Why the first conquerors of Siberia and the Far East. The conquest of Siberia. The beginning of the development of Siberia

In 1581-1585, the Moscow kingdom, headed by Ivan the Terrible, significantly expanded the borders of the state to the East, as a result of the victory over the Mongol-Tatar khanates. It was during this period that Russia first included Western Siberia in its composition. This happened thanks to the successful campaign of the Cossacks, led by ataman Ermak Timofeevich against Khan Kuchum. This article offers a brief overview of such a historical event as the annexation of Western Siberia to Russia.

Preparation of Yermak's campaign

In 1579, a detachment of Cossacks consisting of 700-800 soldiers was formed on the territory of Orel-town (modern Perm Territory). They were headed by Yermak Timofeevich, who had previously been the chieftain of the Volga Cossacks. Orel-town was owned by the merchant family of the Stroganovs. It was they who allocated money for the creation of the army. The main goal is to protect the population from the raids of nomads from the territory of the Siberian Khanate. However, in 1581 it was decided to organize a retaliatory campaign in order to weaken the aggressive neighbor. The first few months of the campaign - it was a struggle with nature. Very often, the participants of the campaign had to wield an ax in order to cut a passage through impenetrable forests. As a result, the Cossacks suspended the campaign for the winter of 1581-1582, creating a fortified camp Kokuy-gorodok.

The course of the war with the Siberian Khanate

The first battles between the Khanate and the Cossacks took place in the spring of 1582: in March, a battle took place on the territory of the modern Sverdlovsk region. Near the city of Turinsk, the Cossacks completely defeated the local troops of Khan Kuchum, and in May they already occupied the large city of Chingi-tura. At the end of September, the battle for the capital of the Siberian Khanate, Kashlyk, began. A month later, the Cossacks won again. However, after a grueling campaign, Yermak decided to take a break and sent an embassy to Ivan the Terrible, thereby taking a break in joining Western Siberia to the Russian kingdom.

When Ivan the Terrible learned of the first skirmishes between the Cossacks and the Siberian Khanate, the tsar ordered the "thieves" to be recalled, referring to the Cossack detachments that "arbitrarily attacked the neighbors." However, at the end of 1582, Yermak's envoy, Ivan Koltso, arrived at the tsar, who informed Grozny about the successes, and also asked for reinforcements for the complete defeat of the Siberian Khanate. After that, the tsar approved Yermak's campaign and sent weapons, salaries and reinforcements to Siberia.

History reference

Map of Yermak's campaign in Siberia in 1582-1585

In 1583, Yermak's troops defeated Khan Kuchum on the Vagai River, and his nephew Mametkul was completely captured. The khan himself fled to the territory of the Ishim steppe, from where he periodically continued to attack the lands of Russia. In the period from 1583 to 1585, Yermak no longer made large-scale campaigns, but included the new lands of Western Siberia in Russia: the ataman promised protection and patronage to the conquered peoples, and they had to pay a special tax - yasak.

In 1585, during one of the skirmishes with local tribes (according to another version, the attack of the troops of Khan Kuchum), a small detachment of Yermak was defeated, and the ataman himself died. But the main goal and task in the life of this man was solved - Western Siberia joined Russia.

The results of Yermak's campaign

Historians identify the following key results of Yermak's campaign in Siberia:

1. Expansion of the territory of Russia by annexing the lands of the Siberian Khanate.
2. The emergence in Russia's foreign policy of a new direction for aggressive campaigns, a vector that will bring great success to the country.
3. colonization of Siberia. As a result of these processes, a large number of cities are emerging. A year after Yermak's death, in 1586, the first Russian city in Siberia, Tyumen, was founded. It happened at the place of the Khan's headquarters, the city of Kashlyk, the former capital of the Siberian Khanate.

The annexation of Western Siberia, which happened thanks to the campaigns led by Ermak Timofeevich, is of great importance in the history of Russia. It was as a result of these campaigns that Russia first began to spread its influence in Siberia, and, thereby, to develop, becoming the largest state in the world.

The accession of the Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) khanates opened up the possibility of advancing to Siberia. The conquest of Western Siberia was carried out from 1558. It took place not by the forces of regular troops, which by that time had been transferred to Livonia, but by small Cossack detachments (vatagas), organized and armed at the expense of the Stroganov merchants. Rich salt merchants Yakov Anikeevich and Grigory Anikeevich Stroganov received in 1574 from Ivan IV the right to develop the lands along the Tobol and Tura.

In 1581, the Don Cossack Vasily Timofeevich Alenin, nicknamed Yermak, at the head of a Cossack detachment, numbering about eight hundred people, penetrated the territory of the Siberian Khanate, and a year later defeated the troops of Khan Kuchum and took his capital Kashlyk (Isker). However, Kuchum himself retreated up the Irtysh and continued to resist the Russian troops. In 1585, Yermak died in battle, but the annexation of Western Siberia continued. Cities were built in the new territories - Tyumen (1586), Tobolsk (1587), Pelym (1593), Berezov (1593), Surgut (1594), Narym (1595) and others. In 1598, the remaining troops of Khan Kuchum were defeated by the governor A. Voeikov. The khan himself fled to the legs, but was killed by them. By the beginning of the XVII century. almost the entire territory of Western Siberia became part of the Muscovite state.

Livonian War

Having annexed the Kazan Khanate, the Astrakhan Khanate and the Nogai Horde, Ivan the Terrible reoriented his foreign policy from the east to the west. His goal was to acquire the lands of the Livonian Order in the Eastern Baltic. The nobles were interested in capturing these territories, hoping to get new estates there. The merchants dreamed of convenient Baltic ports (Riga, Revel (Talinn), Pernov (Pärnu), which would create better conditions for trade with Western states. But most importantly, the tsar sought to raise his international prestige and Russia's influence not only in the east, but also in Europe.

The reason for the war was that in 1557 the Livonian Order not only refused to pay tribute to Russia for the possession of the city of Yuryev (Derpt-Tartu), imposed by Ivan III in 1503, but also entered into an alliance with the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II August. In 1558, Russia began hostilities against the Livonian Order.

The course of the Livonian War can be divided into three main stages.

The first stage lasted from 1558 to 1561. During this period, Russian troops won significant victories - in the first year of the war they captured the cities of Narva and Derpt, defeated the troops of the Order in several battles, and in 1560 captured the former master. By 1561 the Livonian Order ceased to exist.

