Yerofey Khabarov

Yerofey Khabarov was a Russian entrepreneur, merchant, explorer and conqueror. He came from a peasant family and was dedicated to rise on the social ladder through trade. He developed a successful trade in furs and owned saltworks. His drive for wealth drove him into conquering the area of the Amur River.

Born into a peasant family in Veliky Ustyug, a city in the north of Russia, Khabarov started his career in by managing salt works for the famous Stroganov merchant family. Being a manger for the Stroganovs did not satisfied him and he had decided to make his own fortune by crossing the Urals in search of Siberian treasures. His fortunes turned for better once he reached the city of Mangazeya, which was a center for fur trading on the eastern side of the Ural Mountains.

In 1632 Khabarov moved to Lena River where he hunted animals for fur and traded salt, a treasure valued almost as highly as gold back then. In 1649 he organized an expedition to survey the Amur, personally sponsoring his venture. The region of Amur was populated by the Daur tribes, which proved to be an easy target and he decided to return with reinforced troops and conquer the land. He launched further attacks on the Daur tribes, expanding Russian control over the area, but with great violence. In 1651 the Daurs decided to seek protection from the Chinese, which they offered and because of that Russia and China engaged in many frontier struggles until the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689.

Because of Khabarov’s exaggeration in describing the riches of the Amur region and his cruelty toward the native people Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich appointed a new governor to rule the Amur region – Dmitry Zinovyev. Khabarov was arrested and his possessions were confiscated while he was sent to Moscow for further prosecution. However, the Tsar acquitted him and ordered all his possessions to be returned to him and granted him the noble title of boyar. He was also appointed governor of several villages along the Lena River.