Ermak is an act that in its scale can only be compared with the conquest of America by Hernan Cortez. However, if about the famous Spanish conquistador While you can find a lot of biographical information, only a few facts are known for certain about the life of the Russian ataman, and even those are quite contradictory.
Where was Ermak born?
As you know, the conquest of Siberia took place in the 16th century. Unfortunately, in those days, such an event as the birth of a child in a peasant family usually did not find any documentary reflection. Therefore, it is not surprising that today it is impossible to give an exact answer to the question: “Where did Ermak’s family live at the time of his birth?” Some information on this issue is in the Cherepanov Chronicle, which tells how the grandfather of the future ataman helped the Murom “dashing people”, for which he was imprisoned, and his family settled in the estates of the Stroganovs. However, many researchers are not inclined to trust this manuscript, especially since its authors include a certain competent coachman from Tobolsk, Ilya Cherepanov. Another document - “The Legend of the Siberian Land” - points to Suzdal as the place where Ermak’s family lived long before his birth. Further in the chronicle it is narrated that his grandfather, together with his sons, one of whom was named Timofey, moved to Yuryevtse-Povolsky, where he had five grandchildren, including Vasily. As stated in the “Tale,” it was this boy who was later to become the conqueror of Siberia.
Pomeranian version of the origin of the chieftain
Some researchers believe that the question of where Ermak’s family lived should be answered: “In the village of Borok Arkhangelsk region" According to the same version, the ataman’s real name was Ermolai, or Ermil, and he ended up on the Volga, trying to escape the famine that gripped the Russian North. There the young man became a “chury” (servant-squire) to an elderly Cossack, and from 1563 he began to go on campaigns.
Life of Ermak before the Siberian campaigns
The only reliable information regarding the biography of the ataman before his appearance on the lands of the Stroganovs is the memoirs of his fellow Cossacks. In particular, two veterans claimed to have spent their youth serving in the Volga villages under the conqueror of Siberia. Thus, to the question of where Ermak lived around 1565, we can answer that he was in the Volga region and was already an ataman. This means that at that time he was no less than 20 years old. More information has been preserved about Ermak’s military exploits. Thus, from a letter from the Lithuanian commandant of the city of Mogilev to King Stefan Batory, you can find out that he participated as a Cossack centurion and distinguished himself during the siege of the Mogilev fortress. Later, his detachment helped Khvorostinin stop the advance of the Swedes. As for whether Ermak’s wife and children existed, there is no mention of them in any source.
Ermak and the Stroganovs
In 1582, the famous merchants Stroganov invited a Cossack squad consisting of 540 Cossacks to serve. Their leader was Ataman Ermak, who was already famous as a fearless warrior and an excellent commander. The Stroganovs' goal was to ensure the protection of their lands from frequent attacks by detachments Siberian Khan Kuchuma. The army arrived in the Chusovsky towns in the summer of 1582 and remained there until September, after which it went to fight for the Stone Belt, as it was called in those days. There are records that the Stroganovs “opened their barns for the military men” and supplied them with everything necessary for the campaign.
Conquest of Siberia
Ermak's army used plows as a means of transportation. In total, the Cossacks had 80 ships, on which 840 people went on a campaign different nationalities. Having risen through the water to the Tagil Pass, Ermak’s squad was forced to drag the plows along the ground to the Zheravlya River and then get to Tobol, on the banks of which a battle took place with the army of the Siberian Khan Kuchum. Having won the battle, the Cossacks captured the city of Kashlyk. Then representatives of local peoples began to come to bow to Ermak, whom the ataman “met kindly” and forced to swear allegiance. In 1582, he sent one of his comrades with the good news about the conquest of Siberia. The king was delighted with the news received and sent Ermak rich gifts and 300 military men to help. The detachment arrived in Siberia in the fall of 1583. However, by this time fortune had turned away from the ataman, many of his commanders were killed in battles with the Tatars.
Where Ermak drowned: what the Cossacks said
At the time of his death, the famous ataman was already a fairly well-known person, therefore, several years after the last battle of the Cossacks with the army of Kuchum, on the orders of the Tobolsk Archbishop Kipriyan, an investigation was carried out and the surviving comrades of Ermak were interrogated. In addition, the Tatars who fought as part of the Khan’s army also gave testimony.
If we combine all the facts presented by eyewitnesses, the following picture emerges: last Stand took place on the Vagai bow, where the Cossacks spent the night. They set up “canopy” tents on the banks of the Irtysh, not far from their plows, on which each warrior had his own specific place and his own pilot. That night a storm broke out, and therefore Kuchum’s detachment managed to take them by surprise. Despite this, most of the Cossacks managed to get on their ships and sail away. Further, contradictions begin in written sources. In particular, in an earlier document, recorded from the words of the surviving veterans of Ermak’s army, it is indicated that they reproach themselves because they abandoned the ataman and a small handful of comrades, and they themselves left the scene of the battle on the plows. Completely different information is contained in the synodial record, which the deacons compiled later, and there you can read that all the Cossacks died along with Ermak, and only one of them escaped and spoke about the defeat of the detachment.
