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The Kyakhta Trade (, ''Kyahtinskaya torgovlya'', zh, 恰克图商路) refers to the trade between
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
through the town of
Kyakhta Kyakhta (, ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Kyakhtinsky District in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located on the Kyakhta River near the Mongolia–Russia border. The town stands directly opposite the Mongolian border to ...
on the Mongolian border south of
Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...
from 1727. The trade was mostly Siberian furs for Chinese cotton, silk, tobacco and tea.


The earlier Nerchinsk trade 1689–1722

Russia and China came into direct contact after Russians made themselves masters of the
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
n forests between 1582 and 1639. In 1689 the
Treaty of Nerchinsk The Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689 was the first treaty between the Tsardom of Russia and the Qing dynasty of China after the defeat of Russia by Qing China at the Siege of Albazin in 1686. The Russians gave up the area north of the Amur River as ...
delineated the Russo-Chinese border in "Manchuria". This treaty said nothing about
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
since this area had not yet come under Chinese/Manchu control. The fifth article of the treaty allowed trade with proper documents but was otherwise vague. Russian merchants began organizing caravans to travel from
Nerchinsk Nerchinsk (; , ''Nershüü''; , ''Nerchüü''; mnc, m=, v=Nibcu, a=Nibqu) is a town and the administrative center of Nerchinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Nercha River, above its confluence with th ...
(east of Chita) to Beijing (), the round trip usually taking 10 to 12 months. In 1692–93 Eberhard Isbrand Ides went on a commercial-diplomatic mission to Beijing. He left Beijing in February 1694 and reached Moscow 11 months later. Tsar
Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...
now decided that trade should be a state monopoly. Fourteen Russian state caravans travelled to Beijing in the period between 1689 and 1722. Private trade continued, much of it going short distances to places like Urga (present-day Ulaanbaatar) and
Qiqihar Qiqihar (also spelled Tsitsihar) is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, w ...
. In 1721 Lorenz Lange estimated that the Urga trade alone was four times greater than that of the state caravans. The first state caravan left Moscow in 1697 and returned two years later. The fourth, under Ivan Savateev, left Moscow in 1702, used the usual Nerchinsk route but returned via Urga and Selenginsk, which took only 70 days. It carried a letter from the Lifanyuan (the Chinese regional authority) suggesting that this become the standard route since Mongolia was now under Manchu control and local relations could be managed by the Tushetu Khan at Urga. There was a fifth caravan under Petr Khudiakov in 1705–09. The First Oirat-Manchu War of 1687 to 1697 had forced the
Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...
out of Mongolia and made border control more important. The journey of Tulishen in 1712-15 gave the Manchus more knowledge of the western regions. From 1717 the Manchus began to pressure the Russians to delineate the Mongol border. In 1717–20 Lev Vasil'yevich Izmailov went to Beijing to negotiate a trade treaty, but this attempt failed because of the border problem. A caravan under one "Ifin" was stopped at the
Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection agains ...
and another under Fedor Istopnikov was detained in 1718. In 1722 the Manchus blocked trade pending settlement of the border problem. This led to the Treaty of Kyakhta of 1727.


The foundation of Kyakhta

The
Treaty of Kyakhta (1727) The Treaty of Kyakhta (or Kiakhta), along with the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689), regulated the relations between Imperial Russia and the Qing Empire of China until the mid-19th century. It was signed by Tulišen and Count Sava Lukich Raguzinskii- ...
specified that all official trade between the two empires would pass through points near Kyakhta and Tsurukaitu on the Manchurian border. Tsurukaitu never became important because the Kyakhta route was much better than the long journey east from Lake Baikal. Before the treaty the Russians in the area were centered at
Selenginsk Selenginsk (; , ''Selengyn'', , ''Selenge'') is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Kabansky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located at the head of the Selenga River delta about ...
and the Manchus worked through the Tushetu Khan at Urga. Kyakhta was the approximate point where the treaty was negotiated and the point where the border delimitation began. The Russians quickly built the post of Kyakhta at the border and the Manchus built the fort of Maimaicheng a few hundred feet south on their side. Officials on both sides dealt with diplomatic exchanges between the two empires, trade disputes and the usual police matters to be expected on a long border inhabited by nomads who cared little about rules imposed by distant empires. The chief Manchu official was called the Dzarguchei and Maimaicheng was managed by the Lifanyuan which dealt with the western grasslands. The Russians were mainly interested in trade and the Chinese mainly wanted to control the border and prevent Russian interference with their westward expansion toward the
Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...
. The Manchus would sometimes prevent trade to put pressure on the Russians. The longest interruption was 1785–92 over a Buryat robber that the Russians had failed to execute.