The second stage lasted from 1561 to 1578. The collapse of the Livonian Order did not lead to the final victory of Russia in the war, but to the intervention of Sweden, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who claimed the same territories as Russia and were seriously concerned about the vigorous interference of the Muscovite state in European affairs. Military operations at this stage proceeded with varying degrees of success. In 1563, Russian troops captured the large Lithuanian fortress of Polotsk, opening their way to the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Vilna. But the very next year, the Russian army suffered a series of defeats. The situation was aggravated by the fact that, fearing the tsar's wrath, several governors fled to Lithuania, including a close friend of Ivan IV, Prince A. M. Kurbsky. In 1569, the threat of Russian expansion forced Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to decide on the final unification. They concluded the Union of Lublin, under the terms of which a single Polish-Lithuanian state of the Commonwealth was formed. Only the death in 1572 of King Sigismund II and the ensuing period of "royallessness" gave the Russian troops in Livonia and Lithuania a certain respite and the opportunity to win the last victories.

The events of 1579-1583 belong to the third stage of the war. This period is characterized by a number of major defeats of the Russian army and the transition from offensive to defensive. In 1579, the new Polish king Stefan Batory recaptured Polotsk, captured by Russian troops in 1563, and from 1580 military operations were already conducted on the territory of Russia. In September 1580, the Polish army captured Velikie Luki. In the summer of 1581 Stefan Batory began the siege of Pskov. In the autumn of the same year, the Swedes captured all the Russian fortresses on the Baltic coast (Narva, Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye). Only the heroic resistance of the defenders of Pskov under the leadership of Prince Ivan Petrovich Shuisky, who withstood a three-month siege of an enemy three times superior to them and did not surrender the city, forced Stefan Batory to agree to peace negotiations.

In January 1582, Russia and the Commonwealth signed the Yam-Zapolsky truce for 10 years, under which the Polish-Lithuanian state received most of Livonia and returned the occupied territories to Russia (with the exception of Polotsk).

In August 1583, the Truce of Plus was signed for three years between Russia and Sweden. Sweden not only received the northern part of Livonia, but also left behind the captured Russian cities and Karelia, leaving Russia only marshy and deserted islands at the mouth of the Neva as an outlet to the Baltic Sea.

Ticket 29. Troubles. Russia's exit from the Time of Troubles.

The economic crisis at the turn of the XVI - XVII centuries.

The socio-economic crisis that struck Russia at the turn of the 16th - 17th centuries was caused by a number of reasons. Oprichnina devastation and terror, the 25-year Livonian War and the increase in taxes and duties provoked by it, the raids of the Crimean Tatars, epidemics devastated Russia, especially its central and northwestern regions.

Most of the surviving peasants and many townspeople went to the southern counties (Tula, Orlovsky, Kursk, Epifansky, etc.), and also signed up as Cossacks on the Don and the Urals. Some fled even to Siberia or Lithuania. Many landlords of the devastated territories completely lost their peasants. They either tried to cultivate the land themselves, or became combat servants of the boyars, or were forced to become Cossacks. Since the noble militia formed the basis of the Russian army, the plight of the landowners seriously undermined the defense capability of the state.

To save the situation, the government went to the further enslavement of the peasants. In the early 1580s. the census of arable lands began, and in 1581 Ivan IV the Terrible issued a decree on “reserved years”. "Reserved" called the years in which the peasants were forbidden to move from one landowner to another. At first, this measure was seen as temporary, but gradually turned into a permanent one. Since 1597, a 5-year term for the search for fugitives was established, called "lesson summers." Subsequently, this period was increased to 10, then to 15 years, and under the terms of the Council Code of 1649, the search for fugitives became indefinite, which meant the final attachment of the peasants to the land.

Political crisis at the turn of the 16th - 17th centuries.

Ivan IV died on March 18, 1584. Although he was married seven times, he had only four sons, and only two survived his father - Fedor Ivanovich, who became heir to the throne after Ivan the Terrible killed his elder in a fit of rage in 1581 son Ivan Ivanovich, and 2-year-old Dmitry Ivanovich. In the last year of his life, Ivan IV, who did not love his son Fyodor and considered him weak-minded (the tsar called him a “ringer” for his passion for bell ringing), created a kind of regency council, which was supposed to take over the country under the “blessed” Fyodor Ivanovich. This council included Prince I.F. Mstislavsky, Prince I.P. Shuisky; uncle Fyodor boyar N.R. Zakharyin-Yuriev, Duma clerk A.Ya. Shchelkalov, possibly a duma nobleman B.Ya. Belsky and brother-in-law (wife's brother) Fyodor boyar B. F. Godunov.

Immediately after the death of Ivan the Terrible, a fierce struggle for power began at the court. As a result, by 1587 B.Ya. Belsky was sent as governor to Nizhny Novgorod; relatives of the young prince Dmitry and he himself were exiled to Uglich; Prince I.F. Mstislavsky resigned from his duties as regent and took tonsure; the princes Shuisky and their supporters were disgraced; The board of trustees collapsed, and the royal brother-in-law Boris Godunov concentrated control in his own hands.

A new aggravation of the crisis happened in 1591, it is connected with the so-called "Uglich affair". On May 15, 1591, in Uglich, Tsarevich Dmitry, the half-brother of Tsar Fyodor, who was considered the heir to the throne, died under unclear circumstances.

On the night of January 6-7, 1598, the childless Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich died. With his death, the Moscow dynasty of Rurikovich was stopped, which was a terrible shock for the entire Russian society and brought the country to the brink of Troubles. The issue of electing a new king was to be decided by the Zemsky Sobor. Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky, boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov, boyar Boris Fyodorovich Godunov and Bogdan Yakovlevich Belsky claimed the royal throne. On February 17, 1598, the Zemsky Sobor elected Boris Godunov as tsar, who enlisted the support of Patriarch Job.

Time of Troubles. Concept and essence

Troubled time in the history of the Muscovite state of the late XVI - early XVII centuries. usually referred to as a period of deep socio-economic, political and spiritual crisis of Russian society, exacerbated by foreign intervention. Researchers identify many causes of the Time of Troubles: the oprichnina ruin of the country, the famine of 1601-1603, the contradictions between the landowners and patrimonials, the discontent of the peasants caused by the process of enslavement, the fall in the authority of the tsarist government due to the weakness of Fyodor Ivanovich, and the struggle of court groups for influence on the sovereign. All this, of course, pushed the country to the Time of Troubles, but the main reason, in our opinion, was the termination in 1598 of the Moscow Rurik dynasty. The very foundations of the monarchy were shaken. Boris Godunov received the royal throne in 1598 not by "God's will", but by "zemstvo election." Accordingly, every adventurer could now consider himself worthy of the "Monomakh's crown." As you know, Grigory Otrepyev became the first in a series of such impostor applicants. Neighboring states (the Commonwealth, Sweden) also hastened to take advantage of the Time of Troubles in order to increase their possessions at the expense of Russian territories. Only the desire of the people to restore their usual life prevented the final collapse of the state.

