The Sibir Horde was a state together with a government, a khan (who went underground and later into exile) and a capital (which was besieged and adopted by the Russians). The Russians encountered the Nogay Horde further to the South East and the authority figures to the North East would be dubbed "the skewbald Horde". Although the Samoyeds and Yenisseians in question had NIL to do with Turks or the Mongolians and never described themselves like that, they did have something like a state and out of habit the Russians dubbed it a "Horde".

Ironically when they encountered the Chinese in the 1640s it were the Russians who were regarded as mere barbarians, and consequently they were refused audience with the Emperor in Beijing. It would take a civil war to weaken China enough for them to sign a border agreement with Russia by the 1680s.