History of the development of the Siberian region. Siberia

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.

History of Russia 16 - 17 century. Development of Siberia

source and documents on the history of the development of Siberia in the 16-17 centuries

From the very beginning of the annexation of Siberia and the incorporation of its peoples into Russia, the archives of central government agencies and voivodship offices began to accumulate huge documentary material that reflected and captured the course of this process: administrative correspondence, “speech speeches”, “skates” and “replies” of service people , descriptions of campaigns, journeys, diplomatic and administrative trips. These materials later served historians to recreate the history of annexation, exploration and development of Siberia, the history of Russian geographical discoveries in northeast Asia.

Already in the 17th century, the most lively interest of the Russian people in the initial period of the history of the annexation of Siberia, the desire to comprehend the significance of this event, manifested itself. Annalistic historical writings about the “Siberian capture” appear (Esipovskaya, Kungurskaya, Stroganovskaya annals), in which fundamentally different concepts of Yermak’s campaign were put forward, various interpretations and assessments of the events described were given. The completion of this "annalistic" period was the "Siberian History" by S. U. Remezov, created at the very end of the 17th century.

Significant progress was made in the study of Siberia, including its history, in the next, 18th century, which was the result of the work of many expeditions, which included specialist scientists in various fields of knowledge. Particularly noteworthy are the merits of G. Miller, a member of the second expedition of V. Bering. His task was to collect materials on the history of the annexation of Siberia and the peoples inhabiting it. For ten years, from 1733 to 1743, G. Miller traveled all over Siberia, examined and described more than 20 archives, copied a lot of valuable documents, many of which have not reached us. He was one of the first to collect the folklore of the Siberian peoples, as well as linguistic, archaeological and ethnographic material. Based on this extensive material, he created the fundamental multi-volume "History of Siberia", the first volume of which, brought to 1617, was published in 1750. This essay has not lost its significance to this day.

A. N. Radishchev, who was exiled to Siberia and lived here from 1790 to 1797, showed great interest in the study of Siberia, its history, economy, and the life of the population. Among the "Siberian" works of A. N. Radishchev, written by him in exile, are "Description of the Tobolsk governorship", "Letter on Chinese bargaining", "Notes of a trip to Siberia", "Diary of a trip from Siberia", "Angel of Darkness" ( excerpt from the poem "Ermak"). One of them is "An Abbreviated Narrative of the Acquisition of Siberia". When writing this essay, A. N. Radishchev used the rich factual material contained in the first volume of G. Miller's "History of Siberia". But this does not mean that the "Abridged Narrative ..." is simply a summary of the content of the book by G. Miller. An irreconcilable opponent of "autocracy", this "state that is the most contrary to human nature", Radishchev could not accept his concept, in which the main role in the process of annexing Siberia was assigned to state power, the fruitfulness of the autocratic principle and the actions of the government administration were affirmed, and the successes of the expansion of the feudal state were glorified. In contrast to this semi-official concept, Radishchev put forward a new, democratic explanation for the process of annexing Siberia, linking it to free people's colonization and emphasizing the role of the masses in this event. He did not consider the autocratic power to be the main driving force of this process, but the Russian people, "I am born to greatness," capable of "searching for everything that public bliss can do." He spoke out against national oppression, which aroused "the hatred of the people, which does not disappear even after the complete subjugation of the weakest." At the same time, he especially emphasized the importance of the established voluntary agreement between the detachments of Yermak and the Russian settlers, on the one hand, and the Siberian peoples, on the other, paid great attention to the internal development of the Siberian peoples themselves. These views of A. N. Radishchev on the history of Siberia were further developed in the advanced Russian historical thought of the subsequent time and in Soviet historical science.