The best periodization of the Time of Troubles is given by the famous historian S.F. Platonov in the book "Essays on the history of the Troubles in the Muscovite state of the XVI - XVII centuries":

the first - the dynastic period - from the death of Fedor Ivanovich (1598) to the accession of Vasily Shuisky (1606). Its main content was the struggle for power of the court boyar groups and the beginning of imposture.

the second - social - the reign of Vasily Shuisky (1606 - 1610). This is the time of the movement of the lower strata of the population against the higher, a striking example of which was the uprising led by I.I. Bolotnikov.

the third - national - from the establishment of the "seven boyars" (1610) to the election to the throne of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1613). The struggle of the people against the interventionists and the beginning of a new dynasty.

Boris Godunov (1598-1605)

On February 17, 1598, the Zemsky Sobor elected Boris Godunov (1598 - 1605) as tsar, who enlisted the support of Patriarch Job.

The main reason for the election of Godunov to the throne by the Zemsky Sobor is that after the defeat of political enemies in the board of trustees under Tsar Fedor, appointed before his death by Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich's brother-in-law Boris Godunov was actually the ruler of the country. In 1594, he was officially invested with the power of regent by a special letter. Thanks to a lively and flexible mind, diplomacy and resourcefulness, the "sorrowful of the Russian land" was able to surround himself with devoted people in the Boyar Duma and the Tsar's court.

Having reached the "highest power", Boris Godunov decisively dealt with the remaining political opponents: B. Belsky was exiled to Tsarev-Borisov, and then "deprived of honor" and thrown into prison, F.N. Romanov, by order of the tsar, was forcibly tonsured a monk under the name of Elder Filaret (1600), and his brothers Alexander, Mikhail and Vasily were poisoned to Siberia, where they soon died.

The internal policy of Boris Godunov, carried out during the life of Tsar Fedor, deserves a positive assessment. The first major success was the establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate (1589), which raised the international prestige of the Russian Orthodox Church. On his initiative, active construction of cities was carried out in the border areas (Tsaritsyn, Saratov, Samara, Yelets, Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Oskol, Tsarev Borisov, etc.). Moscow also changed: the Earthen Wall was built, surrounding the White City and Zamoskvorechie, the bell tower of Ivan the Great was erected, the first almshouses appeared, etc. The consequences of the economic crisis were not overcome, but a certain rise in production was achieved.

Obvious successes were also observed in the foreign policy sphere. During the reign of Boris Godunov, the annexation of Western Siberia was completed. As a result of the war with Sweden (1590-1593), Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod and Korela were returned. The truce with the Commonwealth has been extended. In 1591 and 1598 the raids of the Crimean Khan Kazy Giray on Moscow were successfully repulsed.

At the wedding to the kingdom, Boris Godunov made a promise that could not be fulfilled under any circumstances: "God is my witness that there will be no poor man in my kingdom!" Although the first two years were successful. Godunov combined mercy for the nobles and orderly people with honors to the clergy, awards to the army and liberties to the merchants. At the same time there was a further assertion of serfdom. This caused a mass exodus of peasants to the outlying lands, especially the southern ones, where the discontent of the Cossacks grew due to economic disorder. Tsar Boris was finally destroyed by the famine of 1601-1603, from which the peasants and the serfs expelled by the thousands suffered the most.

The people's dislike for the tsar was fueled by the novelty of his events. Among them - sending young nobles to study abroad, inviting foreigners to Russia, the desire to open schools and even a university in a European manner. All this was perceived by traditional Russian society as the destruction of antiquity and led to a sharp drop in the authority of a person who could become the ancestor of a new dynasty. However, the powerful performances of peasants, serfs and Cossacks (the uprising led by Khlopko Kosolap of 1603-1604 was suppressed with great difficulty), the intensification of the struggle of various groups of the ruling class for power and privileges, the constant fear of the network of secret police supervision created by Godunov, which gave rise to such public ulcers, like denunciation and slander, led to general hatred for the new king. His sudden death in April 1605 and the murder of the 16-year-old son Fyodor Godunov, who was in power for only 2 months (April-June 1605), as a result of a conspiracy of the boyars, facilitated the accession to the throne of False Dmitry I. The era of impostors appeared in various regions of the country.

While the failures in the west greatly upset Ivan the Terrible, he was unexpectedly pleased with the conquest of vast Siberia in the east.

Back in 1558, the tsar gave the wealthy industrialist Grigory Stroganov large uninhabited lands on both sides of the Kama River to Chusovaya for 146 miles. Grigory Stroganov and his brother Yakov, following the example of his father, who had made a huge fortune in Solvychegodsk by the salt industry, decided to start salt pans on a large scale in the new region, populate it, start arable farming and trade. The settlement of empty places, the establishment of new industries was, of course, very beneficial for the entire state, and therefore the tsar not only willingly ceded land to enterprising industrialists, but also gave them great benefits.

The Stroganovs were given the right to call free people to their lands, to judge the settlers, who for twenty years got rid of all taxes and duties; then the right was given to build fortifications and keep armed detachments for defense against attacks by neighboring peoples (Ostyaks, Cheremis, Nogays, etc.). Finally, the Stroganovs were allowed to recruit willing people, Cossacks, and go to war against hostile foreigners. Soon the Stroganovs had to face the tribes that lived in the neighborhood, beyond the Ural Mountains. Here, on the banks of the rivers Tobol, Irtysh and Tura, there was a Tatar kingdom; the main city was called Isker, or Siberia, on the Tobol River; by the name of this city and the whole kingdom was called Siberian. Previously, the Siberian khans sought the patronage of the Moscow Tsar, at one time they even paid him yasak (tribute) in furs, but the last Khan Kuchum showed hostility to Moscow, beat and captured the Ostyaks who paid tribute to her; and the Siberian prince Makhmet-Kul went with his army to the Chusovaya River to find the way to the Stroganov towns, and here he beat many Moscow tributaries, took their wives and children into captivity. The Stroganovs notified Ivan the Terrible about this and beat him with a brow to allow them to fortify beyond the Urals, keep a fire outfit (artillery) for defense and there and at their own expense recruit volunteers to fight the khans of Siberia. The king allowed. This was in 1574. Grigory and Yakov Stroganov were no longer alive. The business was continued by their younger brother Semyon and children: Maxim, the son of Yakov, and Nikita, the son of Grigory.

It was not difficult at that time to recruit a squad of daredevils.

