Uralians III

1552-1650 CE

From 1552 to 1650 CE, the Uralians found the Russian tide unstoppable — Kazan fell to Ivan's cannons, then Astrakhan, and suddenly Muscovite fort-builders and fur traders pushed ever deeper into the taiga and tundra. The Khanty and Mansi watched Cossack bands cross the Urals; the Mari and Mordvins paid yasak to Orthodox tsars; and shamans who had sung to forest spirits learned to mumble Christian prayers for masters who understood nothing of their world.