Territorial and geographical aspects of sable extraction, harvesting and sale of its skins - from Ancient Russia to the Russian Federation

Abstract

The article is devoted to territorial and geographical aspects of the fur trade formation and development in different periods of Russian history. The data of various departmental and literary sources on sable extraction volumes, starting from the 6th century AD, are analysed. Until now. The authors relying on the collected data have tried to clarify the dynamics of extraction the most valuable type of commercial fur. The information received from the largest fur fairs in Tsarist Russia, and later from international fur auctions, has been studied. It has been established that the data of various official reports and other literary sources differ to a large extent, which does not allow establishing the exact volumes of sable extraction with a high degree of reliability. It was confirmed that by the 30s of the 20th century, the sable was practically destroyed in most of the range, which required the adoption of measures to restore the species over several years. The article discusses development of the system of procurement and sale of sable skins, examples of selling prices in different historical periods are given. The dynamics of the preparation of sable skins in the Soviet and market periods is shown. The reasons for price fluctuations in the world fur market are revealed.