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3.2.1.wavThe men who returned from Bering's expedition discovering Alaska reported the many fur-bearing animals they had seen. Russian fur-hunters in Siberia set out for Alaska almost at once. Russians had been interested in furs for centuries before coming to Alaska. Furs were in great demand in Europe and China and were Russia's most valuable trade commodity. Fine furs became luxurious, waterproof garments for the wealthy Chinese aristocracy. Other furs became coat collars or hats in Europe and the United States. The search for these valuable furs drove the Russian expansion across Siberia, and now it would drive their expansion across Alaska.
The Russians traded furs with the Chinese at a commercial center called Kyakhta. This town was on the Russian-Chinese border, over 1,000 miles inland from the Siberian coast. To get furs from Alaska to Kyakhta, Russians first shipped them by boat from Alaska to Ohotsk. Then, the furs traveled the thousand-mile road to Kyakhta.
Once the furs arrived at Kyakhta, the Russians traded them for Chinese luxury items like silk, spices, and porcelain, along with gold and silver. However, the largest trade item was tea, which accounted for 80% of what Russian traders bought. This tea was shipped to Russian cities and sold at a considerable profit.
During the Russian Era, over 1 million sea otters were killed for the fur trade
The Chinese especially wanted sea otter pelts, the densest fur of any mammal. The large populations of sea otters in Alaskan waters promised new profits for Siberian fur hunters and merchants.
Sea otter fur was the most valuable fur in the world. In today's dollars, a single sea otter pelt was worth approximately $800 in China. By the 1760s, the average worth of the fur trade was four million rubles, more than $100 million in modern terms.
Russians' chief reason for coming to and staying in Alaska was the fur trade. This is true even though they also farmed, fished, logged, manufactured, mined, ran sawmills, built ships, and whaled. They did most of these things only to support the fur trade.
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