The death of Ermak according to the Tatars
The most interesting thing is that information about the death of the ataman in the waves of the Irtysh near the Vagai bow is found only in records made from the words of the Tatars. In particular, many former warriors they claimed that Ermak nevertheless overpowered the attackers and, trying to get to the sailing Cossack ships, went to the bottom. However, there are no records indicating whether the chieftain was wearing armor at that moment.
Legends about the conqueror of Siberia
Both the life and death of the great ataman over the past centuries have become overgrown with many myths. For example, one of the legends mentions Ermak’s failed wife. As stated in the Cossack legend, one day the Tatar Murza of the Sargach volost, wanting to secure Ermak’s friendship, brought his beautiful daughter to his camp and offered to take her as his wife. However, the chieftain rejected this proposal and sent the girl home. In addition, everyone knows the story about the chain mail, allegedly given to Ermak by Ivan the Terrible and causing the death of the hero. As some historians argue, even if the ataman ended up at the bottom of the Irtysh because of heavy armor, it could not possibly have been a gift from the tsar.
History is a book that will never be completely written. Moreover, it has many blank pages that meticulous researchers can fill in. Perhaps they will someday be able to find out where Ermak’s family lived, or they will be able to tell us some more interesting facts concerning the personality of this national hero Russia, who conquered the endless expanses of Siberia for his homeland.
One of the most important stages in the formation of Russian statehood is the conquest of Siberia. The development of these lands took almost 400 years and during this time many events occurred. The first Russian conqueror of Siberia was Ermak.
Ermak Timofeevich
The exact surname of this person has not been established; it is likely that it did not exist at all - Ermak was of an ordinary family. Ermak Timofeevich was born in 1532, in those days for naming common man a patronymic or nickname was often used. The exact origin of Ermak is not clear, but there is an assumption that he was a runaway peasant who stood out for his enormous physical strength. At first, Ermak was a chur (laborer and squire) for the Volga Cossacks.
However, in battle, the smart and brave young man quickly acquired weapons for himself, then took part in battles, and thanks to his strength and organizational skills, a few years later he became an ataman. In 1581, he commanded a flotilla of Cossacks from the Volga; there are suggestions that he fought near Pskov and Novgorod. He is rightfully considered the founder of the first Marine Corps, which was then called the “plow army”. There are other historical versions about the origin of Ermak, but this one is the most popular among historians.
Some are of the opinion that Ermak was of a noble family of Turkic blood, but there are many contradictory points in this version. One thing is clear - Ermak Timofeevich was popular among the military until his death, because the position of ataman was selective. Today Ermak is a historical hero of Russia, whose main merit is the annexation of Siberian lands to the Russian state.
Idea and goals of the trip
Back in 1579, the Stroganov merchants invited Perm region Cossacks Ermak to protect the lands from the raids of the Siberian Khan Kuchum. In the second half of 1581, Ermak had already formed a detachment of 540 soldiers. For a long time, the prevailing opinion was that the Stroganovs were the ideologists of the campaign, but now they are more inclined to believe that this was the idea of Ermak himself, and the merchants only financed this campaign. The goal was to find out what lands lie in the East, make friends with the local population and, if possible, defeat the khan and annex the lands under the hand of Tsar Ivan IV.
The great historian Karamzin called this detachment “a small gang of vagabonds.” Historians doubt that the campaign was organized with the approval of the central authorities. Most likely, such a decision became a consensus between the authorities who wanted to acquire new lands, merchants who were concerned about their own protection from Tatar raids, and the Cossacks who dreamed of getting rich and showing off their prowess in a campaign only after the khan’s capital had fallen. At first, the tsar was against this campaign, about which he wrote an angry letter to the Stroganovs demanding the return of Ermak to guard the Perm lands.
Mysteries of the hike
It is widely known that the Russians first penetrated into Siberia in quite ancient times. Most definitely, the Novgorodians walked along the White Sea to the Yugorsky Shar Strait and further beyond it, into the Kara Sea, back in the 9th century. The first chronicle evidence of such voyages dates back to 1032, which in Russian historiography is considered the beginning of the history of Siberia.
The core of the detachment was made up of Cossacks from the Don, led by glorious atamans: Koltso Ivan, Mikhailov Yakov, Pan Nikita, Meshcheryak Matvey. In addition to the Russians, the detachment included a number of Lithuanians, Germans and even Tatars. Cossacks are internationalists in modern terminology; nationality did not play a role for them. They accepted into their ranks everyone who was baptized into the Orthodox faith.
