Why did Russian colonizers force Indigenous men to hunt sea otters?

Russian colonizers forced Indigenous men, particularly the Unangan (Aleuts) and Koniag, to hunt sea otters primarily to satisfy the high demand for luxury furs in China, which was one of the few markets willing to trade with Russia at the time.12

The Russian fur traders, known as promyshlenniki, recognized that Indigenous peoples possessed the specialized expertise required to capture these animals effectively. Because voluntary production was insufficient to meet commercial goals, the colonizers imposed a brutal system of forced labor. To ensure the compliance of Indigenous men, Russian administrators held entire villages hostage, demanding labor, food, and sex from the remaining residents.12

This exploitative system was characterized by a disregard for human life and dignity, as the colonizers exercised power over Indigenous peoples as if they were "serfs". The forced labor caused severe human suffering, leading to widespread malnourishment, starvation, and a catastrophic decline in the Indigenous population due to both overwork and the introduction of foreign diseases.132