There are still many "blank spots" in the history of the advance of the Russians to Siberia and the geographical discoveries they made. The fact is that the real pioneers were most often not service people who were obliged to submit reports on their campaigns, which were preserved in the archives, but free industrialists, who for the most part remained unknown. The reader is introduced to the little-known pages of the history of the development of Siberia by a chapter from the popular science book of Academician A.P. Okladnikov “The Discovery of Siberia”. A. P. Okladnikov (1908-1981) - an outstanding Soviet historian, archaeologist, ethnographer, world-famous specialist in the ancient history of the peoples of North, Central and East Asia. The published passage deals with Penda's campaign from the Yenisei to the Lena, the memory of which was preserved only in oral traditions recorded much later, as well as the voyage of Russian polar sailors around Taimyr already at the beginning of the 17th century, which became known only thanks to the work done in 1941 the year of the accidental discovery of the remains of their wintering on the island of Thaddeus and in the wintering of Sims.

Of great interest are brief but capacious stories of the explorers themselves, preserved in the form of records of oral reports (“skaska”), written reports (“replies”) and petitions. These documents give a fairly clear idea of ​​the situation of ordinary servicemen, of the difficult conditions of their service, associated with everyday risk, of relations with the local population, and of the methods of collecting yasak. In them, explorers act not only as brave travelers and yasak collectors, but also as the first inquisitive explorers of Siberia. In the “new lands” they discovered, they were interested in everything: paths, rivers, ore deposits, flora and fauna, opportunities for hunting, fishing, agriculture, the composition and size of the population, its language, customs and customs. The source of this information was not only their personal observations, but also the testimony of local residents, which was also reflected in the documents. The information collected by explorers served as the foundation for all subsequent knowledge about Siberia. Their reports were processed, summarized, on their basis consolidated "drawings" (maps) and geographical surveys of individual regions and Siberia as a whole were compiled: "Painting of Siberian cities and fortresses", compiled around 1640, Godunov's drawing and description of Siberia in 1667, drawing of the Siberian land of 1672 and, finally, the famous Drawing Book (atlas) of Siberia by S. U. Remezov (1701).

An interesting "tale" of the Cossack I. Kolobov, one of the participants in the campaign of the detachment of the Tomsk Cossack Ivan Moskvitin to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. This campaign, which took place in 1639, was an important milestone in the history of Russian geographical discoveries. Its participants were the first Russian people who came to the shores of the Pacific Ocean and sailed along the Sea of ​​Okhotsk: to the north - to the mouth of the Okhota and to the south - to the mouth of the Amur. The story about this campaign by N. Kolobov served as one of the sources for the "Paintings for Rivers and Tribes", which is the first geographical and ethnographic description of the Okhotsk coast.

In the mid-30s of the 17th century, a turbulent period of development of the northeastern Siberian rivers began. The petition of the Cossack Ivan Erastov and his comrades contains a rather detailed story about the campaigns of Posnik Ivanov Gubar against Yana and Indigirka (1638-1640) and Dmitry Zyryan (Erilo) against Indigirka and Alazeya (1641-1642), which resulted in the basins of these rivers were surveyed and for the first time an overland road was laid from the Lena to the upper reaches of the Yana and from the Yana to the middle course of the Indigirka, which served until the end of the century as the main northeastern land highway. D. Zyryan's campaign against Alazeya was a prelude to the discovery of Kolyma in 1643.

In the 1930s, navigation began between the Lena and other northeastern rivers. By the 1950s, it had become quite lively. By sea, food and equipment were brought to Yana, Indigirka, Kolyma, furs were exported. By sea, servicemen went to serve in distant prisons and returned to Yakutsk. But navigation in harsh polar conditions has not become less dangerous and risky. About what difficulties had to be overcome during these voyages, about the fate of the sailors, covered with ice and carried away to the open sea, is narrated in Timofey Buldakov's "replies" about his voyages to Kolyma (in 1650) and back (in 1653) .

Also about sea navigation, but already in the waters of the Pacific Ocean (from Anadyr to the Chukchi moment) is described in Kurbatov's "reply". He came to Lena as a Cossack at the very beginning of its development and took a direct part in the discovery of new lands and in bringing the Siberian peoples into Russian citizenship. In 1643 he was the first Russian to reach Lake Baikal. He is also known as a cartographer: he compiled the first drawings of the upper reaches of the Lena, Lake Baikal, the coast of Okhotsk and some other regions of Siberia. In 1657 he was sent to the Anadyr jail to replace Semyon Dezhnev. Arriving there in the spring of 1660, the following year he sailed in search of a new walrus rookery, about which he spoke in his “reply”.

