Ataman Yermak is one of the most popular heroes in our history. Having defeated Khan Kuchum, he "got for the tsar" practically all of Siberia. But few people know that the dashing ataman himself was a descendant of the Siberian khans.
Flat-faced and black-bearded
Even during his lifetime, Ermak became a folk hero, comparable to epic heroes, so a great many stories about him should have been preserved. But the news, oddly enough, is so sparse, as if everyone deliberately undertook to keep a secret.
According to one of the versions, he was born on the banks of the Chusovaya River (a tributary of the Kama) and from his youth knew well the waterways beyond the Urals, and also heard a lot about the riches of the Siberian region. Other sources call the Pomor village of Borok the birthplace of Ermak. In the 17th century, there were rumors that Ermak was from the Volga Cossacks, many of whom served in the army of Ivan the Terrible. These were people of very different origins: from fugitive Russian peasants, from Bashkirs, Mordovians, even from Tatars.
Ermak entered the tsarist service presumably in 1557 - and immediately as a centurion of the light cavalry. Then he assured that he was 25 years old, he indicated the Kachalinskaya stanitsa on the Don as his place of birth, and called the ataman Timofey Shigu, who died during the capture of Kazan, as his father.
The description of Yermak's appearance, given in the "Remizov Chronicler" by Semyon Remizov, has survived. He was "the ataman broad-shouldered, flat-faced and black with a beard," wrote Remizov from the words of his father Ulyan, who personally knew many Cossacks who survived Yermak's Siberian campaign.
However, the Tatar features of the chieftain for the XVI century were quite familiar thing. The strange thing is that Yermak never even tried to visit the "native" village of Kachalinskaya. Nobody knew about the famous countryman there. But Timofey Shiga was known to the Kachalin Cossacks. And even at the beginning of the 18th century, they willingly told that the dashing chieftain, along with his two sons, died in the explosion of a clockwork mine during the siege of Kazan in 1552.
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One gets the feeling that Ermak wanted to get lost in the vastness of Russia and took someone else's legend to cover himself.
Served - and free
However, living under a false name was common for the Cossacks of that time. They often got into questionable stories, so they had to hide. But just behind Yermak there were no offenses.
He is mentioned from time to time in the military reports of the commanders. Ataman Cherkashenin writes that under Molodi in 1572 "the Cossack centurion Ermak Timofeev's son" distinguished himself. During the Livonian War, he was celebrated by the governor Khvorostinin (in fact, the leading Russian military leader).
Ermak's traces in the Russian army can be traced back to the very signing of peace with the Poles and Swedes. In the battle of Lyalitsy in February 1582, he still figures as Khvorostinin's trusted officer.
And then 25 years expired, for which the chieftain was hired to the king. And Yermak, together with a large detachment, was released on all four sides. That is, he was free to do as he saw fit, if only he did not rebel.
Then Yermak gathered a soldier whose service life had expired and went to the banks of the Kama and Chusovaya, where he ended up in June 1582. The Stroganov Chronicle reports that the Cossacks were summoned to protect the towns of the Stroganov brothers from the raids of the Siberian Tatars. Most likely, the industrialists lied - Yermak simply appointed the banks of the Chusovaya as a gathering place for the chieftains who wished to follow him. Some, by the way, wanted so much to go on a campaign that they deserted with their troops from the army, breaking the oath.
There were a lot of such people: Ivan Koltso, Yakov Mikhailov, Nikita Pan, Matvey Meshcheryak, Cherkas Alexandrov and Bogdan Bryazga. In total, under the command of Yermak there were 540 fighters. He recruited another 300 warriors and many supplies from Stroganov towns, despite the protests of the managers.
Taking a fang
After waiting for the Tatar cavalry of Khan Kuchum to cross the Urals and begin to besiege the Stroganov towns, Yermak did not even think to go to their aid, but gathered his squad into a fist and with a fleet of 80 plows rushed into the Siberian Khanate. Everyone noted that Ermak is well-versed in the labyrinth of West Siberian rivers and can find any local village in the deep taiga. He told the atamans that he had been to these places before.
