How did the natural fur tax appear? There were times when our great ancestors conquered the vast expanses of Siberia. Like the English colonialists and Spanish conquistadors, they rushed towards adventures, discovering new territories and fighting hordes of savages. Siberia was a kind of "Russian Wild West" - a land of opportunity, for which the brave pilgrims fought. However, the first colonialists had nothing to offer the Russian crown, which sponsored their research.
Therefore, they hunted wild animals (sables, foxes, beavers, etc.) and gave their skins to serving people as a tax. Then it turned out that skins can also be of great value.
Yasak
The fur tax was actually called yasak. He gathered from the Siberian prison camps - peculiar settlements that were circumvented by "service people", as Russian officials were called at that time. The peak of the collection of yasak is the 18th century. The word itself is of Turkic origin.
Economic importance
The furs tax ultimately played a huge economic role in the trade and development of the Russian state. At one time, fur was even the main Russian wealth, thanks to which our country conquered European markets. Yasak gathered not only from the Russian settlers, but also from the conquered Turkic and Mongolian peoples.
Russian furs were in great demand in the West, especially among the Dutch, French, Spaniards, Italians and Germans, who did not have their own sources of this extremely valuable and important resource. Thus, before oil was discovered, Russian land was already a large source of natural wealth.
The increasing fur tax has led to the spread of sable hunting. This led to the fact that these animals were in danger. Fortunately for them, after the discovery of significant sources of this resource in North America in the 19th century, Russian furs ceased to be so relevant, the price fell, and the massive sable hunt came to naught.