In the southern and eastern steppe outskirts of the Muscovite state, as it was said, since the 15th century, free, walking people, eager for war, have been appearing - Cossacks. Some of them lived in the villages, carried out the sovereign service, defended the borders from the attacks of the robber Tatar gangs, while others, in the full sense of the free "steppe birds", left from any supervision, "walked" in the steppe expanse, attacked, at their own peril. , on the Tatars, robbed them, hunted in the steppe, fished along the rivers, smashed the Tatar merchant caravans, and sometimes Russian merchants were not given a descent ... Gangs of such Cossacks walked along the Don and along the Volga. To the complaints of the Nogai Khan that the Cossacks, despite the fact that he was at peace with Moscow, were robbing Tatar merchants on the Don, Ivan the Terrible replied:

“These robbers live on the Don without our knowledge, they run from us. We have sent more than once before to catch them, but our people cannot get them.

It was really very tricky to catch gangs of these "thieves'" Cossacks, as they were called, in the wide steppes.

A gang of such Cossack freemen, more than 500 people, was brought to the service of the Stroganovs by ataman Vasily Timofeev, nicknamed Yermak. He was a daring heroic force, moreover, very dexterous, quick-witted ... Yermak's main assistants were Ivan Koltso, sentenced to death for his robberies, but not caught, Nikita Pan and Vasily Meshcheryak - all these were good fellows who went through, as they say, fire and water that knew no fear. The rest of Yermak's comrades also looked like them. Such and such people, ready for anything, were what the Stroganovs needed. They wanted not only to defend their possessions from the raids of the Siberian king, but to give him a warning in order to ward off attacks for a long time. For this, it was decided to attack Kuchum in his own Siberia. This enterprise, which promised both good booty and military glory, was very to the liking of Yermak and his fellows. The Stroganovs provided them with everything they needed: food, guns, even small cannons.

A few dozen more daring hunters joined Yermak's detachment, so that in total there were 840 people in the detachment. Taking with him leaders who knew the river routes well, and interpreters, Yermak on September 1, 1582 set off with a daring squad to Siberia to seek his fortune.

On the slander of one governor, the unkindness of the Stroganovs, the tsar ordered them to return Yermak and not bully the Siberian "Saltan"; but the royal letter came late: the Cossacks were already far away.

At first they sailed on plows and canoes up the Chusovaya River; then turned into the Serebryanka River. This path was difficult, in other places it was necessary to sail on rafts in shallow water. From Serebryanka, Yermak's people were dragged through passages in the Ural Range to the Zharovlya River, which flows into Tagil, from here they descended into the Tura River. Until now, the Cossacks have not encountered any interference; they rarely even saw people along the banks: the land here was wild, almost completely deserted. The river Tura became more crowded. Here for the first time we met the town (now the city of Turinsk), where the Siberian prince Yepancha ruled. Here they had to put their weapons into action, because from the shore they began to shoot at Yermak's Cossacks with bows. They fired their guns. Several Tatars fell; the rest fled in horror: they had never seen a firearm before. The town of Yepanchi was ravaged by the Cossacks. Soon they had to disperse another crowd of Tatars with firing. Those captured were fired with shots, they were shown how bullets pierce their armor, and information was obtained from them about Kuchum and his forces. Yermak purposely set some of the captives free so that they spread fear everywhere with their stories about the miraculous properties of Russian weapons.

“The Russian warriors are strong,” they said, according to the chronicle, “when they shoot from their bows, then fire blazes from them, great smoke comes out and it seems like thunder will break out. Arrows are not visible, but wounded and beaten to death. It is impossible to protect yourself from them with any armor; our kuyaks, shells and chain mail - they all pierce through!

Of course, a handful of brave men, led by Yermak, hoped most of all for a gun, who conceived no more, no less, how to conquer an entire kingdom and conquer tens of thousands of people.

Map of the Siberian Khanate and Yermak's campaign

The Cossacks sailed down the Tobol, and more than once they had to disperse crowds of natives with shots. The ruler of Siberia, Kuchum, although he was frightened by the stories of the fugitives about the great forces of the enemy and various ominous predictions, did not intend to surrender without a fight. He gathered all his army. He himself camped on the banks of the Irtysh, near the mouth of the Tobol (not far from the present city of Tobolsk), on Mount Chuvashevo, set up a new notch here just in case, and ordered Prince Makhmet-Kul forward with a large army, towards the Cossacks Yermak. He met them on the banks of the Tobol, at the Babasan tract, started a battle, but could not overpower them. They swam forward; on the way they took another Siberian town; they found rich booty here, took it with them and set off further. At the confluence of the Tobol into the Irtysh, the Tatars again overtook the Cossacks and showered them with arrows. Yermak's men also repulsed this attack, but they already had several dead, and almost all of them were wounded by arrows. The matter was getting hot. The Tatars, it is true, saw that there were not too many enemies, and they leaned on them with all their might. But Yermak was already not far from the capital; the fate of his Siberian campaign was soon to be decided. It was necessary to knock Kuchum out of his notch and seize the capital. The Cossacks were thoughtful: Kuchum had much more strength - for every Russian, perhaps, there were twenty Tatars. The Cossacks gathered in a circle and began to interpret what to do: whether to go forward or go back. Some began to say that we must return; others and Yermak himself reasoned differently.

“Brothers,” they said, “where shall we run? It's already autumn: ice freezes in the rivers... Let's not accept bad glory, let's not put reproach on ourselves, let's hope in God: He is also a helpless helper! Let us remember, brothers, the promise we made to honest people (the Stroganovs). We cannot go back in shame from Siberia. If God helps us, then even after death our memory will not be impoverished in these countries, and our glory will be eternal!

Everyone agreed with this, decided to stay and fight to the death.

At dawn, October 23, Yermak's Cossacks moved to the notch. The guns and muskets now served them well. The Tatars fired clouds of arrows from behind their fence, but did little harm to the Russian daring men; finally, they themselves broke through their notch in three places and hit the Cossacks. A terrible hand-to-hand fight began. Here the guns did not help: they had to cut with swords or grab directly with their hands. It turned out that Yermak's people showed themselves to be heroes here too: despite the fact that the enemies were twenty times more numerous, the Cossacks broke them. Mahmet-Kul was wounded, the Tatars mixed up, many lost heart; other Siberian princelings subject to Kuchum, seeing that the enemies were overpowering, left the battle. Kuchum fled first to his capital Siberia, seized his belongings here and fled further.

The conquest of Siberia by Yermak. Painting by V. Surikov, 1895

On October 26, Yermak's Cossacks occupied Siberia, abandoned by the inhabitants. The victors were depressed in the empty city. They have greatly diminished: in the last battle alone, their 107 people fell; there were many wounded and sick. It was no longer possible for them to go further, and meanwhile their supplies had run out and a fierce winter was setting in. Hunger and death threatened them...