Two other documents - Vasily Poyarkov's "skazka" and the Yakut governor's "reply" - tell about the first trips to the Amur, the fourth of the great Siberian rivers. The first Russian military expedition to the "Daurian Land" was the campaign of V. Poyarkov in 1643-1646. His "tale" contains not only a detailed story about this campaign, but also the richest information collected during his campaign about the geography and natural conditions of this region, about the peoples who lived here, about their relations with the Manchus. And although this time it was not possible to gain a foothold on the Amur, this information played a big role in the further development of the Amur region by the Russians.

The Amur region was annexed to Russia only as a result of the campaign of a large detachment of "eager people", organized and led by the famous explorer and big businessman Yerofey Khabarov. The story of Khabarov himself about the first stage of this campaign is given in the unsubscribe of the Yakut governors.

At one time, the great Russian writer F. M. Dostoevsky said that the French have a love for grace, the Spaniards have jealousy, the Germans have accuracy, the British have meticulousness, and the Russians are strong in their ability to understand and accept other peoples. Indeed, Russians understand Europeans much better than they understand Russians. As for the XVI-XVII centuries, the development of Siberia by the Russian people took place in full accordance with the understanding of the unique way of life of the local peoples. Therefore, the ethnic diversity of Russia has become even richer.

The process of moving the Russian population to the east began in the 16th century, when the borders of the Moscow kingdom reached the Cis-Urals. It was divided by the Kama River into two parts - the northern forest zone and the southern steppe zone. Nogai and Bashkirs roamed the steppes, and trading and industrial settlements began to form in the north. Here the Stroganov family took the initiative.

The development of Siberia by the Cossacks and Great Russians in the XVI-XVII centuries

For Russian settlements, the Blue Horde posed a serious threat. It occupied a vast territory from Tyumen to Mangyshlak. In the 70s of the 16th century, individual clashes between the Stroganovs and the Tatar Khan Kuchum escalated into an open war.

To protect their possessions, industrialists recruited Cossack detachments, as well as detachments from other military people. In 1581, the Stroganovs hired a detachment led by Ataman Yermak. He was sent to Siberia for the war with Kuchum.

The detachment was staffed by a variety of people. It included Great Russians, Cossacks, as well as Lithuanians, Tatars, Germans. The number of the detachment was 800 people. Of these, there were 500 Cossacks, and the rest of the military men were 300.

As for the Great Russians, they were mainly residents of Veliky Ustyug. In principle, each detachment that went to Siberia consisted of Cossacks (the main core) and Ustyuzhans. Such a formation was called a gang, and the people themselves were called explorers.

Cossacks and Ustyuzhans moved shoulder to shoulder through uninhabited and wild places, dragged boats over the rapids, shared all the hardships and hardships of the journey, but at the same time they remembered which of them was a Great Russian and which was a Cossack. This difference between these people persisted until the first decades of the 20th century.

Yermak with his squad

Yermak's campaign of 1581 was very successful, despite the small number of the detachment. Military people captured the capital of Khan Kuchum, the city of Isker. After that, the Stroganovs sent a letter to Moscow announcing the annexation of the Siberian lands to the Moscow kingdom. The tsar immediately sent two governors to Siberia: Glukhov and Bolkhovsky. They met Yermak in 1583.

However, the war with Kuchum continued. And she went with varying degrees of success. In 1583, the Tatar Khan dealt the Cossacks a painful blow. At the same time, Yermak died, and the warlike Kuchum again occupied his capital. But the advance of the Russians to the east has already become an irreversible process. The Tatars were forced to retreat to the Baraba steppe and from there they continued to disturb the Russian possessions with their raids.

In 1591, an army under the command of Prince Koltsov-Mosalsky dealt a crushing blow to the last Siberian Khan Kuchum. He turned to the Moscow Tsar with a request to return the seized lands to him, promising in return complete loyalty and humility. Thus ended the history of the Blue Horde.