But discipline in the army was strict - the ataman demanded observance of all Orthodox holidays and fasts, and did not tolerate laxity and revelry. The army was accompanied by three priests and one defrocked monk. The future conquerors of Siberia boarded eighty plow boats and set sail to meet dangers and adventures.
Crossing the "Stone"
According to some sources, the detachment set out on September 1, 1581. The Cossacks moved along the Chusovaya River until Ural mountains. At the Tagil Pass, the fighters themselves cut the road with an ax. The Cossack custom was to drag ships along the ground at passes, which turned out to be impossible due to large number boulders. Therefore, people had to carry plows up the slope. At the top of the pass, the Cossacks built Kokuy-gorod and spent the winter there. In the spring they rafted down the Tagil River.
Defeat of the Siberian Khanate
The “acquaintance” of Cossacks and local Tatars took place on the territory of what is now the Sverdlovsk region. The Cossacks were fired upon by their opponents, but repelled the impending attack of the Tatar cavalry with cannons and occupied the city of Chingi-tura in the present Tyumen region. In these places, the conquerors obtained jewelry and furs, and along the way took part in many battles.
May 1582 – at the mouth of the Tura, the Cossacks fought with the troops of already six Tatar princes.
July 1582 – Battle of Tobol.
July 21, 1582 – the battle at the Babasan yurts, where Ermak stopped a cavalry army of several thousand horsemen galloping towards him with cannon volleys.
In the battle of Long Yar, the Tatars again fired at the Cossacks.
14 August 1582- the battle of Karachin town, where the Cossacks captured the rich treasury of the Murza of Karachi.
November 4, 1582– Kuchum with an army of fifteen thousand organized an ambush near the Chuvash Cape, with him were mercenary squads of Voguls and Ostyaks. At the most crucial moment, it turned out that Kuchum’s best troops went on a raid on the city of Perm. The mercenaries fled during the battle, and Kuchum was forced to retreat to the steppe.
November 1582- Ermak occupied the capital of the Khanate - the city of Kashlyk.
Historians suggest that Kuchum was of Uzbek origin. It is known for sure that he established power in Siberia using extremely cruel methods. It is not surprising that after his defeat, local peoples (Khanty) brought gifts and fish to Ermak. As the documents say, Ermak Timofeevich greeted them with “kindness and greetings” and saw them off “with honor.” Having heard about the kindness of the Russian ataman, Tatars and other nationalities began to come to him with gifts.
Mysteries of the hike
Ermak's campaign was not the first military campaign in Siberia. The very first information about the Russian military campaign in Siberia dates back to 1384, when the Novgorod detachment marched to Pechora, and further, on a northern campaign through the Urals, to the Ob.
Ermak promised to protect everyone from Kuchum and other enemies, imposing yasak on them - a mandatory tribute. The ataman took an oath from the leaders about taxes from their peoples - then it was called “wool”. After the oath, they were automatically considered subjects of the king and were not subject to any persecution. At the end of 1582, some of Ermak’s soldiers were ambushed on the lake and were completely exterminated. On February 23, 1583, the Cossacks responded to the khan by capturing his chief military leader.
Embassy in Moscow
Ermak in 1582 sent ambassadors to the king, headed by a confidant (I. Koltso). The ambassador's goal was to tell the sovereign about the complete defeat of the khan. Ivan the Terrible mercifully gave gifts to the messengers; among the gifts were two expensive chain mail for the chieftain. Following the Cossacks, Prince Bolkhovsky was sent with a squad of three hundred soldiers. The Stroganovs were ordered to choose forty the best people and join them to the squad - this procedure took a long time. The detachment reached Kashlyk in November 1584; the Cossacks did not know in advance about such a replenishment, so the necessary provisions were not prepared for the winter.
Conquest of the Voguls
In 1583, Ermak conquered Tatar villages in the Ob and Irtysh basins. The Tatars offered fierce resistance. Along the Tavda River, the Cossacks went to the land of the Vogulichs, extending the king’s power to the Sosva River. In the conquered town of Nazim, already in 1584, there was a rebellion in which all the Cossacks of Ataman N. Pan were slaughtered. In addition to the unconditional talent of a commander and strategist, Ermak acts as a subtle psychologist with an excellent understanding of people. Despite all the difficulties and difficulties of the campaign, not one of the atamans wavered, did not change their oath, and until their last breath were Ermak’s faithful comrade-in-arms and friend.
The chronicles do not preserve the details of this battle. But, given the conditions and method of war used by the Siberian peoples, apparently, the Voguls built a fortification, which the Cossacks were forced to storm. From the Remezov Chronicle it is known that after this battle Ermak had 1060 people left - the losses of the Cossacks amounted to about 600 people.
