When one political interest was dominant in a county, the politician could attempt to carry matters with a high hand, as Colonel John Campbell of Mamore did in 1727, when a dispute arose over the collectorship of Dunbartonshire.
Furthermore the law provides no sacrifice for sin with a high hand, i.e. wilful and deliberate sin.
The subjects vowed eternal fealty to the White Tsar, to be loyal and to pay dues on time. In return the monarch undertook to protect those who had come under his high hand. Ostyaks (Khantys) swore in front of a bearskin on which were laid an axe, a knife and some bread.