The conqueror of Siberia, Ermak Timofeevich, can hardly be counted among the circle of travelers and discoverers. But it is also impossible to ignore this remarkable historical figure. The name of Ermak opens the list of Russian historical figures who contributed to the transformation of the Moscow kingdom into the powerful and largest Russian Empire in terms of territory.

Although, in fact, all travelers of the 15-16 centuries initially had not research, but purely commercial and aggressive goals - Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Magellan and others were looking for ways to the fabulous riches of Africa, India, China and Japan. They found new lands and conquered them. And geographical discoveries happened as if by themselves, in parallel with the main activity!

History has not preserved much documentary information about Ermak, his origin and his exploits. The gaps between facts, as always, are filled with versions, guesses, myths and, alas, falsifications.

On these pages we will consider the main versions of the origin of Ermak, his activities, his famous crossing of the Ural ridge and his attempt to conquer Siberia. So:

Who is Ermak?

Full name : Ermak Timofeevich Alenin is official version

Years of life: - 1530/1540–1585

Was born:according to one version in the north, in Vologda, according to another - in the Dvina land, according to a third - in the Urals, according to others - he comes from a family of Siberian princes...

Occupation: Cossack chieftain

Name: Considering that the name Ermak, under which this person went down in history, is extremely rare, we can assume that Ermak is not a name, but a nickname. Nickname. The Cossacks were, in essence, highway robbers (only well-organized ones). The presence of a “driver” is a completely normal phenomenon for every member of an “armed gang”.

Origin: nothing is known for certain. Some attribute him to the Don Cossacks, others to the Ural Cossacks (more precisely, to the Yaik Cossacks). The Ural River, before the defeat of the Pugachev uprising, was called Yaik, and the Cossacks who controlled the territories along it were called Yaik. Since the Yaik flows into the Caspian Sea relatively close to the Volga, the Yaik Cossacks also robbed the Volga.

Another version claims that Ermak was a serving ataman in the troops of Ivan the Terrible during the Livonian War. When Stefan Batory went to Rus' in 1579, Tsar Ivan hastily assembled a militia to repel the attack, including the Cossacks. The name of the Cossack ataman Ermak Timofeevich is quite specifically reflected in the message of the Polish commandant of the city of Mogilev Stravinsky in a report to his king. It was the summer of 1581. From this, historians conclude that Ermak could not begin his campaign in Siberia earlier than the next 1582.

After the successful conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan in 1551-56. Ivan's government IV Grozny completely controlled the Volga as the main trade artery with the East. Russian merchants traded freely, and foreign caravans paid duties to the treasury. The Nogai Horde formally recognized the power of Moscow, but having learned about the difficulties of the Russians in the west, it decided to take advantage of the moment and “grab its own.” Ivan IV sent ambassador V. Pepelitsyn to the Nogai khans with rich gifts to appease the top of the Nogais and prevent an attack. At the same time, the Yaik Cossacks received the unspoken “go-ahead” for armed resistance against the Nogais, if something happened.

The Cossacks, who had long-standing scores to settle with the Nogais, took advantage of the moment. When the Moscow embassy of V. Pepelitsyn, together with the Nogai ambassador, merchants and a strong escort detachment, was heading to Moscow in August 1581, the Cossacks attacked them on the Samara River and killed almost everyone. And the remaining two dozen people reached Moscow and “grieved” to Ivan the Terrible about this lawlessness. And on their list of “offenders” were the names of Cossack chieftains Ivan Koltso, Nikita Pan, Bogdan Barboshi and others.

The king pretended that he had decided to punish the self-willed people. He sent a special detachment to suppress Cossack independence, ordering “to punish the Cossacks with death.” But in fact, he gave the Cossacks the opportunity to go north, to the Perm lands, where they were very useful for protecting Russian possessions on the Kama from the attacks of the Siberian Khan Kuchum.

Some historians claim that the Cossacks went to the Kama on their own initiative and, having arrived there, first “scoured” Stroganov’s possessions. But then we received a specific proposal from Ural industrialists to officially defend them. That is, to become a kind of “private-public security company.”

Unable to control the Urals and the Kama basin, Ivan the Terrible gave these lands back in 1558 to the industrialists Stroganovs (whose ancestors had traded in these areas since the time of the Novgorod Republic). The king gave them the broadest powers. They had the right to collect tribute, extract minerals, and build fortresses. The Stroganovs themselves defended their territories and their “business”, had the right to create armed formations, automatically protecting the possessions of the Moscow Tsar from encroachments from the east.

The Stroganovs were in dire need of armed men to protect their considerable estates. They came out with the initiative to call on the “guilty” Cossacks to defend their territories. This exit suited all parties and the Cossacks, presumably in 1579-81, arrived at the Stroganovs’ possessions on the Kama. “To earn royal forgiveness and mercy with a sword in hand in the service of the sovereign against adversaries.”

Around the same time, Ermak Timofeevich arrived on the Kama to join his brothers in arms, since the Livonian War had ended by that time. N It is impossible that he received some “indications” from Ivan IV lead the Cossack freemen on the Kama from the raids of Khan Kuchum.Now no one can say what it really was like.