Hungry winter
The winter period of 1584-1585 turned out to be extremely cold, the frost was about -47°C, and winds constantly blew from the north. It was impossible to hunt in the forest because of the deep snow; wolves circled in huge packs near human dwellings. All the archers of Bolkhovsky, the first governor of Siberia from the famous princely family, died of hunger along with him. They did not have time to take part in the battles with the khan. The number of Cossacks of Ataman Ermak also decreased greatly. During this period, Ermak tried not to meet with the Tatars - he took care of the weakened fighters.
Mysteries of the hike
Who needs land? Until now, none of the Russian historians have given a clear answer to a simple question: why Ermak began this campaign to the east, to the Siberian Khanate.
Revolt of the Murza of Karach
In the spring of 1585, one of the leaders who submitted to Ermak on the Ture River suddenly attacked the Cossacks Koltso and Mikhailov. Almost all the Cossacks died, and the rebels blocked their former capital Russian army. On June 12, 1585, Meshcheryak and his comrades made a bold foray and drove back the Tatar army, but the Russian losses were enormous. At this point, Ermak only had half of those who went on the hike with him survive. Of the five atamans, only two survived - Ermak and Meshcheryak.
The death of Ermak and the end of the campaign
On the night of August 3, 1585, Ataman Ermak died with fifty soldiers on the Vagai River. The Tatars attacked the sleeping camp; only a few warriors survived this skirmish, who brought terrible news to Kashlyk. Witnesses to Ermak’s death claim that he was wounded in the neck, but continued to fight.
During the battle, the ataman had to jump from one boat to another, but he was bleeding, and the royal chain mail was heavy - Ermak did not make the jump. It was impossible even for such a strong man to swim out in heavy armor - the wounded man drowned. Legend has it that a local fisherman found the body and brought it to the khan. For a month the Tatars shot arrows into the body of the defeated enemy, during which time no traces of decomposition were noticed. The surprised Tatars buried Ermak in a place of honor (in modern times this is the village of Baishevo), but behind the fence of the cemetery - he was not a Muslim.
After receiving the news of the death of their leader, the Cossacks gathered for a meeting, where it was decided to return to their native land - spending the winter in these places again would be like death. Under the leadership of Ataman Meshcheryak, on August 15, 1585, the remnants of the detachment moved in an organized manner along the Ob River to the west, home. The Tatars celebrated their victory - they did not yet know that the Russians would return in a year.
Results of the campaign
The expedition of Ermak Timofeevich established Russian power for two years. As often happened with pioneers, they paid with their lives for conquering new lands. The forces were unequal - several hundred pioneers against tens of thousands of opponents. But everything did not end with the death of Ermak and his warriors - other conquerors followed, and soon all of Siberia became a vassal of Moscow.
The conquest of Siberia often took place with “little blood”, and the personality of Ataman Ermak was overgrown with numerous legends. People composed songs about the brave hero, historians and writers wrote books, artists painted pictures, and directors made films. Ermak's military strategies and tactics were adopted by other commanders. The formation of the army, invented by the brave chieftain, was used hundreds of years later by another great commander- Alexander Suvorov.
His persistence in advancing through the territory of the Siberian Khanate is very, very reminiscent of the persistence of the doomed. Ermak simply walked along the rivers of an unfamiliar land, counting on chance and military success. According to the logic of things, the Cossacks should have laid down their heads during the campaign. But Ermak was lucky, he captured the capital of the Khanate and went down in history as a winner.
Three hundred years after the events described, the Russian artist Vasily Surikov painted a painting. This is a truly monumental picture of the battle genre. The talented artist managed to convey how great the feat of the Cossacks and their chieftain was. Surikov’s painting shows one of the battles of a small detachment of Cossacks with the huge army of the khan.
The artist managed to describe everything in such a way that the viewer understands the outcome of the battle, although the battle has just begun. Christian banners with the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands flutter over the heads of the Russians. The battle is led by Ermak himself - he is at the head of his army and at first glance it is evident that he is a Russian commander of remarkable strength and great courage. The enemies are presented as a faceless mass, whose strength is undermined by fear of the alien Cossacks. Ermak Timofeevich is calm and confident, with the eternal gesture of a commander he directs his warriors forward.
The air is filled with gunpowder, it seems that shots are heard, flying arrows whistle. In the background there is hand-to-hand combat, and in the central part the troops raised an icon, turning to higher powers for help. In the distance you can see the Khan's stronghold - a little more and the Tatars' resistance will be broken. The atmosphere of the picture is imbued with a feeling of imminent victory.
To put it figuratively, it is true that Ermak “cut a window” to Asia. This feat of the brave Cossacks and their talented leader has not been forgotten - almost five hundred years have passed, and the memory of them lives on among the people.
Origin
Conquest of Siberia
Performance evaluation
Death of Ermak
Ermak Timofeevich(1532/1534/1542 - August 6, 1585) - Cossack chieftain, historical conqueror of Siberia for the Russian state.
