily to revenue brought in by the fur trade.

[1] The Siberian fur trade was not completely advantageous and had several direct negative consequences for Siberia.

By the beginning of the 18th century, there was a sharp decline in the number of fur-bearing animals across Siberia as trappers and traders collected furs without any thought for population control.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, about 10-15 million squirrels were killed in Siberia each year, in addition to tens of thousands of ermines, rabbits, martens, foxes, sables, lynx and wolverine.

Clothing made from Siberian fur includes different length coats, hats, gloves, shawls, and boots.

The fitch, or European polecat, is the species from which ferrets were domesticated, and the corsac is a type of fox that is also found in Siberia.