Shibanid, grandson of Ibak - Khan of Tyumen and the Great Horde. His father was one of the last khans of the Golden Horde, Murtaza. Relying on his relative, the Bukhara khan Abdullah Khan II, Kuchum waged a long and persistent struggle with the Siberian khan Ediger, using an army consisting of Uzbek, Nogai, and Kazakh detachments.

In 1563, Kuchum killed Ediger and his brother Bekbulat, occupied the city of Kashlyk (Isker, Siberia) and became the sovereign khan over all the lands along the Irtysh and Tobol. The population of the Siberian Khanate, which was based on the Tatars and their subordinate Mansi and Khanty, viewed Kuchum as a usurper, because his support was a foreign army.

After seizing power in the Siberian Khanate, Kuchum initially continued to pay yasak and even sent his ambassador to Moscow with 1000 sables (1571). But when his wars with local competitors, organized several campaigns into the possessions of Ivan the Terrible and the Stroganovs, and approached Perm closely.

Because best protection- this is an attack, then the Stroganovs, in agreement with Tsar Ivan, decided to “beat the enemy on his territory.” For this, the “guilty” Volga-Yaik Cossacks were ideally suited - organized people who knew how to fight , ready to go anywhere for rich booty.!But Ataman Ermak also had his own thoughts and far-reaching plans on this matter.

How did the idea of ​​Ermak’s campaign to conquer Siberia come about? read more

P.S.

There is, however, such a version. No “special forces” chased away the Yaik Cossacks; Ermak and his comrades came to the Stroganovs’ possessions on their own initiative, slightly plundering their possessions and remaining in them. Apparently, they offered Solikamsk industrialists to “protect” their business. The Stroganovs didn’t have much of a choice - God is high, the Tsar is far away, and the Cossacks are right here.

Russian travelers and pioneers

Again travelers of the era of great geographical discoveries

In the popular consciousness, the legendary conqueror of Siberia - Ermak Timofeevich - became on a par with 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 the endless expanses that stretched beyond the 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 with 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.

Not far from the mouth taiga river Tours took place the first serious battle with the Tatars. 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.

It was theirs 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.

09.05.2015 0 10367

How difficult is it to distinguish a real story from a skillfully told legend? Especially when they both touch absolutely real person. ABOUT Ermak Timofeevich, a Cossack chieftain who lived in the mid-late 16th century, legends were composed by both friends and enemies.

A great warrior and conqueror of Siberia, who fought and died for the glory of his country. There are disputes about his name, the number of troops under his command and the circumstances of his death... But his feat is beyond doubt.

Famine and siege

Siberia, Tatar city of Kashlyk (Isker), 1585. The winter was long and monstrously cold, even by Siberian standards. There was so much snow that it was difficult to walk a few steps, let alone hunt. Both night and day, a dank icy wind blew incessantly.

Previously, due to the incessant autumn fighting, the Cossacks were unable to collect enough supplies. Ermak’s army was not used to grumbling, but there was a catastrophic shortage of food, and there were no more than two hundred people left...

Spring did not bring relief: the Tatars came again, encircling the city. The siege threatened to last for many months, dooming the Cossacks to starvation. But Ermak remained Ermak - as always, wise and cold-blooded.

Having waited until June and lulled the vigilance of the Tatars, he sent his closest associate, Matvey Meshcheryak, on a night sortie. Matvey, together with two dozen soldiers, made their way to the camp of Karachi, the Tatar commander, and carried out a massacre.

Karachi escaped with difficulty, but both of his sons died, and the Cossacks disappeared into the night as unexpectedly as they had come.

The siege was lifted, but the issue of provisions remained as acute as in winter. How to feed an army when the Tatars can attack at any moment?

And then in August the long-awaited good news came - a rich trade caravan with supplies for the Cossacks was approaching Kashlyk. We just need to protect him from the enemy...

What's in a name?

It is not known for certain in what year Ermak was born. The dates are given differently: 1532, 1534, 1537 and even 1543. Rumors about the place of his birth also vary - either this is the village of Borok on the Northern Dvina, or an unknown village on the Chusovaya River, or the Kachalinskaya village on the Don. This is understandable, almost every Cossack clan wanted to boast that it was they who gave birth to the legendary chieftain!

Even Ermak’s name is in question. Some historians claim that Ermak is an abbreviation of the Russian name Ermolai, others call him Ermil, and others derive the name from Herman and Eremey. Or maybe Ermak is just a nickname? And in fact, the ataman’s name was Vasily Timofeevich Alenin. It is unknown where the surname came from - in those days they were not in use among the Cossacks.

By the way, about the Cossacks: the word “armak” for them meant “big”, like a common cauldron for meals. Doesn't remind you of anything? And of course, we must not forget about Ermak’s enemies, who, despite all their hatred towards him, respected him immensely. Irmak in Mongolian means “rapidly gushing spring”, practically a geyser. In Tatar, yarmak means “to chop, to dissect.” In Iranian, ermek means “husband, warrior.”