Route

The trade route followed the usual route to Irkutsk, by flatboat across Lake Baikal, and south by poling up the
Selenge River The Selenga ( ) or Selenge is a major river in Mongolia and Buryatia, Russia. Originating from its headwater tributaries, the Ider and the Delger mörön, it flows for before draining into Lake Baikal. The Selenga therefore makes up the most ...
past Selinginsk. Near the mouth of the
Chikoy River The Chikoy (; , ''Tsökh gol''; , ''Sükhe gol'') is a river in Zabaykalsky Krai and the Buryat Republic in Russia, which partially flows along the Russia-Mongolia border. It is a right tributary of the Selenga. The length of the Chikoy is . The ...
at a place called Strelka or Petropavlovsk goods were loaded onto carts and carried south to Kyakhta where caravans were assembled or goods bartered. Much barter was done at Kyakhta during the winter and Chinese goods were shipped west when the rivers melted. From the 1760s the overland route from Yekaterinburg began to replace the Siberian rivers. When the ground was frozen solid this might take 70 or 80 days. Later in the century furs from Russian-America were sent via Okhotsk and Yakutsk to Kyakhta. To the south the route went south to Urga, southeast to
Kalgan Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest ...
on the Great Wall and then Beijing. The crossing of the Gobi took at least 30 to 40 days. The second state caravan followed the
Kerulen Kherlen River (also known as Kerülen; ; ) is a 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. It is also one of the two longest rivers in Mongolia, along with the Orkhon River. Course The river originates in the south slopes of the Khentii mounta ...
River east, but this was not repeated. A round trip on the route might take from one to three years.


The state caravans

The treaty said that caravans would be three years apart. There were six state caravans from Kyakhta between 1727 and 1760. At Beijing the caravan leaders dealt with diplomacy, the Russian church in Beijing and the few Russian students who were there to learn Manchu and Chinese. The leader often had an audience with the Emperor. # 1727: Molokov, Lorenz Lange as diplomat: Outbound Sep-Dec 1727, stayed in Beijing 6 months, returned Jul-Sep 1728. They set out with 205 men, 1,650 horses, 475 goods carts, 162 provision carts and 665 cattle for food. They had 285,404 rubles in goods including 2,100,000 pelts. Between Selenginsk and Kalgan they lost 489 horses and 258 cattle. At Kalgan they left their extra horses to be picked up on the way back. In Beijing they stayed at the Russian House or
Lifan Yuan The Lifan Yuan (; ; Mongolian: Гадаад Монголын төрийг засах явдлын яам, ''γadaγadu mongγul un törü-yi jasaqu yabudal-un yamun'') was an agency in the government of the Qing dynasty of China which administered ...
. Numerous 'guards' soon appeared. Trade went slowly and the Russians blamed the Chinese officials. Before leaving Lange had an audience with the Emperor. They returned with 125,000 yards of silk, 570,000 yards of cotton, 30,000 pounds of tea (much less than later), 65,000 rubles in gold and silver and 404,000 unsold pelts. In 1731-33 excess goods were bartered at the border for about 125,000 rubles at Moscow prices. 335,301 rubles of Chinese goods were brought to Moscow for sale, some remaining unsold until 1735. Cost of caravan estimated at 62,687 rubles. # 1731: Molokov+Lange: Nov '31-Mar '32, returned Sep '32-Sep '33. 113 men, about 100,000 rubles in goods and 140,000 in coin. They returned with 214,699 rubles of Chinese goods at Moscow prices. Lange had another audience with the Emperor. Outbound, to avoid the Gobi desert, they followed the
Kerulen River Kherlen River (also known as Kerülen; ; ) is a 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. It is also one of the two longest rivers in Mongolia, along with the Orkhon River. Course The river originates in the south slopes of the Khentii mounta ...
where they were robbed. They returned north to Tsurukaitu and were again robbed. The bandits were captured and the Manchus sent the heads of nine bandits to Kyakhta as a token of good will. The journey from Beijing to Tsurukaitu lasted from Sep '32 to Apr '33. At Tsurukaitu they had difficulty finding storage space and laborers. It took them all summer to travel west to Irkutsk. This route was not used again. #1736: Firsov+Lange: Jul? 36-Nov ’36, return May-Aug '37. 100,000 rubles in goods. Goods sold in St Petersburg rather than Moscow. # 1741: Firsov: Jun-Sep '41 Apr 42-?. About 100,000 rubles. Sold at St Petersburg # 1745: Lebratovsky: Aug 45-Dec '45 Jun? 46-? # 1753?: Vladykin ?-Dec' 53?, Jul? 54-? There were no further caravans because of the Dzungar wars. In 1762 Catherine replaced state caravans with free trade. Russian goods would be sold or bartered at Kyakhta.