But after a few days, the Ostyaks, Voguliches, Tatars with their princelings began to come to Yermak, beat him with their foreheads - they brought him gifts and various supplies; he also took them to the oath to the sovereign, encouraged them with his mercy, treated them kindly and let them go without any offense to their yurts. The Cossacks were strictly forbidden to offend the submissive natives.

The Cossacks spent the winter calmly; only Makhmet-Kul attacked them, Yermak defeated him, and for some time he did not disturb the Cossacks; but with the onset of spring, he thought it was a surprise to attack them, but he himself fell into a mess: the Cossacks lay in wait for the enemies, attacked them sleepy at night and captured Makhmet-Kul. Yermak treated him very kindly. The captivity of this brave and zealous Tatar knight was a blow to Kuchum. At this time, his personal enemy, one Tatar prince, was at war with him; finally, his governor cheated on him. Kuchum's affairs were quite bad.

The Cossacks spent the summer of 1582 on campaigns, conquering Tatar towns and uluses along the Siberian rivers Irtysh and Ob. Meanwhile, Yermak let the Stroganovs know that he "overcame Saltan Kuchum, took his capital city and captivated Tsarevich Makhmet-Kul." The Stroganovs hastened to please the tsar with this news. Soon a special embassy from Yermak appeared in Moscow - Ivan Koltso with several comrades - to beat the sovereign with the kingdom of Siberia and present him with a gift of precious products of conquered Siberia: sable, beaver and fox furs.

For a long time already, contemporaries say, there has not been such joy in Moscow. The rumor that God's mercy to Russia had not failed, that God had sent her a new vast Siberian kingdom, quickly spread among the people and rejoiced everyone who was accustomed to hear in recent years only about failures and disasters.

The terrible tsar accepted Ivan the Ring graciously, not only forgave him and his comrades for their previous crimes, but generously rewarded him, and they say that Yermak sent a fur coat from his shoulder, a silver ladle and two shells as a gift; but most importantly, he sent the governor, Prince Volkhovsky, to Siberia with a significant detachment of troops. Very few daredevils remained under the hand of Yermak, and it would be difficult for him to keep his conquest without help. Mahmet-Kul was sent to Moscow, where he entered the service of the king; but Kuchum still managed to recover and enter into force. Russian soldiers had a bad time in Siberia: they often suffered shortcomings in life supplies; diseases spread among them; it happened that the Tatar princelings, pretending at first to be loyal tributaries and allies, then destroyed the detachments of Yermak, who trusted them. So Ivan Koltso died with several comrades. The governor, sent by the king, died of an illness.

The conquest of Siberia by Yermak. Painting by V. Surikov, 1895. Fragment

Yermak himself soon died. He found out that Kuchum was going to intercept a Bukhara caravan on its way to Siberia. Taking with him 50 of his brave men, Yermak hastened to meet the Bukhara merchants in order to protect them from predators on the way along the Irtysh. The whole day the Cossacks waited for the caravan at the confluence of the Vagaya River with the Irtysh; but neither merchants nor predators showed up... The night was stormy. The rain poured down. The wind blew on the river. The exhausted Cossacks settled down to rest on the shore and soon fell asleep like the dead. Ermak blundered this time - he didn’t set up watchmen, he didn’t think, it’s clear that the enemies would attack on such a night. And the enemy was very close: on the other side of the river, the Cossacks lay in wait! .. Kuchumov’s scouts found a ford in the river, made their way to the Russians and then brought their good news that Ermak’s Cossacks were sleeping like a dead dream, as proof of which they presented three squeakers and powder flasks stolen from them . At the direction of the scouts, the Tatars secretly crossed the river, attacked the sleeping Cossacks and cut them all, except for two. One escaped and brought to Siberia the terrible news of the beating of the detachment, and the other - Yermak himself, hearing the groans, jumped up, managed to beat off the killers who rushed at him with his saber, rushed from the shore to the Irtysh, thinking to escape by swimming, but drowned from the weight of his iron armor (August 5, 1584). A few days later, the body of Yermak was washed ashore by the river, where the Tatars found him and, by rich armor with a copper frame, with a golden eagle on his chest, recognized the conqueror of Siberia in the drowned man. It is clear how delighted Kuchum was at this, how all his enemies triumphed over the death of Yermak! And in Siberia, the news of the death of the leader led the Russians to such despair that they no longer tried to fight Kuchum, they left Siberia to return to their homeland. This happened already after the death of Ivan the Terrible.

But Yermak's cause did not perish. The way to Siberia was indicated, and the beginning of Russian rule here was laid. After the death of Grozny and the death of Yermak, the Russian detachments, one after another, followed the path that he indicated, beyond the Stone Belt (Urals) to Siberia; the native half-savage peoples, one after the other, fell under the authority of the Russian tsar, brought him their yasak (tribute); Russian settlements were planted in the new region, cities were built, and little by little the whole north of Asia with its inexhaustible wealth fell to Russia.

Ermak was not mistaken when he said to his associates: "Our memory will not be impoverished in these countries." The memory of the brave men who laid the foundation for Russian rule in Siberia lives to this day both here and in their homeland. In their songs, our people still remember the daring Cossack chieftain, who atoned for his guilt before the tsar by conquering Siberia. One song says about Yermak, how he, having defeated Kuchum, sent a message to the king:

“Oh, you are a goy, hope Orthodox tsar!
They didn’t order me to be executed, but they told me to say:
Like me, Ermak, son of Timofeevich,
As I walked along the blue sea,
What is the blue sea along the Khvalynsky (Caspian),
Just like I broke the beads-ships ...
And now, hope Orthodox tsar,
I bring you a wild head
And with a violent little head the kingdom of Siberia!

Preserved in Siberia and local legends about Yermak; and in 1839, in the city of Tobolsk, not far from the place where the ancient Isker, or Siberia, was located, a monument was erected to perpetuate the memory of the daring conqueror of this region.

Behind the great Stone Belt, the Urals, lie the vast expanses of Siberia. This territory occupies almost three-quarters of the entire area of ​​our country. Siberia is larger than the second largest (after Russia) country in the world - Canada. More than twelve million square kilometers store in their bowels inexhaustible reserves of natural resources, with reasonable use, sufficient for the life and prosperity of many generations of people.

Stone Belt Hike

The beginning of the development of Siberia falls on the last years of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The most convenient outpost for moving deep into this wild and uninhabited region at that time was the middle Urals, the undivided owner of which was the Stroganov family of merchants. Taking advantage of the patronage of the Moscow tsars, they owned vast land areas, on which there were thirty-nine villages and the city of Solvychegodsk with a monastery. They also owned a chain of prisons, stretching along the border with the possessions of Khan Kuchum.

