Ermak: the life of the legendary chieftain

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The legendary Cossack chieftain dared to fight with Khan Kuchum at the wrong time, to put it mildly. Then Russia was at war with Sweden, and on the southern borders the situation was far from peaceful.

Ermak's origin

It is interesting that historians still cannot say with absolute certainty where Yermak Timofeevich is from. Some researchers argue that the conqueror of Siberia was born in one of the villages on the Don, while others oppose Perm to them. Still others - for the town on the Northern Dvina.

Moreover, local historians of the Arkhangelsk region are sure that Ermak is a native of either Vinogradovsky district, Krasnoborsky, or Koltlassky. And in favor of each, they bring their own weighty arguments. So, for example, in the last two districts it is believed that Yermak Timofeevich was preparing for his campaign there. After all, on the territory of the districts, there is an Ermakov stream, and Ermakova mountain, and a staircase, and even a well, in which treasures are supposedly drowned.

Ermak Timofeevich. Source: Pinterest

In general, the exact place of birth of the Cossack chieftain has not yet 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 a short Solvychegodsk chronicle this is stated in plain text: “On the Volga, the Cossacks, Ermak ataman, hailed from Dvina from Borka … smashed the sovereign’s treasury, weapons and gunpowder, and with that went up to Chusovaya.”

In numerous sources about the Siberian campaign of Ermak, it is stated in plain text that the ataman acted on the direct orders of Ivan the Terrible. But this statement is incorrect, and it can be classified under the category of "myths and legends."

The fact is that there is a tsar's charter of 1582 (its text is quoted in his book by the historian Ruslan Skrynnikov), in which the tsar appeals to the Stroganovs and demands "under pain of great disgrace" to return the ataman at all costs and send him to the Perm Territory "For protection".

Ivan the Terrible saw nothing good in Yermak Timofeevich's amateur performances. For obvious reasons. Swedes, Nogais, revolting 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 while the Russian tsar was just compiling the text of his letter, the chieftain had already taken the capital of the khan. Ermak went for broke and was right.

Ermak's hike - on the orders of the Stroganovs?

In general, Ermak Timofeevich acted independently, disobeying the order of the tsar. But recently, more and more information has been appearing that the Cossack chieftain was still a man, so to speak, a bondage and went to Siberia with the "blessing" of the Stroganovs.

Like, it was their idea. By the way, Ivan the Terrible was of the same opinion, since Yermak did not have time to confirm this or refute it. The descendants of those same Stroganovs only added fuel to the fire of the dispute among historians with their attempts to prove the involvement of their ancestors in the conquest of Siberia. In fact, 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 a 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 out his army from the territory of the Chusovy towns, and Alei then walked like a hurricane along Soli Kamskaya.

According to the Cossacks themselves, they decided to go to Siberia after the victory at Chusovaya. Ermak Timofeevich realized that the stars had come together more than ever successfully and that it was necessary to act quickly and decisively. After all, Kashlyk, the capital of Kuchum, was open and unprotected. And if you delay, then Alei'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.

The conquest of Siberia. Who participated in the hikes?

The ethnic composition of the conquerors of Siberia is also of interest. As you know, five hundred and forty people went to confront the Tatar khan. According to the documents of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, 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, there were many people from various parts of Russia among them. It was just that then the Cossacks did not have time to isolate themselves and become Yaitsky or Donskoy.

In the same Ambassadorial order, there is information that says that Ermak gathered under his command the Terek, Don, Volga and Yaik Cossacks. And according to their place of origin, they were given the appropriate nicknames. For example, there was chieftain Meshcheryak from Meshcher.

"The conquest of Siberia by Yermak Timofeevich". Source: Pinterest

It is also interesting that over time, Ermak, like his detachment, was overgrown with a huge number of myths and legends. So, for example, sometimes you can find references to the predatory attacks of the Cossacks. That there were almost five thousand of them, and they terrorized a huge territory on the Oka. Then there were already more than seven thousand Cossacks, and they plundered on the Volga. And there is even a legend that the chieftain planned to invade Persia.

But at the same time, Yermak himself acted in the role of the people's protector. In general, he was what Stepan Razin would later become in the popular mind.

Death of Ermak

With the death of Yermak Timofeevich, not everything is smooth and clear either. From the very fact - his death - only this remained. Everything else is nothing more than fiction and a beautiful story. What really happened, no one knows. And it is unlikely that he will ever know.

So, for example, a beautiful legend about chain mail. Like, Ivan the Terrible gave it to Ermak. And because of her, the chieftain died, simply drowning because of the large weight of the uniform. But in fact, there is not a single document that would record the fact of the gift. But there is a letter, which says that the king granted the chieftain with gold and cloth. And at the same time he ordered to return to Moscow when the new voivode arrives.

But Ermak died in a night battle. Most likely, he was one of the first to be wounded, since the Tatars had a tradition of shooting with bows at commanders. By the way, the legend is still alive, which tells that the Tatar hero Kutugai defeated Ermak with a spear.

After such a heavy blow, ataman Meshcheryak gathered the surviving soldiers and decided to return to their homeland. For two years the Cossacks were the masters of Siberia, but they had to return it to Kuchum. True, just a year later Russian banners appeared there again.