During 1650–2015, in the territory of the former Soviet Union, numbers and distribution of game species fluctuated from abundance to extirpation to restore. I developed an index of abundance for the ‘tsar’ year and used modern estimations of game animal's numbers for the later period. In addition, I collected data on annual harvest of fur animal's pelts. My analysis illustrates periods of famine and social turbulent times strongly influenced subsistence hunting. I observe that totalitarian regime of Soviet Union ensured restoration of game species but after socio-economic revolution of 1991 led to the new decline occurred as a result of limited game management. There are a number of potential causes for this trend, and professional hunting negatively impacted populations. My 300-year-long data set of wildlife management demonstrates the role of regulated hunting as a necessary method of sustainable wildlife management.