<P> Besides the Novgorodians and the indigenes, Muscovites also had to contend with the various Muslim Tatar khanates to the east of Muscovy . In 1552 Ivan IV, the Tsar of All the Russias, took a significant step towards securing Russian hegemony in Siberia when he sent a large army to attack the Kazan Tartars and ended up obtaining the territory from the Volga to the Ural Mountains . At this point the phrase "ruler of Obdor, Konda, and all Siberian lands" became part of the title of the Tsar in Moscow . Even so, problems ensued after 1558 when Ivan IV sent Grigory Stroganov (ru) (ca 1533--1577) to colonize land on the Kama and to subjugate and enserf the Komi living there . The Stroganov family soon came into conflict (1573) with the Khan of Sibir whose land they encroached on . Ivan told the Stroganovs to hire Cossack mercenaries to protect the new settlement from the Tatars . From ca 1581 the band of Cossacks led by Yermak Timofeyevich fought many battles that eventually culminated in a Tartar victory (1584) and the temporary end to Russian occupation in the area . In 1584 Ivan's son Fyodor sent military governors (voivodas) and soldiers to reclaim Yermak conquests and officially to annex the land held by the Khanate of Sibir . Similar skirmishes with Tartars took place across Siberia as Russian expansion continued . </P> <P> Russian conquerors treated the natives of Siberia as easily exploited enemies who were inferior to them . As they penetrated deeper into Siberia, traders built outposts or winter lodges called zimovya (ru) where they lived and collected fur tribute from native tribes . By 1620 Russia dominated the land from the Urals eastward to the Yenisey valley and to the Altai Mountains in the south, comprising about 1.25 million square miles of land . Furs would become Russia's largest source of wealth during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries . Keeping up with the advances of Western Europe required significant capital and Russia did not have sources of gold and silver, but it did have furs, which became known as "soft gold" and provided Russia with hard currency . The Russian government received income from the fur trade through two taxes, the yasak (or iasak) tax on natives and the 10% "Sovereign Tithing Tax" imposed on both the catch and sale of fur pelts . Fur was in great demand in Western Europe, especially sable and marten, since European forest resources had been over-hunted and furs had become extremely scarce . Fur trading allowed Russia to purchase from Europe goods that it lacked, like lead, tin, precious metals, textiles, firearms, and sulphur . Russia also traded furs with Ottoman Turkey and other countries in the Middle East in exchange for silk, textiles, spices, and dried fruit . The high prices that sable, black fox, and marten furs could generate in international markets spurred a "fur fever" in which many Russians moved to Siberia as independent trappers . From 1585 to 1680, tens of thousands of sable and other valuable pelts were obtained in Siberia each year . </P> <P> The primary way for the Muscovite state to obtain furs was by exacting a fur tribute from the Siberian natives, called a yasak . Yasak was usually a fixed number of sable pelts which every male tribe member who was at least fifteen years old had to supply to Russian officials . Officials enforced yasak through coercion and by taking hostages, usually the tribe chiefs or members of the chief's family . At first, Russians were content to trade with the natives, exchanging goods like pots, axes, and beads for the prized sables that the natives did not value, but greater demand for furs led to violence and force becoming the primary means of obtaining the furs . The largest problem with the yasak system was that Russian governors were prone to corruption because they received no salary . They resorted to illegal means of getting furs for themselves, including bribing customs officials to allow them to personally collect yasak, extorting natives by exacting yasak multiple times over, or requiring tribute from independent trappers . </P> <P> Russian fur trappers, called promyshlenniki, hunted in one of two types of bands of 10--15 men, called' ' vatagi' ' (ru). The first was an independent band of blood relatives or unrelated people who contributed an equal share of the hunting - expedition expenses; the second was a band of hired hunters who participated in expeditions fully funded by the trading companies which employed them . Members of an independent vataga cooperated and shared all necessary work associated with fur trapping, including making and setting traps, building forts and camps, stockpiling firewood and grain, and fishing . All fur pelts went into a common pool that the band divided equally among themselves after Russian officials exacted the tithing tax . On the other hand, a trading company provided hired fur - trappers with the money needed for transportation, food, and supplies, and once the hunt was finished, the employer received two - thirds of the pelts and the remaining ones were sold and the proceeds divided evenly among the hired laborers . During the summer, promyshlenniki would set up a summer camp to stockpile grain and fish, and many engaged in agricultural work for extra money . During late summer or early fall the vatagi left their hunting grounds, surveyed the area, and set up a winter camp . Each member of the group set at least 10 traps and the vatagi divided into smaller groups of 2 to 3 men who cooperated to maintain certain traps . Promyshlenniki checked traps daily, resetting them or replacing bait whenever necessary . The promyshlenniki employed both passive and active hunting - strategies . The passive approach involved setting traps, while the active approach involved the use of hunting - dogs and of bows - and - arrows . Occasionally, hunters also followed sable tracks to their burrows, around which they placed nets, and waited for the sable to emerge . </P>

Who was involved in the fur trade in canada