![]() ![]() Tsar Ivan IV, commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, defeated the Kazan Khanate in 1552. A weaker Tatar state, the Khanate of Sibir, was situated further east. ![]() ![]() The Irtysh, which drained most of West Siberia, originated in the Altai Mountains and flowed north to the Ob River, which emptied into the Arctic Ocean.īut the hostile Khanate of Kazan, a Tatar Turkic successor state of the Mongol Golden Horde, controlled the route. Beginning with the Kama River in the Perm region, the route ran through a network of smaller rivers and portages that connected with the great Irtysh River. The most accessible route to north-central Asia ran through the southern ranges of the Urals. ![]() In their insatiable quest for more furs and trade routes, Muscovites continued Novgorod’s push to the east. In addition to absorbing Novgorod’s territory, Moscow inherited Novgorod’s profitable fur trade, which became a major source of income for Moscow’s treasury. In 1478, Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan III forcibly annexed Novgorod. Whether by force of arms or by negotiations, the native tribes were obligated to pay yasak-a Turkic word for tribute used in imperial Russia-which was collected in furs.Īlthough a major trade hub, Novgorod’s influence and power gradually waned as a result of its protracted struggle with the Grand Duchy of Moscow. By the beginning of the 12th century, Novgorod fought several campaigns to subjugate the peoples of Ugra, as the northern Trans-Urals was called, in order to expand its lucrative trade in luxury furs. The most valuable fur was that of the sable, a species of marten.įollowing the source of furs, trappers and merchants from the city-state of Novgorod developed an eastern route along inland waterways that skirted the Ural Mountains to avoid the unfriendly Bulgars and Tatars. The ermine, marten, and fox traded by the Siberian natives found ready and lucrative trade on the European markets. Russian historical documents dating back to 1095 speak of an unknown people living beyond the Ural Mountains in Siberia who spoke an incomprehensible language and traded furs for iron knives and axes. ![]()
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