The question arises why Kuchum in the fight against the Russians was not supported by such steppe peoples as the Oirats and Kazakhs? This is apparently explained by the fact that Oirats Buddhists and Kazakh Muslims were busy with their own internecine wars. In addition, Russian explorers moved east through the Siberian forests and did not pose a serious threat to the steppes.

As for the peoples of northern Siberia, which included the Khanty, Mansi, Evenks, and Nenets, there was no struggle either. This can only be explained by the fact that the Russian people did not give rise to conflicts, since they behaved not like aggressors and invaders, but like friends.

Thanks to a peaceful policy, Russian cities began to appear in Siberia at the end of the 16th century. In 1585, at the mouth of the Irtysh, the governor Mansurov laid the first prison. And behind him appeared Narym, Tyumen, Tara, Tobolsk, Surgut, Pelym, Berezov.

Exploration of Siberia in the 17th century

After the Time of Troubles, which shook the Russian land at the beginning of the 17th century, the development of Siberia resumed. In 1621, the Tobolsk Orthodox diocese was created. This consolidated the position of the Orthodox Church in the developed lands.

From Western Siberia, further east, Russian discoverers moved in two ways. Ustyuzhans went through Mangazeya in a northeasterly direction. The Cossacks, in turn, were heading to Transbaikalia. In 1625 they met with the Buryats.

Moving east, Russian people built prisons

In the 1930s explorers mastered the Lena River basin. And in the first half of the 17th century such cities as Yeniseisk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk were founded. This was the best indicator of the development of new lands. And already in the next decade, the Russian people reached the eastern borders of Eurasia. In 1645, the expedition of V. D. Poyarkov descended the Amur and reached the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. In 1648-1649 Erofey Khabarov and his people passed through the middle reaches of the Amur.

Moving east, the explorers practically did not encounter serious organized resistance from the local population. The only exception is the clashes between the Cossacks and the Manchus. They happened in the 80s on the border with China.

The Cossacks reached the Amur and in 1686 built the Albazin fortress. However, the Manchus did not like this. They besieged the prison, the garrison of which consisted of several hundred people. The besieged, seeing in front of them a well-armed army of many thousands, surrendered and left the fortress. The Manchus immediately destroyed it. But stubborn Cossacks already in 1688 cut down a new, well-fortified prison in the same place. The Manchus failed to take it a second time. The Russians themselves abandoned it in 1689 according to the Nerchinsk peace.

How did the Russians manage to master Siberia so quickly?

So, in just 100 years, starting from the campaign of Yermak in 1581-1583 and before the war with the Manchus in 1687-1689, the Russian people mastered vast expanses from the Urals to the Pacific coast. Russia, with virtually no problems, entrenched itself in these boundless lands. Why did everything happen so easily and painlessly?

Firstly, after the explorers were the royal governors. They unwittingly encouraged the Cossacks and Great Russians to go further and further east. The governors also smoothed out individual bursts of rigidity that the Cossacks showed to the local population.

Secondly, mastering Siberia, our ancestors found in these parts a feeding landscape familiar to them. These are river valleys. On the banks of the Volga, the Dnieper, the Oka, the Russians lived for a thousand years before that. Therefore, they began to live along the banks of the Siberian rivers in the same way. These are the Angara, Irtysh, Yenisei, Ob, Lena.

Third, Russian settlers, due to their mentality, very easily and quickly established fruitful contacts with local peoples. Conflicts almost never arose. And if there were any disagreements, they were quickly settled. As for national discord, such a phenomenon did not exist at all.

The only thing that the Russians introduced for the local population was yasak. It was understood as a tax on furs. But it was negligible and amounted to no more than 2 sables per hunter per year. The tax was seen as a gift to the "white king". Given the huge fur resources, such a tribute to the locals was not at all a burden. In return, they received guarantees from the Moscow government for the protection of life and property.

Not a single governor had the right to execute a foreigner, regardless of the severity of his crimes. The case was sent to Moscow. There he was considered, but not a single death sentence was ever passed against the local Aborigines. Here we can give an example with the Buryat lama. He called for an uprising in order to expel the Russians from Transbaikalia, and transfer the land to the Manchus. The troublemaker was arrested and sent to Moscow, where all sins were forgiven and pardoned.