Ermak chose a difficult moment for the invasion. Khan Kuchum was at the peak of power. He rallied the scattered tribes of the Voguls, Ostyaks and Uvats, created an army on the model of the Horde, and actively spread Islam. Tatar garrisons were stationed in the fortresses of the appanage princelings. The Siberian Khanate was on friendly terms with Bukhara, the Crimean Khanate, Turkey and other Muslim powers.
Actually, Kuchum came to power with the help of Bukhara troops. He was a descendant of Genghis Khan and dreamed of restoring the greatness of the Horde. The Siberian Khanate belonged to the heirs of the Tatar leader Taibuga. Many of their leaders gravitated towards Moscow, especially after the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible. According to some reports, Prince Kasym and his uncle Angysh were Christians.
But the taibugins were not Chingizids, which means they could not be considered real khans. This was the reason for Kuchum's invasion of the Siberian Khanate. The young prince Ediger, who at one time overthrew his father Kasym, did not enjoy support. He recognized himself as a tributary of Moscow, but never received help. In 1563, Kuchum took the capital of Ediger, Kyshlyk, executed his rival and severed relations with Russia.
The Siberians could put up to 15,000 troops against Ermak, but they were armed by an order of magnitude worse than the Russian. In addition, in the decisive battle of Kuchum, the squads of the Ostyaks and Voguls left. The Cossacks defeated the enemy in several battles, and then Yermak captured Kyshlyk by storm. Local princes and Tatar murzas, one after another, began to swear allegiance to the winner. They called him Er-Mar (Bright Prince) and unconditionally recognized him as the ruler.
Kasym's son
But Ermak behaved strangely for the Cossack chieftain. Instead of robbing the local princelings and retiring to his homeland, he began to establish his own order. Abolished slavery, started a population census. He placed garrisons in all the fortresses, scattering his forces. In addition, Ermak constantly sent troops to the area of Lake Artaubash. According to legend, there were hidden treasures plundered by Genghis Khan in Khorezm.
At the end of 1582, Ermak sent an embassy to the tsar, which announced the defeat of the Siberians. However, the ataman asked to "take the khanate under his own hand" and indicated the amount of income that he undertakes to transfer to the treasury, and did not proclaim the conquered territories as the possession of Ivan the Terrible. That is, he addressed the tsar as Ediger did.
At the same time, Grozny not only did not pay attention to this impudence, but also generously presented the Cossacks with gold. And for Yermak he sent chain mail of the finest work and a letter of granting him the title of Prince of Siberia. In fact, Ediger was also called this way in Moscow, in contrast to Kuchum, who, as a descendant of Genghis Khan, was recognized as tsarist. Ivan the Terrible even ordered to send Volkhovsky and 500 archers to help the Cossacks. But, unfortunately, they were delayed along the way.
Kuchum used partisan tactics and was able to inflict heavy losses on the Cossacks. Many atamans died, and in the end they killed Yermak himself. His detachment thinned so much that the survivors were forced to make their way home. A year later, the Russians returned and once again expelled Kuchum. Khan resisted until 1598, when he migrated across the Ob River.
But why did the taibugins obey Yermak so easily?
According to the legend among the Siberian Tatars, one of the wives of Kasym, who was overthrown by Ediger, was a Christian. After the coup, she left Kyshlyk with her little son. Perhaps she moved to Russia. And 50 years later, her son - Ermak - returned to his native place to regain the throne of his father.
While his half-brother Ediger was the khan, Ermak did not want to start wars. But he had nothing in common with Kuchum: the Taibugins and Chingizids were historically at odds with each other. Therefore, the murzas meekly swore allegiance to Ermak, altering his name in their own way. Moreover, it was easy for them to believe that this flat-faced and black-bearded warrior was their fellow countryman. And given the reaction to the events of Ivan the Terrible, it can be assumed that the Russian tsar was aware of what was happening.
Artem PROKUROROV