Originally Slavs were farming peoples that dwelled in forests. A forest, on the other hand, served as protection of an agricultural, society such as Slavs' against surrounding enemies, and at the same time it provided its people with furs, one of the important exports of Russia since olden times. And yet this trade in furs as a direct motive plus international economic situation contributed to the conquest and first cultivation of Siberia. In course of time, however, with a sudden decrease of the number of furred animals in this region a fanatic state which might have been properly described as the “fur age” began to move from the west to the east of Siberia only to disappear. And in place of the “fur age, ” settlement by farming people in the southern part of Siberia began to stretch out from one steppe to another.
When we see a chart of population distribution in Siberia of the present day, we have to take into account such a historical background as stated above.