The history of Siberia, or rather, its conquest by Russian Cossacks, began with the fact that the tribes inhabiting it refused to pay the Russian Tsar yasyk - a tribute that they had been subject to for many years. Moreover, the nephew of their ruler - Khan Kuchum - with a large detachment of cavalry made a number of raids on the villages belonging to the Stroganovs. To protect against such unwanted guests, wealthy merchants hired Cossacks, led by ataman Vasily Timofeevich Alenin, nicknamed Yermak. Under this name, he entered Russian history.

First steps in an unknown land

In September 1582, a detachment of seven hundred and fifty people began their legendary campaign for the Urals. It was a kind of discovery of Siberia. On the whole route, the Cossacks were lucky. The Tatars who inhabited those regions, although they outnumbered them, were inferior militarily. They practically did not know the firearms, so widespread by that time in Russia, and fled in a panic every time they heard a volley.

To meet the Russians, the khan sent his nephew Mametkul with ten thousand troops. The battle took place near the Tobol River. Despite their numerical superiority, the Tatars suffered a crushing defeat. The Cossacks, building on their success, came close to the Khan's capital, Kashlyk, and here they finally crushed the enemies. The former ruler of the region fled, and his warlike nephew was captured. From that day on, the khanate practically ceased to exist. The history of Siberia is making a new turn.

Struggles with aliens

In those days, the Tatars were subject to a large number of tribes that were conquered by them and were their tributaries. They did not know money and paid their yasyk with the skins of fur-bearing animals. From the moment of the defeat of Kuchum, these peoples came under the rule of the Russian Tsar, and carts with sables and martens were pulled to distant Moscow. This valuable product has always and everywhere been in great demand, and especially in the European market.

However, not all tribes resigned themselves to the inevitable. Some of them continued to resist, although it weakened every year. The Cossack detachments continued their march. In 1584, their legendary ataman Ermak Timofeevich died. This happened, as often happens in Russia, due to negligence and oversight - at one of the halts, sentries were not posted. It so happened that a prisoner who had escaped a few days before brought an enemy detachment at night. Taking advantage of the oversight of the Cossacks, they suddenly attacked and began to cut the sleeping people. Yermak, trying to escape, jumped into the river, but a massive shell - a personal gift from Ivan the Terrible - carried him to the bottom.

Life in the conquered land

Since that time, active development began. Following the Cossack detachments, hunters, peasants, clergy and, of course, officials were drawn into the taiga wilderness. All those who found themselves behind the Ural Range became free people. There was neither serfdom nor landlordism here. They paid only the tax established by the state. The local tribes, as mentioned above, were taxed with a fur yasyk. During this period, the income from the receipt of Siberian furs to the treasury was a significant contribution to the Russian budget.

The history of Siberia is inextricably linked with the creation of a system of forts - defensive fortifications (around which, by the way, many cities subsequently grew up), which served as outposts for the further conquest of the region. So, in 1604, the city of Tomsk was founded, which later became the largest economic and cultural center. After a short time, the Kuznetsk and Yenisei prisons appeared. They housed military garrisons and the administration that controlled the collection of yasyk.

Documents of those years testify to many facts of corruption of the authorities. Despite the fact that, according to the law, all furs had to go to the treasury, some officials, as well as Cossacks directly involved in collecting tribute, overestimated the established norms, appropriating the difference in their favor. Even then, such lawlessness was severely punished, and there are many cases when covetous men paid for their deeds with freedom and even with their lives.

Further penetration into new lands

The process of colonization became especially intensive after the end of the Time of Troubles. The goal of all those who dared to seek happiness in new, unexplored lands, this time was Eastern Siberia. This process proceeded at a very fast pace, and by the end of the 17th century, the Russians had reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. By this time, a new government structure appeared - the Siberian Order. His duties included the establishment of new procedures for the administration of controlled territories and the nomination of governors, who were locally authorized representatives of the tsarist government.

In addition to the yassy collection of furs, furs were also purchased, the payment for which was carried out not in money, but in all kinds of goods: axes, saws, various tools, as well as fabrics. History, unfortunately, has preserved many cases of abuse. Often, the arbitrariness of officials and Cossack foremen ended in riots by local residents, who had to be pacified by force.

The main directions of colonization

Eastern Siberia was developed in two main directions: to the north along the coast of the seas, and to the south along the border line with the states adjacent to it. At the beginning of the 17th century, the banks of the Irtysh and the Ob were settled by Russians, and after them, significant areas adjacent to the Yenisei. Cities such as Tyumen, Tobolsk and Krasnoyarsk were founded and began to be built. All of them were to eventually become major industrial and cultural centers.

The further advance of the Russian colonists was carried out mainly along the Lena River. Here in 1632 a prison was founded, which gave rise to the city of Yakutsk, the most important stronghold at that time in the further development of the northern and eastern territories. Largely due to this, two years later, the Cossacks, led by, managed to reach the Pacific coast, and soon saw the Kuriles and Sakhalin for the first time.

Conquerors of the Wild

The history of Siberia and the Far East keeps the memory of another outstanding traveler - the Cossack Semyon Dezhnev. In 1648, he and the detachment he led on several ships for the first time rounded the coast of North Asia and proved the existence of a strait separating Siberia from America. At the same time, another traveler, Poyarov, having passed along the southern border of Siberia and climbed up the Amur, reached the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Some time later, Nerchinsk was founded. Its significance is largely determined by the fact that as a result of moving to the east, the Cossacks approached China, which also claimed these territories. By that time, the Russian Empire had reached its natural borders. Over the next century, there was a steady process of consolidating the results achieved during colonization.

Legislative acts related to the new territories

The history of Siberia in the 19th century is characterized mainly by the abundance of administrative innovations introduced into the life of the region. One of the earliest was the division of this vast territory into two general governments approved in 1822 by personal decree of Alexander I. Tobolsk became the center of the West, and Irkutsk became the center of the East. They, in turn, were subdivided into provinces, and those into volost and foreign councils. This transformation was the result of a well-known reform

In the same year, ten legislative acts signed by the tsar and regulating all aspects of administrative, economic and legal life saw the light of day. Much attention in this document was paid to issues related to the arrangement of places of deprivation of liberty and the procedure for serving sentences. By the 19th century, hard labor and prisons had become an integral part of this region.

Siberia on the map of those years is replete with the names of mines, work in which was carried out exclusively by the convicts. This is Nerchinsky, and Zabaikalsky, and Blagodatny and many others. As a result of a large influx of exiles from among the Decembrists and participants in the Polish rebellion of 1831, the government even united all Siberian provinces under the supervision of a specially formed gendarme district.

