From Muscovy's base in western Siberia, obtained in the sixteenth century, merchants, traders, and explorers had pushed eastward from the Ob' River to the Yenisey River, then to the Lena River.

By the middle of the seventeenth century, Muscovites have reached the Amur River and the outskirts of the Chinese Empire.

After a period of conflict with the Manchu Dynasty, Muscovy makes peace with China in 1689.

By the Treaty of Nerchinsk, Muscovy cedes its claims to the Amur Valley, but gains access to the region east of Lake Baikal and the trade route to Beijing.

Peace with China consolidates the initial breakthrough to the Pacific that had been made in the middle of the century.