Origin
Origin Ermak unknown exactly, there are several versions. According to one legend, he was from the banks of the Kama. Thanks to his knowledge of local rivers, he walked along the Kama, Chusovaya and even crossed into Asia, along the Tagil River, until he was taken to serve as a Cossack (Cherepanov Chronicle), in another way - a native of the Kachalinskaya village on the Don (Bronevsky). Recently, the version about the Pomeranian origin of Ermak (originally “from the Dvina from Borka”) has been heard more and more often; they probably meant the Boretsk volost, the center of which exists to this day - the village of Borok, Vinogradovsky district, Arkhangelsk region.
His name, according to Professor Nikitsky, is a change of name Ermolai, but Ermak sounded like an abbreviation. Other historians and chroniclers derive it from Herman And Eremeya. One chronicle, considering Ermak's name a nickname, gives him the Christian name Vasily. There is an opinion that “Ermak” is a nickname derived from the name of the cooking pot.
There is a hypothesis about the Turkic (Kerait or Siberian) origin of Ermak. In favor of this version, arguments are given that the name Ermak is Turkic and still exists among the Tatars, Bashkirs and Kazakhs, but is pronounced as Ermek. This speaks in favor of the theory preserved by the Turks of Russia and Kazakhstan that Ermak was a traitor and was baptized, from which he became an outcast (Cossack), which is why he managed to lead Russian troops through the territories of the Turkic khanates. The theory is also supported by the fact that the name Ermak was not and is not used in Russia when naming babies.
Ermak was at first the ataman of one of the numerous Cossack squads, who on the Volga protected the population from tyranny and robbery from outside Crimean Tatars. In 1579, a squad of Cossacks (more than 500 people), under the command of atamans Ermak Timofeevich, Ivan Koltso, Yakov Mikhailov, Nikita Pan and Matvey Meshcheryak was invited by the Ural merchants the Stroganovs to protect against regular attacks from the Siberian Khan Kuchum and went up the Kama and in June 1579 arrived on the Chusovaya River, in the Chusovoy towns of the Stroganov brothers. Here the Cossacks lived for two years and helped the Stroganovs defend their towns from predatory attacks by the Siberian Khan Kuchum.
By the beginning of 1580, the Stroganovs invited Ermak to serve, then he was at least 40 years old. Ermak took part in the Livonian War, commanded a Cossack hundred during the battle with the Lithuanians for Smolensk.
Conquest of Siberia
On September 1, 1581, by order of Ivan the Terrible, a squad of Cossacks under the main command of Ermak set out on a campaign beyond the Stone Belt (Ural) from Orel-gorod. According to another version, proposed by the historian R. G. Skrynnikov, the campaign of Ermak, Ivan Koltso and Nikita Pan to Siberia dates back to 1582, since peace with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was concluded in January 1582, and at the end of 1581 Ermak was still fighting with the Lithuanians.
The initiative of this campaign, according to the Esipovskaya and Remizovskaya chronicles, belonged to Ermak himself; the Stroganovs’ participation was limited to the forced supply of supplies and weapons to the Cossacks. According to the Stroganov Chronicle (accepted by Karamzin, Solovyov and others), the Stroganovs themselves called the Cossacks from the Volga to Chusovaya and sent them on a campaign, adding 300 military men from their possessions to Ermak’s detachment (540 people).
The Cossacks rode plows up the Chusovaya River and along its tributary, the Serebryannaya River, to the Siberian portage separating the Kama and Ob basins, and along the portage they dragged the boats into the Zheravlya (Zharovlya) River. Here the Cossacks were supposed to spend the winter (Remizov Chronicle). During the winter, according to the book Rezhevsky Treasures, Ermak sent a detachment of associates to explore a more southern route along the Neiva River. But the Tatar Murza defeated Ermak’s reconnaissance detachment. In the place where that Murza lived there is now the village of Murzinka, famous for its gems.
Only in the spring, along the rivers Zheravle, Barancha and Tagil, did they sail to Tura. They defeated the Siberian Tatars twice, on the Tour and at the mouth of the Tavda. Kuchum sent Mametkul with a large army against the Cossacks, but this army was defeated by Ermak on the banks of the Tobol, at the Babasan tract. Finally, on the Irtysh, near Chuvashev, the Cossacks inflicted a final defeat on the Tatars in the Battle of Cape Chuvashev. Kuchum left a fence that protected main city his khanate, Siberia, and fled south to the Ishim steppes.
On October 26, 1582, Ermak entered Siberia, abandoned by the Tatars. In December, Kuchum’s commander, Mametkul, destroyed one Cossack detachment from an ambush on Lake Abalatskoe, but the following spring the Cossacks dealt a new blow to Kuchum, capturing Mametkul on the Vagai River.
