page_title: Siberian fur trade
section_title: Trading partners
hierarchical_section_title: Siberian fur trade / Trading partners
caption_attribution_description: Fur skins in Nizhny Novgorod. Stapelplatz von Fellen in Nischny Nowgorod.
context_page_description: The Siberian fur trade is an exchange concerned with the gathering, buying and selling of valuable animal furs that originate from Siberia. The Siberian fur trade expanded from localized trade, and Siberian fur is now traded around the world. The Siberian fur trade had a significant impact on the development of Siberia through exploration and colonization. The fur trade also precipitated a decline in the number of fur-bearing animals and resulted in Siberia being conquered by Russia.
context_section_description: Siberian fur quickly became very popular around the world very soon after the Siberian fur trade began in the sixteenth century. Most of the Siberian fur trade in the first few centuries was controlled by Russian explorers and traders. Trade connections also existed between Siberia and other European and Asian territories. There was a great demand for fur in Byzantium and Western Europe.
  Furs were also traded to China and Persia. In exchange, Siberian fur traders obtained silks and other luxury goods from those places. These goods were not common to Siberia, and thus were in high demand. Siberian furs sold to China were a huge source of revenue during the eighteenth century, as furs sold in China for up to ten times more than they would locally. Chinese buyers purchased more than seven million Siberian fur pelts a year. The Chinese preferred squirrel furs for its warmth, durability, and relative inexpensiveness. These furs became very popular in the Chinese winter clothing lines.
  Trade connections were also made between Siberia and Bukhara, Khiva, and other significant trade centers in the Islamic regions of Central Asia. Bukharan merchants frequently came to Siberian towns in search of furs.
  As the Russians traveled across the Pacific, North Americans were brought into the fur trade. Siberian furs were brought to Alaska and traded there. Indirectly, this allowed Siberia to also become connected with the Western Hemisphere and the Americas.
  In the present world, Siberian furs are still extremely popular in international fur trade. Furs from the northern Siberian tundra are frequently found in international fur auctions around the world and carry high prices at auction. The Siberian fur trade has major trade connections in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Trappers still hunt for fur and the sable is still the most important of fur bearing animals. Many Siberian indigenous peoples are totally dependent on trapping as a living° Willerslev 2015.
caption: Fur market in Nizhny Novgorod
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