Goods and money

There was some amount of illegal and informal trade, but we have no numbers. There were many regulations prohibiting the export of certain goods and making others a state monopoly. The regulations changed frequently. Trade was mostly by barter and both sides sometimes tried to prevent the export of coined money. Money value: The money value of goods had to be estimated, accounting practices were imperfect and there was some bribery. After the period of state caravans the value of goods exported was about: 600,000 rubles in 1755, 1,000,000 in 1768, 2,700,000 in 1780, 4,200,000 in 1800, and 5,700,000 in 1805. Tax revenue was about 20% of exports. The Kyakhta trade was perhaps 7% of Russian foreign trade. Another writer says that the annual trade in 1824-30 was between 5.5 and 7.8 million rubles and by mid-century it had reached 16 million rubles, but it is not clear whether this is exports, imports or both. Exports: Furs were 70-85% by value, with the percentage tending to decline, especially as European-made goods increased. Squirrel was the largest by quantity, about 2-4 million pelts annually.Foust, page 346. Other historians of Siberia say little about squirrel, which seems strange Furs were followed by leather and hides, Russian and later foreign cloth and then miscellaneous goods. In the period of 1800-1805 about two thirds of Kyakhta exports were of non-Russian origin. The ratio before 1800 is not clear. Imports: About 50-60% was cotton (it is not clear where this came from). Silk, both raw and processed was about a third. Tea imports started small but were 22% by value in 1792 and 40% ten years later. These were followed by tobacco and manufactured goods. An unknown part of the northbound trade was brought by "Bukharans", as the Russians called Central Asian traders.


The Chinese side

South of Kyakhta the trade route had three sections. *1. 170 miles south to Urga. Here carts could be used. The land had more rain, grass, people, hills and rivers than further south. *2. 625 miles southeast to Kalgan by camel caravan across the Gobi Desert. This took about 30 days. Ox carts were used for heavy loads. Horses were used for speed and to supervise the caravans. *3. 100 miles southeast from Kalgan to Beijing over the mountains west of Beijing. This took about four days and used mules because of a difficult pass, probably to
Juyong Pass Juyong Pass () is a mountain pass located in the Changping District of Beijing Municipality, over from central Beijing. The Great Wall of China passes through, and the Cloud Platform was built here in the year 1342. Mountain pass Geography ...
. The general tea trade in Mongolia was managed by seven companies, the largest of which was the Da Sheng Kui which was based in
Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the Capital (political), capital of Inner Mongolia in the North China, north of the China, People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrativ ...
after 1724. They dealt in other goods and interacted with the numerous lamaseries which were also political and economic centers. File:Across Mongolian plains; a naturalist's account of China's "great northwest", by Roy Chapman Andrews photographs by Yvette Borup Andrews (1921) (16563363347).jpg, Transported with camels File:Across Mongolian plains; a naturalist's account of China's "great northwest", by Roy Chapman Andrews photographs by Yvette Borup Andrews (1921) (16563385097).jpg, Cargo across the river


References


Notes

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Sources

*Clifford M. Foust, 'Muscovite and Mandarin: Russia's Trade with China and its Setting, 1727-1805, 1968 - this article is a summary of Foust *Alexander Michie, 'The Siberian Overland Route from Peking to Petersburg', 1864. -followed the route in 1863 History of Siberia Trade routes China–Russian Empire relations History of Zhangjiakou