Ermak used the summer of 1583 to conquer Tatar towns and uluses along the Irtysh and Ob rivers, meeting stubborn resistance everywhere, and took the Ostyak city of Nazim. After the capture of the city of Siberia, Ermak sent messengers to the Stroganovs and an ambassador to the Tsar, Ataman Koltso.
Ivan the Terrible received him very kindly, richly presented the Cossacks and sent Prince Semyon Bolkhovsky and Ivan Glukhov, with 300 warriors, to reinforce them. Tsarist governors arrived to Ermak in the fall of 1583, but their detachment could not provide significant assistance to the Cossack squad, which had diminished in battle. The atamans died one after another: during the capture of Nazim, Nikita Pan was killed; in the spring of 1584, the Tatars killed Ivan Koltso and Yakov Mikhailov. Ataman Meshcheryak was besieged in his camp by the Tatars and only with heavy losses forced their khan, Karacha, to retreat.
On August 6, 1585, Ermak Timofeevich also died. He walked with a small detachment of 50 people along the Irtysh. During an overnight stay at the mouth of the Vagai River, Kuchum attacked the sleeping Cossacks and destroyed the entire detachment.
There were so few Cossacks left that Ataman Meshcheryak had to march back to Rus'. After two years of possession, the Cossacks ceded Siberia to Kuchum, only to return there a year later with a new detachment of tsarist troops.
Performance evaluation
Some historians rate Ermak’s personality very highly, “his courage, leadership talent, iron willpower,” but the facts conveyed by the chronicles do not give any indication of his personal qualities and the degree of his personal influence. Be that as it may, Ermak is “one of the most remarkable figures in Russian history” (Skrynnikov).
Death of Ermak
According to the latest data, after Ermak drowned in the Irtysh, downstream (according to Siberian-Tatar legends) a Tatar fisherman caught him with a net not far from the site of the bloody battle where he fell. Many noble Murzas, as well as Kuchum himself, came to look at the ataman’s body. The Tatars shot at the body with bows and feasted for several days, but, according to eyewitnesses, his body lay in the air for a month and did not even begin to decompose. Later, having divided his property, in particular, taking two chain mail donated by the Tsar of Moscow, he was buried in the village, which is now called Baishevo. He was buried in a place of honor, but behind the cemetery, since he was not a Muslim. The question of the authenticity of the burial is currently being considered.
Memory
The memory of Ermak lives among the Russian people in legends, songs (for example, “Song of Ermak” is included in the repertoire of the Omsk choir) and place names. Most often populated areas and institutions named after him can be found in Western Siberia. Cities and villages, sports complexes and sports teams, streets and squares, rivers and marinas, steamships and icebreakers, hotels, etc. are named in honor of Ermak. For some of them, see Ermak. Many Siberian commercial firms have the name “Ermak” in their name.
- Monuments in the cities: Novocherkassk, Tobolsk (in the form of a stele), in Altai in Zmeinogorsk (transferred from the Kazakh city of Aksu, until 1993 it was called Ermak), Surgut (opened on June 11, 2010; author - sculptor K. V. Kubyshkin).
- High relief on the frieze of the monument “Millennium of Russia”. In Veliky Novgorod at the Monument “1000th Anniversary of Russia” among 129 figures of the most outstanding personalities in Russian history(for 1862) there is a figure of Ermak.
- Streets in the cities: Omsk, Berezniki, Novocherkassk (square), Lipetsk and Rostov-on-Don (alleys).
- Feature film“Ermak” (1996) (in the title role Viktor Stepanov).
- In 2001, the Bank of Russia, in the series of commemorative coins “Development and Exploration of Siberia,” issued a coin “Ermak’s Campaign” with a face value of 25 rubles.
- Among Russian surnames, the surname Ermak is found.
In the popular consciousness, the legendary conqueror of Siberia - Ermak Timofeevich - became on a par with the epic heroes, becoming not only an outstanding personality who left his mark on the history of Russia, but also a symbol of its glorious heroic past. This Cossack ataman laid the foundation for the development of endless expanses that stretched beyond Stone belt- The Great Ural Range.
The mystery associated with the origin of Ermak
Modern historians have several hypotheses related to the history of its origin. According to one of them, Ermak, whose biography has been the subject of research for many generations of scientists, was a Don Cossack, according to another - a Ural Cossack. However, the most likely seems to be the one based on the surviving handwritten collection of the 18th century, which tells that his family comes from Suzdal, where his grandfather was a townsman.
His father, Timofey, driven by hunger and poverty, moved to the Urals, where he found refuge in the lands of rich salt industrialists - the Stroganov merchants. There he settled down, got married and raised two sons - Rodion and Vasily. From this document it follows that this is exactly what the future conqueror of Siberia was named in holy baptism. The name Ermak, preserved in history, is only a nickname, one of those that was customary to give among the Cossacks.