In just 100 years, Russian explorers have mastered a vast territory from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean

After the power of the Moscow Tsar extended to Siberia, the life of the local population did not change at all. No one tried to make Russians out of local natives. Everything was just the opposite. The same Yakuts turned out to be very close to explorers in their way of life. Therefore, the Great Russians learned the Yakut language, mastered the local customs and came closer to the Yakuts much more than the Yakuts to them.

As for religion, the locals observed their pagan rites without any problems. Christianity, of course, was preached to them, but no one forced it. In this regard, the ministers of the Orthodox Church took a position of non-interference, respecting the will of the people.

In a word, the development of Siberia was absolutely painless for its indigenous people. Newcomer Cossacks and Great Russians found a common language with the local population and settled down perfectly in the eastern lands. The ancestors of both of them live there to this day and feel quite comfortable and happy.

Conclusion

For several decades, the Russian people have mastered vast expanses in the eastern part of Eurasia. In the new territories, the Moscow kingdom pursued a peaceful and friendly policy towards the local population. This was fundamentally different from the policy of the Spaniards and the British towards the American Indians. It had nothing to do with the slave trade practiced by the French and Portuguese. There was nothing like the exploitation of the Javanese by the Dutch merchants. But at the time when these unsightly acts were carried out, the Europeans had already experienced the Enlightened Age and were extremely proud of their civilized world.

The conquest of Siberia is one of the most important processes in the formation of Russian statehood. The development of the eastern lands took more than 400 years. Throughout this period, there were many battles, foreign expansions, conspiracies, intrigues.

The annexation of Siberia is still the focus of attention of historians and causes a lot of controversy, including among members of the public.

Conquest of Siberia by Yermak

The history of the conquest of Siberia begins with the famous This is one of the atamans of the Cossacks. There is no exact data on his birth and ancestors. However, the memory of his exploits has come down to us through the centuries. In 1580, the wealthy merchants Stroganovs invited the Cossacks to help protect their possessions from constant raids from the Ugric peoples. The Cossacks settled down in a small town and lived relatively peacefully. The bulk of the total amounted to a little more than eight hundred. In 1581, a campaign was organized with the money of merchants. Despite the historical significance (in fact, the campaign marked the beginning of the era of the conquest of Siberia), this campaign did not attract the attention of Moscow. In the Kremlin, the detachment was called simple "bandits".

In the autumn of 1581, Yermak's group embarked on small ships and began to sail up to the very mountains. Upon landing, the Cossacks had to clear their way by cutting down trees. The beach was completely uninhabited. The constant rise and mountainous terrain created extremely difficult conditions for the transition. Ships (plows) were literally carried by hand, because due to continuous vegetation it was not possible to install rollers. With the approach of cold weather, the Cossacks set up camp on the pass, where they spent the whole winter. After that, the rafting began

Siberian Khanate

The conquest of Siberia by Yermak met the first resistance from the local Tatars. There, almost across the Ob River, the Siberian Khanate began. This small state was formed in the 15th century, after the defeat of the Golden Horde. It did not have significant power and consisted of several possessions of petty princes.

The Tatars, accustomed to a nomadic way of life, could not equip cities or even villages well. The main occupations were still hunting and raids. The warriors were mostly mounted. Scimitars or sabers were used as weapons. Most often they were locally made and quickly broke down. There were also captured Russian swords and other high quality equipment. The tactics of swift horse raids were used, during which the riders literally trampled the enemy, after which they retreated. Foot soldiers were mostly archers.

Equipment of the Cossacks

Yermak's Cossacks received modern weapons at that time. These were gunpowder guns and cannons. Most of the Tatars had not even seen this before, and this was the main advantage of the Russians.

The first battle took place near modern Turinsk. Here the Tatars from the ambush began to shower the Cossacks with arrows. Then the local prince Yepanchi sent his cavalry to Yermak. The Cossacks opened fire on them with long guns and cannons, after which the Tatars fled. This local victory made it possible to take Chingi-tura without a fight.

