The Food Supply Challenges of Remote Siberian Forts: A Case Study of Lensky Fort in the Seventeenth Century

This article examines dietary challenges and adaptations in the development of Siberian settlements during Russian colonization, focusing on Lensky Fort (future Yakutsk). Food provision posed significant difficulties for Siberian cities and forts, including Lensky. Military personnel often went years without salaries or essential supplies like grain and salt. Vulnerable groups, such as fur tribute collectors on expeditions and servicemen travelling between settlements, faced acute food shortages, often more severe than those stationed in forts. Due to scarce grain supplies, cultivating arable crops became the primary strategy for addressing shortages. Siberian authorities promoted farming by offering loans and equipment, aiming for supply independence. Despite these efforts, arable farming failed to meet demand. Although the peasant population grew slowly, Yakutsk remained reliant on grain imports from Western Siberia through the seventeenth century. In this context, newcomers, including servicemen, hunters, and traders, adapted to local diets when grain was unavailable, incorporating indigenous food sources.