Do you think history is only wars and rulers? Not at all: the most intriguing mysteries are hidden in the price tags of sable, furs, and strange goods that today almost nobody remembers.
Economic history usually remains in the shadow of politics. The names of monarchs and commanders survive for centuries, while commercial booms and economic upheavals fade from memory. We have even forgotten the names of goods that once mattered to Russian exports as much as Siberian sable in the days of the early Romanovs—or oil and gas in our own time. And yet the past of the domestic economy is no less dramatic and captivating than political intrigues and military events. How much Rus’ paid the Horde, why Pushkin didn’t notice bread ration coupons, how cat fur was valued, and what was really called “black gold”—these and many other questions are answered by historian Alexey Volynets in his new book.