Years of military service
Ermak Timofeevich set off to conquer the Siberian expanses, already having rich combat experience behind him. It is known that for twenty years he, together with other Cossacks, guarded the southern borders of Russia, and when Tsar Ivan the Terrible began in 1558, he took part in the campaign and even became famous as one of the most fearless commanders. A report from the Polish commandant of the city of Mogilev to the king personally has been preserved, in which he notes his bravery.
In 1577, the actual owners of the Ural lands - the Stroganov merchants - hired a large detachment of Ural Cossacks to protect them from the constant raids of nomads led by Khan Kuchum. Ermak also received an invitation. From that moment on, his biography takes a sharp turn - the little-known Cossack chieftain becomes the head of the fearless conquerors of Siberia, who forever inscribed their names in history.
On a campaign to pacify foreigners
Subsequently, they tried to maintain peaceful relations with the Russian sovereigns and carefully paid the established yasak - tribute in the form of the skins of fur-bearing animals, but this was preceded by a long and difficult period of campaigns and battles. Kuchum’s ambitious plans included ousting the Stroganovs and everyone who lived on their lands from the Western Urals and the Chusovaya and Kama rivers.
A very large army - one thousand six hundred people - was sent to pacify the rebellious foreigners. In those years, in the remote taiga region, the only means of communication were rivers, and the legend about Ermak Timofeevich tells how a hundred Cossack plows sailed along them - large and heavy boats that could accommodate up to twenty people with all supplies.
Ermak's squad and its features
This campaign was carefully prepared, and the Stroganovs spared no expense in purchasing the best weapons at that time. The Cossacks had at their disposal three hundred arquebuses capable of hitting the enemy at a distance of one hundred meters, several dozen shotguns and even Spanish arquebuses. In addition, each plow was equipped with several cannons, thus turning it into a warship. All this provided the Cossacks with a significant advantage over the Khan’s horde, which at that time did not know firearms at all.
But the main factor contributing to the success of the campaign was the clear and thoughtful organization of the army. The entire squad was divided into regiments, at the head of which Ermak placed the most experienced and authoritative atamans. During hostilities, their commands were transmitted using established signals using trumpets, kettledrums and drums. The iron discipline established from the first days of the campaign also played a role.
Ermak: a biography that became a legend
The famous campaign began on September 1, 1581. Historical data and legend about Ermak indicate that his flotilla, having sailed along the Kama, rose to the upper reaches of the Chusovaya River and further along the Serebryanka River reached the Tagil passes. Here, in the Kokuy town they built, the Cossacks spent the winter, and with the onset of spring they continued their journey along the other side of the Ural ridge.
The first serious battle with the Tatars took place not far from the mouth of the taiga river Tura. Their detachment, led by the khan’s nephew Mametkul, set up an ambush and showered the Cossacks with a cloud of arrows from the shore, but was scattered by return fire from arquebuses. Having repulsed the attack, Ermak and his people continued their journey and went out. There there was a new clash with the enemy, this time on land. Despite the fact that both sides suffered significant losses, the Tatars were put to flight.
Capturing fortified enemy cities
These battles were followed by two more - the battle on the Tobol River near the Irtysh and the capture of the Tatar city of Karachin. In both cases, victory was won not only thanks to the courage of the Cossacks, but also as a result of the extraordinary leadership qualities that Ermak possessed. Siberia - a patrimony - gradually came under Russian protectorate. Having been defeated near Karachin, the khan concentrated all his efforts only on defensive actions, abandoning his ambitious plans.
After a short time, having captured another fortified point, Ermak’s squad finally reached the capital of the Siberian Khanate - the city of Isker. The legend about Ermak, preserved from those ancient times, describes how the Cossacks attacked the city three times, and three times the Tatars fought off the Orthodox army. Finally, their cavalry made a sortie from behind the defensive structures and rushed towards the Cossacks.
This was their fatal mistake. Once in the field of view of the shooters, they became an excellent target for them. With each volley of arquebuses, the battlefield was covered with more and more bodies of Tatars. Ultimately, Isker’s defenders fled, leaving their khan to the mercy of fate. The victory was complete. In this city, conquered from enemies, Ermak and his army spent the winter. As a wise politician, he managed to establish relations with the local taiga tribes, which allowed him to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
The end of Ermak's life
From former capital The Siberian Khanate sent a group of Cossacks to Moscow with a report on the progress of the expedition, with a request for help and a rich yasak made from the skins of valuable fur-bearing animals. Ivan the Terrible, appreciating Ermak’s merits, sent a significant squad under his command, and personally gave him a steel armor - a sign of his royal favor.
But, despite all the successes, the life of the Cossacks passed in constant danger of new attacks by the Tatars. The legendary conqueror of Siberia, Ermak, became a victim of one of them. His biography ends with an episode when, on a dark August night in 1585, a detachment of Cossacks, having spent the night on the banks of a wild taiga river, did not post sentries.