The beginning of the industrialization of the region

Of the main ones that received wide development during this period, it should be noted first of all the extraction of gold. By the middle of the century, it accounted for most of the total volume of the precious metal mined in the country. Also, large revenues to the state treasury came from the mining industry, which had significantly increased by this time the volume of mining. Many others have grown as well.

In the new century

At the beginning of the 20th century, the impetus for the further development of the region was the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The history of Siberia in the post-revolutionary period is full of drama. A fratricidal war, monstrous in its scale, swept through its expanses, ending with the liquidation of the White movement and the establishment of Soviet power. During the Great Patriotic War, many industrial and military enterprises were evacuated to this region. As a result, the population of many cities is increasing sharply.

It is known that only for the period 1941-1942. more than a million people have come here. In the post-war period, when numerous giant factories, power plants and railway lines were being built, there was also a significant influx of visitors - all those for whom Siberia became a new homeland. On the map of this vast region, names appeared that became symbols of the era - the Baikal-Amur Mainline, the Novosibirsk Academgorodok and much more.

The process of incorporating the vast territories of Siberia and the Far East into the Russian state took several centuries. The most significant events that determined the future fate of the region took place in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In our article, we will briefly describe how the development of Siberia took place in the 17th century, but we will state all the available facts. This era of geographical discoveries was marked by the founding of Tyumen and Yakutsk, as well as the discovery of the Bering Strait, Kamchatka, Chukotka, which significantly expanded the boundaries of the Russian state and consolidated its economic and strategic position.

Stages of development of Siberia by Russians

In Soviet and Russian historiography, it is customary to divide the process of developing the northern lands and incorporating them into the state into five stages:

1. 11th-15th centuries.
2. Late 15th-16th centuries
3. Late 16th-early 17th centuries
4. Mid 17th-18th centuries
5. 19th-20th centuries.

The goals of the development of Siberia and the Far East

The peculiarity of the accession of the Siberian lands to the Russian state is that the development was carried out spontaneously. The pioneers were peasants (they fled from the landowners in order to work quietly on free land in the southern part of Siberia), merchants and industrialists (they were looking for material gain, for example, it was possible to exchange fur very valuable at that time from the local population for mere knick-knacks worth a penny). Some went to Siberia in search of glory and made geographical discoveries in order to remain in the memory of the people.

The development of Siberia and the Far East in the 17th century, as in all subsequent ones, was carried out with the aim of expanding the territory of the state and increasing the population. Free lands beyond the Ural Mountains attracted with high economic potential: furs, valuable metals. Later, these territories really became the locomotive of the country's industrial development, and even now Siberia has sufficient potential and is a strategic region of Russia.

Features of the development of the Siberian lands

The process of colonization of free lands beyond the Ural Range included the gradual advance of the discoverers to the East to the very Pacific coast and consolidation on the Kamchatka Peninsula. In the folklore of the peoples who inhabited the northern and eastern lands, the word "Cossack" is most often used to refer to Russians.

At the beginning of the development of Siberia by the Russians (16-17 centuries), the pioneers moved mainly along the rivers. By land, they walked only in places of the watershed. Upon arrival in a new area, the pioneers began peaceful negotiations with the local population, offering to join the king and pay yasak - a tax in kind, usually in furs. Negotiations did not always end successfully. Then the matter was decided by military means. On the lands of the local population, prisons or simply winter quarters were arranged. A part of the Cossacks remained there to maintain the obedience of the tribes and collect yasak. The Cossacks were followed by peasants, clergy, merchants and industrialists. The greatest resistance was offered by the Khanty and other large tribal unions, as well as the Siberian Khanate. In addition, there have been several conflicts with China.

Novgorod campaigns to the "iron gates"

The Novgorodians reached the Ural Mountains (“iron gates”) back in the eleventh century, but were defeated by the Yugras. Yugra was then called the lands of the Northern Urals and the coast of the Arctic Ocean, where local tribes lived. From the middle of the thirteenth century, Ugra had already been mastered by the Novgorodians, but this dependence was not strong. After the fall of Novgorod, the task of developing Siberia passed to Moscow.

Free lands beyond the Ural ridge

Traditionally, the first stage (11-15 centuries) is not yet considered the conquest of Siberia. Officially, it was started by Yermak's campaign in 1580, but even then the Russians knew that there were vast territories beyond the Ural Mountains that remained practically unmanaged after the collapse of the Horde. Local peoples were few and poorly developed, the only exception was the Siberian Khanate, founded by the Siberian Tatars. But wars were constantly boiling in it and internecine strife did not stop. This led to its weakening and to the fact that it soon became part of the Russian Tsardom.

The history of the development of Siberia in the 16-17 centuries

The first campaign was undertaken under Ivan III. Prior to this, domestic political problems did not allow Russian rulers to turn their eyes to the east. Only Ivan IV took seriously free lands, and even then in the last years of his reign. The Siberian Khanate formally became part of the Russian state back in 1555, but later Khan Kuchum declared his people free from tribute to the tsar.

The answer was given by sending Yermak's detachment there. Cossack hundreds, led by five atamans, captured the capital of the Tatars and founded several settlements. In 1586, the first Russian city, Tyumen, was founded in Siberia, in 1587, the Cossacks founded Tobolsk, in 1593, Surgut, and in 1594, Tara.

In short, the development of Siberia in the 16-17 centuries is associated with the following names:

1. Semyon Kurbsky and Peter Ushaty (campaign to the Nenets and Mansi lands in 1499-1500).
2. Cossack Ermak (campaign of 1851-1585, development of Tyumen and Tobolsk).
3. Vasily Sukin (was not a pioneer, but laid the foundation for the settlement of the Russian people in Siberia).
4. Cossack Pyanda (in 1623, a Cossack began a campaign through wild places, discovered the Lena River, reached the place where Yakutsk was later founded).
5. Vasily Bugor (in 1630 he founded the city of Kirensk on the Lena).
6. Pyotr Beketov (founded Yakutsk, which became the base for the further development of Siberia in the 17th century).
7. Ivan Moskvitin (in 1632 he became the first European who, together with his detachment, went to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk).
8. Ivan Stadukhin (discovered the Kolyma River, explored Chukotka and was the first to enter Kamchatka).
9. Semyon Dezhnev (participated in the discovery of Kolyma, in 1648 he completely passed the Bering Strait and discovered Alaska).
10. Vasily Poyarkov (made the first trip to the Amur).
11. Erofey Khabarov (secured the Amur region to the Russian state).
12. Vladimir Atlasov (in 1697 annexed Kamchatka).

Thus, in short, the development of Siberia in the 17th century was marked by the founding of the main Russian cities and the opening of ways, thanks to which the region later began to play a great national economic and defense value.

