Siberian fur trade to overhunting. Instead of one sable pelt, the following was accepted as its equivalent: one fox, glutton (relative of the marten), or otter pelt; two blue-fox pelts; sixteen polar-fox pelts; or one hundred squirrel pelts. The Russian government decided the amount of other pelts that were equivalent to the sable pelt. Within forty years, almost all Siberian natives were forced into paying fur tribute to the Russians. Russian traders, hunters, and explorers reached the Pacific coastline by 1650 and were collecting fur tribute from most natives along the coast. Beyond the yasuk, the Russians had two principal ways of obtaining
5026 Martes 5026 Martes 5026 Martes, provisional designation , is a carbonaceous asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 August 1987, by Czech astronomer Antonín Mrkos at Kleť Observatory in the Czech Republic. It is named after the two weasel-like animal species: pine marten and beech marten. "Martes" is the namesake member of a small asteroid family, named the Martes family. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,339 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of