The first victory brought the Cossacks many different benefits. In addition to gold and silver, these lands were very rich in Siberian fur, which was highly valued in Russia. After other servicemen learned about the booty, the conquest of Siberia by the Cossacks attracted many new people.

Conquest of Western Siberia

After a series of quick and successful victories, Yermak began to move further east. In the spring, several Tatar princes united to repulse the Cossacks, but were quickly defeated and recognized Russian power. In the middle of summer, the first major battle took place in the modern Yarkovsky region. Mametkul's cavalry launched an attack on the positions of the Cossacks. They sought to quickly get close and crush the enemy, taking advantage of the horseman in close combat. Yermak personally stood in the trench, where the guns were located, and began to fire on the Tatars. Already after several volleys, Mametkul fled with the whole army, which opened the way for the Cossacks to Karachi.

Arrangement of occupied lands

The conquest of Siberia was characterized by significant non-combat losses. Difficult weather conditions and severe climate caused many diseases in the camp of forwarders. In addition to the Russians, there were also Germans and Lithuanians in Yermak's detachment (as people from the Baltic were called).

They were the most susceptible to disease and had the hardest time acclimatizing. However, there were no such difficulties in the hot Siberian summer, so the Cossacks advanced without problems, occupying more and more territories. The settlements taken were not plundered or burned. Usually jewels were taken from the local prince if he dared to put up an army. Otherwise, he simply presented gifts. In addition to the Cossacks, settlers participated in the campaign. They walked behind the soldiers along with the clergy and representatives of the future administration. In the conquered cities, prisons were immediately built - wooden fortified forts. They were both civil administration and a stronghold in the event of a siege.

The conquered tribes were subject to tribute. The Russian governors in prisons were supposed to follow its payment. If someone refused to pay tribute, he was visited by the local squad. In times of great uprisings, the Cossacks came to the rescue.

The final defeat of the Siberian Khanate

The conquest of Siberia was facilitated by the fact that the local Tatars practically did not interact with each other. Different tribes were at war with each other. Even within the Siberian Khanate, not all princes were in a hurry to help others. Tatar had the greatest resistance. To stop the Cossacks, he began to gather an army in advance. In addition to his squad, he invited mercenaries. They were Ostyaks and Voguls. Among them met and know. In early November, the khan led the Tatars to the mouth of the Tobol, intending to stop the Russians here. It is noteworthy that the majority of local residents did not provide Kuchum with any significant assistance.

Decisive battle

When the battle began, almost all the mercenaries fled from the battlefield. Poorly organized and trained Tatars could not resist the battle-hardened Cossacks for a long time and also retreated.

After this crushing and decisive victory, the road to Kishlyk opened before Yermak. After the capture of the capital, the detachment stopped in the city. A few days later, representatives of the Khanty began to arrive there with gifts. The ataman received them cordially and communicated kindly. After that, the Tatars began to voluntarily offer gifts in exchange for protection. Also, everyone who knelt down was obliged to pay tribute.

Death at the peak of fame

The conquest of Siberia was initially not supported from Moscow. However, rumors about the success of the Cossacks quickly spread throughout the country. In 1582, Yermak sent a delegation to the tsar. At the head of the embassy was the ataman's companion Ivan Koltso. Tsar Ivan IV gave a welcome to the Cossacks. They were presented with expensive gifts, among which - equipment from the royal forge. Ivan also ordered to assemble a squad of 500 people and send them to Siberia. The very next year, Yermak subjugated almost all the lands on the coast of the Irtysh.

The famous chieftain continued to conquer uncharted territories and subjugate more and more nationalities. There were uprisings that were quickly suppressed. But near the Vagay River, Yermak's detachment was attacked. Taking the Cossacks by surprise at night, the Tatars managed to kill almost everyone. The great leader and Cossack chieftain Yermak died.

