Why go east? Fur and rivers
Fur, especially sable, was worth a lot of money in Russia and Europe. It was one of the main sources of income of the state in the 1600s. The land beyond the Urals was huge and thinly peopled. Great rivers (Ob, Yenisey, Lena) and short portages between them formed the roads. After Yermak's men broke the Siberian Khanate in the 1580s, small groups of Cossacks, hunters and traders pushed east, followed by officials of the tsar.
Ostrogs and the yasak
An ostrog was a small wooden fort that held a few soldiers. Each fort was a base to store goods, collect tax and go further. Important ones: Tobolsk (1587), Tomsk (1604), Krasnoyarsk (1628), Yeniseysk (1619), Yakutsk (1632) and Okhotsk (1647).
Local peoples, such as the Khanty, Mansi, Evenks, Buryats and Yakuts (Sakha), were made to pay yasak, a tax in furs. Sometimes they were forced; hostages were taken. There were clashes, and diseases brought by newcomers hurt local communities badly. Some local people also traded and later served with the Russians.
Journeys to the Pacific and the Arctic
- Ivan Moskvitin reached the Sea of Okhotsk in 1639. Okhotsk fort (1647) became the first Russian port on the Pacific.
- Semyon Dezhnev, a Cossack, sailed in 1648 from the Kolyma river round the far north-east tip of Asia. He passed through the strait that was named Bering Strait much later, about 80 years before Vitus Bering.
- Vladimir Atlasov explored Kamchatka in 1697–99 and began its joining to Russia.
The Amur lands and the border with China
- Vasily Poyarkov went down the Amur to the sea in 1643–46.
- Yerofey Khabarov (1649–53) built forts on the Amur, among them Albazin.
- The Qing empire of China and Russia fought over the area. In 1689 they signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk, the first treaty between them. It fixed the border and Russia left the Amur lands for about 170 years.
Meanwhile in the south, Cossacks and farmers also moved into the steppe lands along the Volga and Don, and Russia met many peoples such as Tatars, Bashkirs and Kalmyks. Many peoples became part of Russia in the 1600s.
Key formulas and definitions
- Tobolsk 1587 → Tomsk 1604 → Yeniseysk 1619 → Yakutsk 1632 → Okhotsk 1647
- Dezhnev 1648: by sea round the north-east tip of Asia
- Poyarkov 1643–46 and Khabarov 1649–53: down the Amur
- Atlasov 1697–99: Kamchatka
- Treaty of Nerchinsk 1689: first treaty of Russia and China, border on the Amur
Worked examples
1. How many years passed between the founding of Tobolsk (1587) and Yakutsk (1632)?
1632 − 1587 = 45 years.
2. Dezhnev passed the strait in 1648. Bering sailed it in 1728. How many years earlier was Dezhnev?
1728 − 1648 = 80 years earlier.
3. Why did the explorers use rivers, and what did they do between rivers?
Rivers were the only roads in thick forest and frozen land. Between rivers they dragged boats over short land strips called portages.
4. What was yasak, and why did the state want it?
Yasak was a fur tax paid by local peoples. Fur was valuable and brought money to the state.
Common mistakes
- Writing that Yermak founded Tobolsk. Yermak's campaign was in the 1580s; Tobolsk fort was built in 1587 after his death.
- Saying Bering was the first to pass the strait. Dezhnev passed it in 1648.
- Calling ostrogs big castles. They were small wooden forts.
- Thinking the land was empty. Many peoples lived there, such as Yakuts, Evenks and Buryats.