"Lois Dubin in her book, The History of Beads,
writes that Russia, like all the Baltic countries, imported beads from Moravia and Bohemia, and
even some from Venice (Dubin 1987: 110, 111). This assertion is hard to accept."

This is simplistic thinking! Don't complain about Dubin. Track down her source, and see exactly what was proposed. (Dubin is not a "bead expert." She is a competent writer who did a worthy task of compounding together all of the [assumed appropriate] information she could find on any topic of concern.) She cites her sources—and anyone should consult these sources, when there are any questions.

Dubin does not say anything like 'the Russians went to Bohemia to get beads." But this is what the present author seems to think, and to take exception to. As I read it, Dubin is talking about the origins of the beads. The industries that made them. She is not discussing HOW the beads got marketed (as a process).

Since Amsterdam was an entrepôt for glass beads (and many products including other beads), it is very possible that Bohemian glass beads made it into Russian hands via Holland. This does not require some stretch of the imagination. It is pragmatic.

JDA.