Abstract: In the 19th century, the Russian Empire continued its expansion by annexing new lands in Siberia and Central Asia. After the end of military expeditions, these lands were gradually integrated in the all-Russian market. The gap between these regions and major economic centers including Russia and the dominance of the traditional economy based on agriculture, required huge financial resources to develop the area and create a capitalist economy in Asian Russia with factory production, enhanced transport infrastructure and a wholesale and retail trade network. However, the government did not have the funds to address this important task. Therefore, the function to develop the area was assumed by local pioneering entrepreneurs (frontiersmen) while the tsarist administration gave them administrative support. This contributed to the emergence of entrepreneurship among ethnic minorities that occupied empty economic niches.