The 17th century was marked by a serious advance of the Russians to the Pacific Ocean. This increased promotion was justified by the search for new lands, the possibility of obtaining yasak from the local population and mining - gold and silver.
Siberia is a numerous soil-climatic zone with a variegated ethnic composition of the population. The normal economic development of Siberia was impossible due to the low population density and harsh living conditions.
The development of Siberia was carried out along two routes. The first lay along the cold seas and led sailors to the northeastern tip of the mainland. In 1648, on this route, Semyon Dezhnev discovered the strait that separates Asia and North America.
The development of Siberia along a different route passed along its southern borders. Russian explorers quickly reached the Pacific Ocean. The famous discoverer was Vasily Danilovich Poyarkov, who undertook an expedition to Shilka and Zeya in 1643.
By the middle of the XVII century, Erofei Pavlovich Khabarov was going on an expedition, who owned the conquests on the Amur. The development of Siberia was explained by the richness of this region - furs. For the sake of this "soft gold", industrialists and service people suffered deprivation, fought with the forces of nature, overcame obstacles not created for man, and also broke the resistance of the locals.
The peoples of Siberia reacted differently to the appearance of Russian researchers. Some tried to drive away the invaders with bows and arrows, but retreated in front of firearms, others voluntarily accepted the power of the Russian tsar, as they needed protection.
After the pioneers, the development of Siberia was handed over to the governor. They formalized citizenship and appointed yasak. The tsarist government from Moscow ordered the governors to protect the acquired subjects and to seek payment of yasak by peaceful means.
The largest ethnic group in Siberia were the Yakuts living on the Lena River, as well as the Buryats located on the Angara and Baikal. In their socio-economic development, they have already reached cattle breeding and primitive agriculture.
At the highest stage of development there were daurs and duchers, who were settled peoples and had long mastered cattle breeding, agriculture and even gardening.
The development of Siberia and the Far East was accompanied by the construction of fortresses, which served as transshipment points for further conquests. So there was the Krasnoyarsk prison, the Yakutsk prison, the Yenisei prison, the Irkutsk winter hut, the Bratsk prison and the Selenginsky prison.
The conquerors of Siberia and the governors needed their own benefits from these campaigns. Therefore, in addition to yasak, the local population was charged "honor". Often this requisition ravaged yasak people. Sometimes there was an exchange between industrial and commercial Russian people and the local population: glass and iron products were exchanged for valuable furs. The development of Siberia and the Far East led to the fact that local people began to actively exchange furs for vodka. As a result, alcoholism spread.
By the end of the XVII century, 150 thousand Russians already lived in Siberia. The economic development of Siberia required the supply of bread. Bringing bread from European Russia was expensive, because the Siberian arable land began to develop.
So gradually Siberia was settled and transformed for life. There arose a separate class of peasants who were serving conscription. Soon the region was able to provide itself with bread. Among the local population, overlaid with yasak, feuds ended. The role of developing Siberia is obvious for Russia: the region constantly replenished the state treasury, while ensuring its own livelihoods on its own. This event was the geographical, economic and political victory of Russia.