Siberian campaign of Yermak (1581-1585)

The development of Siberia by the Cossacks in the 16-17th centuries was started by Yermak's campaign against the Siberian Khanate. A detachment of 840 people was formed and equipped with everything necessary by the merchants Stroganovs. The campaign took place without the knowledge of the king. The backbone of the detachment was the chieftains of the Volga Cossacks: Yermak Timofeevich, Matvey Meshcheryak, Nikita Pan, Ivan Koltso and Yakov Mikhailov.

In September 1581, the detachment climbed along the tributaries of the Kama to the Tagil Pass. The Cossacks cleared their way by hand, at times they even dragged ships on themselves, like barge haulers. They erected an earthen fortification on the pass, where they remained until the ice melted in the spring. According to Tagil, the detachment rafted to Tura.

The first skirmish between the Cossacks and the Siberian Tatars took place in the modern Sverdlovsk region. Yermak's detachment defeated the cavalry of Prince Epanchi, and then occupied the town of Chingi-tura without a fight. In the spring and summer of 1852, the Cossacks, led by Yermak, fought several times with the Tatar princelings, and by the autumn they occupied the then capital of the Siberian Khanate. A few days later, Tatars from all over the Khanate began to bring gifts to the conquerors: fish and other food, furs. Yermak allowed them to return to their villages and promised to protect them from enemies. All who came to him, he overlaid with tribute.

At the end of 1582, Yermak sent his assistant Ivan Koltso to Moscow to inform the tsar about the defeat of Kuchum, the Siberian khan. Ivan IV generously endowed the envoy and sent him back. By decree of the tsar, Prince Semyon Bolkhovskoy equipped another detachment, the Stroganovs allocated forty more volunteers from among their people. The detachment arrived at Yermak only in the winter of 1584.

Completion of the campaign and the foundation of Tyumen

Ermak at that time successfully conquered the Tatar towns along the Ob and the Irtysh, without encountering violent resistance. But there was a cold winter ahead, which not only Semyon Bolkhovskoy, who was appointed governor of Siberia, but also most of the detachment could not survive. The temperature dropped to -47 degrees Celsius, and there were not enough supplies.

In the spring of 1585, Murza Karacha rebelled, destroying the detachments of Yakov Mikhailov and Ivan Koltso. Yermak was surrounded in the capital of the former Siberian Khanate, but one of the atamans made a sortie and was able to drive the attackers away from the city. The detachment suffered significant losses. Less than half of those who were equipped by the Stroganovs in 1581 survived. Three out of five Cossack atamans died.

In August 1985, Yermak died at the mouth of the Vagai. The Cossacks, who remained in the Tatar capital, decided to spend the winter in Siberia. In September, another hundred Cossacks under the command of Ivan Mansurov went to their aid, but the servicemen did not find anyone in Kishlyk. The next expedition (spring 1956) was much better prepared. Under the leadership of the governor Vasily Sukin, the first Siberian city of Tyumen was founded.

Foundation of Chita, Yakutsk, Nerchinsk

The first significant event in the development of Siberia in the 17th century was the campaign of Pyotr Beketov along the Angara and the tributaries of the Lena. In 1627, he was sent as a governor to the Yenisei prison, and the next year - to pacify the Tungus who attacked Maxim Perfilyev's detachment. In 1631, Peter Beketov became the head of a detachment of thirty Cossacks, who were to pass along the Lena River and gain a foothold on its banks. By the spring of 1631, he had cut down a prison, which was later named Yakutsk. The city became one of the centers for the development of Eastern Siberia in the 17th century and later.

Campaign of Ivan Moskvitin (1639-1640)

Ivan Moskvitin participated in Kopylov's campaign in 1635-1638 to the Aldan River. The leader of the detachment later sent a part of the soldiers (39 people) under the command of Moskvitin to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. In 1638, Ivan Moskvitin went to the shores of the sea, made trips to the Uda and Taui rivers, and received the first data about the Uda region. As a result of his campaigns, the coast of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bOkhotsk was explored for 1300 kilometers, and the Uda Bay, Amur Estuary, Sakhalin Island, Sakhalin Bay, and the mouth of the Amur were discovered. In addition, Ivan Moskvitin brought good booty to Yakutsk - a lot of fur yasak.

Discovery of Kolyma and Chukotka expedition

The development of Siberia in the 17th century continued with the campaigns of Semyon Dezhnev. He ended up in the Yakut jail, presumably in 1638, proved himself by pacifying several Yakut princes, together with Mikhail Stadukhin made a trip to Oymyakon to collect yasak.

In 1643, Semyon Dezhnev, as part of the detachment of Mikhail Stadukhin, arrived in Kolyma. The Cossacks founded the Kolyma winter hut, which later became a large prison, which was called Srednekolymsk. The town became a stronghold for the development of Siberia in the second half of the 17th century. Dezhnev served in Kolyma until 1647, but when he set out on the return voyage, strong ice blocked the way, so it was decided to stay in Srednekolymsk and wait for a more favorable time.

A significant event in the development of Siberia in the 17th century occurred in the summer of 1648, when S. Dezhnev entered the Arctic Ocean and crossed the Bering Strait eighty years before Vitus Bering. It is noteworthy that even Bering did not manage to pass the strait completely, limiting himself only to its southern part.

Securing the Amur region by Yerofey Khabarov

The development of Eastern Siberia in the 17th century was continued by the Russian industrialist Yerofey Khabarov. He made his first campaign in 1625. Khabarov was engaged in buying furs, discovered salt springs on the Kut River and contributed to the development of agriculture on these lands. In 1649, Erofey Khabarov went up the Lena and Amur to the town of Albazino. Returning to Yakutsk with a report and for help, he assembled a new expedition and continued his work. Khabarov treated harshly not only the population of Manchuria and Dauria, but also his own Cossacks. For this, he was transferred to Moscow, where the trial began. The rebels, who refused to continue the campaign with Yerofey Khabarov, were acquitted, he himself was deprived of his salary and rank. After Khabarov filed a petition to the Russian Emperor. The tsar did not restore the monetary allowance, but gave Khabarov the title of son of a boyar and sent him to manage one of the volosts.

Explorer of Kamchatka - Vladimir Atlasov

For Atlasov, Kamchatka has always been the main goal. Before the start of the expedition to Kamchatka in 1697, the Russians already knew about the existence of the peninsula, but its territory had not yet been explored. Atlasov was not a pioneer, but he was the first to pass almost the entire peninsula from west to east. Vladimir Vasilyevich described his journey in detail and compiled a map. He managed to persuade most of the local tribes to go over to the side of the Russian Tsar. Later, Vladimir Atlasov was appointed clerk to Kamchatka.