In the people's minds, the legendary conqueror of Siberia - Yermak 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 her glorious heroic past. This Cossack chieftain initiated the development of the vast expanses that stretched beyond the Stone Belt - the Great Ural Range.
The mystery related to the origin of Yermak
Modern historians have several hypotheses related to the history of its origin. According to one of them, Yermak, whose biography was the subject of research for many generations of scientists, was a Don Cossack, according to another, a Ural Cossack. However, the most probable 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, Timothy, driven by hunger and poverty, moved to the Urals, where he found refuge in the lands of rich s alt producers - merchants Stroganovs. There he settled down, married and raised two sons - Rodionand 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 just a nickname, one of those that was customary to give in the Cossack environment.
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, along with other Cossacks, guarded the southern borders of Russia, and when Tsar Ivan the Terrible began the Livonian War in 1558, he took part in the campaign and even became famous as one of the most fearless commanders. The report of the Polish commandant of the city of Mogilev personally to King Stefan Batory has been preserved, in which he notes his courage.
In 1577, the actual owners of the Ural lands - the merchants Stroganovs - hired a large detachment of Ural Cossacks to protect against the constant raids of nomads led by Khan Kuchum. Yermak also received an invitation. From that moment on, his biography takes a sharp turn - a 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, the Siberian Khanate tried to maintain peaceful relations with the sovereigns of Russia and carefully paid the established yasak - tribute in the form of 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 - went to pacify the recalcitrant foreigners. In those years, in the remote taiga region, the only means of communication were rivers, and the legend about Yermak Timofeevich tells how a hundred Cossack plows sailed along them - large and heavy boats that could accommodate up to twenty people with all supplies.
Yermak's squad and its features
This campaign was carefully prepared, and the Stroganovs did not spare money to buy the best weapons for those times. The Cossacks had at their disposal three hundred squeakers 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 a clear and thoughtful organization of the troops. The entire squad was divided into regiments, at the head of which Yermak put the most experienced and authoritative chieftains. During the fighting, their commands were transmitted using established signals with pipes, timpani and drums. The iron discipline established from the first days of the campaign also played its role.
Ermak: a biography that has become a legend
The famous campaign began on September 1, 1581. Historical data and a legend about Yermak testify that his flotilla, sailing along the Kama, rose to the upper reaches of the riverChusovaya and further along the Serebryanka River reached the Tagil passes. Here, in the Kokuy-gorodok built by them, the Cossacks spent the winter, and with the onset of spring they continued their journey along the Tagil River - already on the other side of the Ural Range.
Not far from the mouth of the taiga river Tura, the first serious battle with the Tatars took place. 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 squeakers. Having repulsed the attack, Yermak and his people continued on their way and entered the Tobol River. 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.
Capture of fortified enemy cities
Following these battles, two more followed - the battle on the Tobol River near the Irtysh and the capture of the Tatar city of Karachin. In both cases, the victory was won not only thanks to the courage of the Cossacks, but also as a result of the outstanding leadership qualities that Yermak possessed. Siberia - the patrimony of Khan Kuchum - gradually passed under the Russian protectorate. Having suffered a defeat near Karachin, the khan concentrated all his efforts only on defensive actions, leaving his ambitious plans.
After a short time, having captured another fortified point, Yermak's squad finally reached the capital of the Siberian Khanate - the city of Isker. The legend about Ermak, which has been preserved since ancient times, describes how the Cossacks attacked the city three times, and three times the Tatars fought off the Orthodox army. Finally, their cavalrymade a sortie from behind the defensive structures and rushed to the Cossacks.
It was their fatal mistake. Once in the field of view of the shooters, they became an excellent target for them. With each volley from the squeakers, the battlefield was covered with more and more new bodies of the Tatars. In the end, Isker's defenders fled, leaving their khan to the mercy of fate. The victory was complete. In this city, recaptured from the enemies, Yermak and his army spent the winter. As a wise politician, he managed to establish relations with the local taiga tribes, which made it possible to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
End of Yermak's life
From the former capital of the Siberian Khanate, a group of Cossacks was sent to Moscow with a report on the progress of the expedition, asking for help and a rich yasak from the skins of valuable fur-bearing animals. Ivan the Terrible, having appreciated the merits of Yermak, sent a significant squad under him, and personally bestowed on him a steel shell - a sign of his royal mercy.
But, despite all the successes, the life of the Cossacks was in constant danger of new attacks by the Tatars. The legendary conqueror of Siberia, Yermak, 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 set sentries.
Fatal negligence allowed the Tatars to suddenly attack them. Fleeing from enemies, Yermak 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 endless expanses ended his life. Siberia.