Fatal negligence allowed the Tatars to suddenly attack them. Fleeing from enemies, Ermak tried to swim across the river, but the heavy shell - a gift from the king - carried him to the bottom. This is how the legendary man who gave Russia the endless expanses of Siberia ended his life.
The legendary Cossack ataman dared to fight Khan Kuchum at not the most opportune time, to put it mildly. At that time, Russia was at war with Sweden, and on the southern borders the situation was far from peaceful.
Origin of Ermak
It is interesting that historians still cannot say with one hundred percent certainty where Ermak Timofeevich is from. Some researchers claim that the conqueror of Siberia was born in one of the villages on the Don, while others contrast them with Perm. Still others are outside the town on the Northern Dvina.
Moreover, local historians of the Arkhangelsk region are confident that Ermak is a native of either the Vinogradovsky, Krasnoborsky, or Koltlassky districts. And they give their own weighty arguments in favor of each. So, for example, in the last two regions they believe that Ermak Timofeevich prepared for his campaign there. After all, on the territory of the districts there is Ermakov Stream, Ermakova Mountain, a staircase, and even a well in which treasures are supposedly sunk.
Source: PinterestIn general, the exact birthplace of the Cossack ataman has still not been discovered. However, now more and more historians are inclined to believe that the most realistic version is a town on the Northern Dvina. Indeed, in the short Solvychegodsk chronicle this is stated in plain text: “On the Volga, the Cossacks, Ermak Ataman, originally from the Dvina and Borka... smashed the sovereign’s treasury, weapons and gunpowder and with that climbed to Chusovaya.”
At your own request
Numerous sources about Siberian campaign Ermak directly states that the ataman acted on the direct orders of Ivan the Terrible. But this statement is incorrect and can be classified as “myths and legends”.
The fact is that there is a royal letter from 1582 (historian Ruslan Skrynnikov cites its text in his book), in which the king turns to the Stroganovs and demands, “under pain of great disgrace,” to return the ataman at all costs and send him to the Perm region "for protection."
I didn’t see anything good in Ermak Timofeevich’s initiative. For obvious reasons. Swedes, Nogais, rebellious peoples in the Lower Volga region, and then there was a clash with Kuchum. But Ermak Timofeevich did not care about geopolitical interests. Being a brave, decisive and self-confident man, he felt that the time had come to visit Siberia. And bye Russian Tsar As soon as he was composing the text of his charter, the ataman had already taken the capital of the khan. Ermak went all-in and turned out to be right.
By order of the Stroganovs
In general, Ermak Timofeevich acted independently, disobeying the king’s order. But recently, more and more information has appeared that the Cossack ataman was, after all, a forced man, so to speak, and went to Siberia with the “blessing” of the Stroganovs. Like, it was their idea. By the way, Ivan the Terrible also shared the same opinion, since Ermak did not have time to either confirm or refute this. The descendants of those same Stroganovs only added fuel to the fire of the dispute between historians with their attempts to prove the involvement of their ancestors in the conquest of Siberia. In reality, everything is not so simple and clear.
The fact is that the Stroganovs were well aware of Kuchum’s troops. Therefore, sending five hundred Cossacks, even under the command of the mighty Ermak, to war with several thousand Mongols is pure suicide.
The second reason is the “wandering” Tatar prince Alei. He constantly walked on the edge of a knife, threatening the lands of the Stroganovs. After all, Ermak once knocked his army out of the territory of the Chusov towns, and after that Alei stormed the Kama Salt.
According to the Cossacks themselves, they decided to go to Siberia precisely after the victory at Chusovaya. Ermak Timofeevich realized that the stars had aligned more successfully than ever and he needed to act quickly and decisively. After all, Kashlyk, the capital of Kuchum, was open and unprotected. And if you delay, Aley’s army will be able to gather and come to the rescue.
So the Stroganovs have nothing to do with it. The conquest of Siberia became, in a way, a continuation of the chaotic movement to the east, where the “wild field” required the development and expulsion of the Tatars from there.
Who conquered Siberia?
Arouses interest and national composition conquerors of Siberia. As you know, five hundred and forty people went to confront the Tatar Khan. According to the documents of the Ambassadorial Order, they were all swept into one heap, calling them “Volga Cossacks.” But this is not entirely true. Indeed, according to the stories of the same participants in the campaign, among them there were many people from various places in Russia. It’s just that at that time the Cossacks did not yet have time to separate themselves and become Yaitsky or Don.
In the same Ambassadorial Order there is information that says that Ermak gathered the Terek, Don, Volga and Yaik Cossacks under his command. And according to their place of origin they were given appropriate nicknames. For example, there was Ataman Meshcheryak from Meshchery.
