European polecat In the former Soviet Union, polecats are hunted chiefly in late autumn and early winter with guns and hunting dogs, as well as foothold traps and wooden snares. However, even in season, hunters rarely catch more than 10-15 polecats. The species does not constitute an important element in former Soviet commercial hunting, and is usually only caught incidentally. The European polecat is a valuable fur bearer, whose pelt (fitch) is more valuable than the steppe polecat's. Its skin is used primarily in the production of jackets, capes and coats. It is particularly well suited for trimmings for women's clothing. The
Alan (given name) is today Russia, and who were known to Classical writers in the 1st century CE. According to historian Bernard Bachrach, the Alans settled in parts of what is today France, including Brittany, in the Early Middle Ages. Bachrach stated that the use of forms of the name in given names, surnames, and place names, are evidence of the continued influence of the Alans on the Gaulish, Breton and Frankish peoples. The Breton name "Alan" can not be a direct loan from the ethnic name of the Alans (rendered as "Alānī" or "Halānī" in Latin, from Scytho-Sarmatian "*Al[l]ān-", derived from Old