To replace the lost fur trade to the East, the Karelian people had to now look increasingly Northward and Westward (Northern Bothnia) for new fur and hunting grounds. The Slavs were able to consolidate their strength in the aforementioned strongholds but at the same time Tatar invasions from the East forced their armies to move and fight elsewhere. This harassment from the rear by Mongolians and Tatars saved the Finns from total genocide many times.

However, Novgorod renewed their taxation raids to Perm in 1265 and consolidated further their acquisitions of Perm, Jugrian, and Samoyed lands among others. But in many areas they did not constitute a lasting presence for a long time. When Novgorod became involved in war with Sweden in the closing years of 1200's, the Perm Finns took back control of their lands. This situation continued until 1323 after which Novgorod again renewed its conquest of Perm, and lost it again in 1333 and 1337, forcing Muscovites to back off again for a time. In 1342, Novgorod again took control of Ustjug and Viena areas after forcing various Finns on the East side of Onega to join the Novgorod forces.

To conquer the North, the Slavs resorted to forcing the local population to fight against their own brothers. At this time, the Vepsä Finns, (Veps) who live South of and on the Southwestern shores of Lake Onega, lost their independence and Novgorod forces conducted a scorched earth policy in these areas. Although in 1364 the "Chuds" resisted and even attacked the Orthodox monasteries on the shores of Onega, they were finally destroyed.  The Slavic conquests now spread and by the end of 1364, even the Jugrian tribes moved East behind the Ural Mountains to avoid destruction by the Slavs.

The result was that the Perm Finns (Zyrians and Votyaks) joined Moscow's forces in 1383 which were in competition with Novgorod for control.

At this time, a bishop by the name Tapani the Holy (St. Stephen of Perm) introduced the Russian Orthodox religion to Perm. He skillfully dealt with the nature worshipping Zyrians and even wrote a reader for them in their own text. Henceforth their images of worship would be, not wooden idols, but the icons of the church.

But Novgorod forces continued their looting and destruction in Jugra (Jugrians are not the same as Ugric or Ugrian although are Finno-Ugric people) and Vjatka, the Jugrians and Votyaks rose up against them in 1392 with promises by Moscow to join in. Torsok and Valgetjärvi forces joined in revolt against Novgorod in 1397 but the promised aid from Moscow did not come. They were therefore defeated in 1398 by a large army from Novgorod. Valgetjärvi Vepsä villages and towns were utterly destroyed, burned to the ground. The inhabitants were sold as slaves and their property confiscated. Russian historians wrote in their chronicles that the plague had wiped out the towns.

The destruction of the Finns along the Dvina (Viena) and Vologda increased without mercy. Ustjug was burned to the ground. But Perm, with its highly developed culture and scores of cities went untouched at this time. These were the events that set the stage for the 14th - 15th Century in the White Sea and Barents Sea regions of Russia in which time more or less permanent Slavic settlements were established in these regions. Having established their control of this region, the Slavs turned Westward to take as much of Karelia and Finland as they could from Swedish control. Finns and Western Karelians were called "Swedes" by Russians, while Orthodox Karelians were called "Russians" by Finns and fought on the side of the Czars. The Czars considered themselves at war with Sweden over control of Finnish/Savo/Karelian territories. They had already won over Eastern Karelians by conversion to the orthodox religion.

The friction between Sweden Finland and Novgorod's westwardly pushing power during the beginning of 1400's in Finland's Savo province and Pohjanmaa led to continuing border problems, even though the border had been defined in the Treaty of Pähkinäsaari. The Swedish king had interpreted it to include Savo and western Karelia. However, he was wrong, the Czar wanted these areas, in the 1450's Russian pressure continued westward.

A temporary peace was established when Ivan III (1462-1505) conquered Novgorod in 1471. The vague borders became a focus of Ivan's attention. Sweden built a wall around Viipuri (Vyborg), and in 1475 began construction of Olavinlinna for the protection of Savo.

This activity broke the treaty in which the construction of new fortifications was forbidden in Karelia. The new fortress of Olavinlinna was, in the opinion of Moscow, on the wrong side of the border. After Moscow put down rebellions in Novgorod in 1479, Ivan attacked Savo and North Pohjanmaa areas, and a new peace was made in 1487 that redefined the borders.

As a result of Moscow's continued increase in power, a papal crusade bull was announced by Pope Innocentius III in 1487 in which he called for western nations to unite against the pagan Russians. (Suomi Kautta Aikojen = Finland Through the Ages)

Who Were the Bjarm?
 

As new ivory became available from Africa, Walrus ivory became less important. The wealth of Bjarm began to decrease. It became increasingly unprofitable for Norwegians to make the effort to trade there and even to travel south along their established trade routes. When Novgorod and Kiev joined forces, this further decreased the Svealanders influence in Russia and the trade stopped completely in the middle of 1000 ce.

Map of 14th - 15th Century Finno-Ugric Lands. (This is not a map of "Russia," since the Slavs had not conquered these lands yet and there were few borders in the North, just areas controlled by various Finnish related people. Russians slowly occupied their lands over 7 Centuries, right up to 1944.) Note the location of Samoyed (red dots - handles show direction of migration) and Saami (red circles) migration.