And this is not the whole list! Imagine how many copies historians have broken, arguing among themselves and trying to unearth Ermak’s real name or at least his origin. Alas, the Cossacks rarely kept chronicles, and when information is disseminated orally, something is lost, something is invented, something changes beyond recognition. Like that real story and falls into dozens of myths. The only thing that cannot be denied is that Ermak’s name turned out to be very successful.

Free Cossack

In the first decades of his mature life, somewhere before 1570, Ermak Timofeevich was by no means an angel. He was a typical Cossack ataman, walking along the free Volga with his squad and attacking Russian merchant caravans and Tatar and Kazakh detachments. The most common opinion is that Ermak, in his youth, entered the service of the then famous Ural merchants Stroganov, guarding goods on the Volga and Don. And then he “went from work to robbery,” gathered himself a small army and went over to the freemen.

However, the controversial period in Ermak’s life lasted relatively short. Already in 1571, he helped the squad repel the attack of the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey under the walls of Moscow, and in 1581 he valiantly fought in the Livonian War under the command of governor Dmitry Khvorostinin, commanding a Cossack hundred. And already in 1582, the same Stroganovs remembered the brave chieftain.

Forgetting about all Ermak’s sins, they extremely respectfully asked him to protect the merchant interests of Rus' in Siberia. In those years, the Siberian Khanate was ruled by the cruel and dishonest Khan Kuchum, who overthrew Khan Ediger, who maintained more or less good relations with the Russian kingdom. Kuchum spoke about peace, but in reality he constantly attacked merchant caravans and moved his army to the Perm region.

Ermak agreed with the merchants not only for the sake of a rich reward. The Tatar Khan was a devout Muslim and spread Islam throughout Siberia and wherever he could reach it. For the Orthodox Cossack chieftain, it was a matter of honor to challenge Kuchum and win. Having gathered a relatively small squad - about 600 people - Ermak Timofeevich set out on a great campaign to Siberia.

Thunderstorm of the Siberian Khanate

To describe all the military exploits of Ermak, one article will not be enough. Moreover, as in the case of his place of birth or name, many of them are distorted by retelling, others are downplayed or embellished, there are two or three versions for almost every event. In fact, the incredible happened - six hundred Cossack warriors passed through the huge Siberian Khanate, over and over again defeating the Tatar army twenty times superior to them.

Kuchum's warriors were fast, but the Cossacks learned to be faster. When they were surrounded, they left along the rivers in small mobile boats - plows. They took cities by storm and founded their own fortifications, which then also turned into cities.

In each battle, Ermak used new tactics, confidently beat the enemy, and the Cossacks were ready to follow him through thick and thin. The conquest of Siberia took four years. Ermak broke the resistance of the Tatars and negotiated peace with local khans and kings, bringing them to the citizenship of the Russian kingdom. But luck could not accompany the ataman forever...

The rumor about a merchant caravan carrying supplies for the starving Cossack army turned out to be a trap. Ermak, together with the rest of his squad, moved out of Kashlyk up the Irtysh River and was ambushed by Kuchum. The Cossacks were attacked under cover of darkness, and although they fought back like mad, there were too many Tatars. Out of 200, no more than 20 people survived. Ermak was the last to retreat to the plows, covering his comrades, and died by falling into the river waves.

Legendary person

Legend has it that the body of the great chieftain, caught from the river by his enemies, lay in the air for a month without beginning to decompose. Ermak was buried with military honors in the cemetery of the village of Baishevo, but behind a fence, since he was not a Muslim. The Tatars respected the fallen enemy so much that his weapons and armor for a long time were considered magical. For one of the chain mails, for example, they gave seven families of slaves, 50 camels, 500 horses, 200 bulls and cows, 1000 sheep...

Ermak lost that fight, but his cause did not die with him. The Siberian Khanate did not recover from the blow inflicted on it by the Cossack army. Conquest Western Siberia continued, Khan Kuchum died ten years later, and his descendants were unable to provide worthy resistance. Towns and cities were founded throughout Siberia; previously warring local tribes were forced to accept citizenship of the Russian kingdom.

Tales about Ermak were written both during his life and after his death. No, no, and there was a descendant of a descendant of another descendant who knew for certain a certain Cossack from the squad of the great ataman and was ready to tell the whole truth. In my own way, of course. And there are dozens and hundreds of such examples. But is it so important in this case to distinguish reality from fiction? Ermak Timofeevich himself would probably have had a lot of fun listening to stories about himself.

Sergey EVTUSHENKO

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). IN Lately The version about the Pomeranian origin of Ermak (originally from the Dvina from Borka) is increasingly being heard, probably referring to 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. This version is supported by arguments 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 first the ataman of one of the many Cossack squads on the Volga who protected the population from tyranny and robbery on the part of the 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 reconnoiter 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 the fence that protected the main city of 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 Abalatskoye, but the following spring the Cossacks attacked new blow Kuchuma, having captured 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. The royal commanders arrived at 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 strength will,” 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 place 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 authenticity of the burial is currently under consideration.

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 settlements 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 on the Monument “1000th Anniversary of Russia” among 129 figures of the most outstanding personalities V 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.