Further conquest of Siberia: briefly

The exact burial place of the ataman is unknown. After the death of Yermak, the conquest of Siberia continued with renewed vigor. Year after year, more and more new territories were subordinated. If the initial campaign was not coordinated with the Kremlin and was chaotic, then subsequent actions became more centralized. The king personally took control of this issue. Well-equipped expeditions were regularly sent out. The city of Tyumen was built, which became the first Russian settlement in these parts. Since then, the systematic conquest continued with the use of the Cossacks. Year after year they conquered more and more new territories. In the cities taken, the Russian administration was set up. Educated people were sent from the capital to conduct business.

In the middle of the 17th century there was a wave of active colonization. Many cities and settlements are founded. Peasants arrive from other parts of Russia. Settlement is gaining momentum. In 1733 the famous Northern Expedition was organized. In addition to conquest, the task of exploring and discovering new lands was also set. The data obtained after were used by geographers from around the world. The end of the annexation of Siberia can be considered the entry of the Uryakhansk region into the Russian Empire.

RESULTS OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF SIBERIA IN THE 17TH CENTURY

By the middle of the 17th century, a rumor had already spread widely throughout the country that Siberia was a free land for people not only “commercial and industrial”, but also “arable”. In the regions of European Russia closest to Siberia, the peasants listened with particular attention to stories about the fertility and abundance of the Siberian lands. And in the second half of the XVII century. there is a sharp increase in the influx of free migrants beyond the Urals and their massive settling precisely “on arable land”. This process was accelerated by the church schism: many zealots of the "old faith" began to find refuge in Siberia.

Among those who went “to live” in Siberia, the number of families increases, as well as such fugitives who, having settled in the “new sovereign estate”, returned to their homeland in a legal manner and took their families to Siberia. The flow of complaints about the unauthorized departure of the peasants forced the government in 1670 to issue a decree ordering not to accept new settlers, but to send the fugitives back. In the Urals, additional outposts are being established on the roads, while in Siberia itself they are trying to conduct "detects" of fugitive peasants and serfs. But all these measures almost did not give a result. Their implementation was hampered both by the bottomless expanses of Siberia and the interest of local authorities in new settlers. The peasants went beyond the Urals in groups of dozens of people, bypassing guard posts with the help of Tatars and Voguls, and completely lost in the Siberian expanses. As a result, in the last third of the XVII century. and there was a sharp increase in the number of the peasant population of the region.

For the Trans-Ural territories of the 60s - 70s. 17th century turned out to be quite a noticeable frontier. Apparently, just from that time on, the Russian population of Siberia began to increase to a much greater extent than before due to natural growth, and not inflow from outside, and this most eloquently testified to a significant improvement in the living conditions of the settlers.

True, there were many difficulties in providing Siberian cities and forts with food in the second half of the 17th century. Of these, the main task was the internal redistribution of grain grown in Siberia, the need to supply it to areas that remained "small" and "learless" due to unfavorable natural conditions or constant military danger. This created a number of difficulties even on the territory of the most developed agricultural region - Verkhotursko-Tobolsk. In the reports coming from there, the governor often spoke of the arrival of "all sorts of ranks of people" to buy bread "for their own need." The Moscow government was at that time preoccupied with the problem of supplying Eastern Siberia, therefore orders were sent to the West Siberian "arable" cities in every possible way to control and limit the grain trade.

At the same time, the central authorities continued to make considerable efforts to strengthen the "outposts of agricultural colonization" that had moved far to the east, trying to reduce the gap between the agricultural and commercial development of Siberia.

This, however, was difficult to achieve. “The tragedy of Russian colonization,” noted the prominent Soviet researcher V.V. Pokshishevsky, “consisted in the geographical lag of the agricultural “rear” from the “avant-garde” that had gone far to the east. The distance from the main Siberian granary - the Verkhotursko-Tobolsk region - to Yakutsk or Nerchinsk was much greater than from the Pomeranian cities to the Irtysh or Ob, but the path was more difficult. And their own farming centers in Eastern Siberia for a long time could not fully provide it with bread.

And yet the success of the agricultural colonization of Siberia by the end of the XVII century. look impressive, and the difficulties of the internal redistribution of "grain supplies" can no longer be compared with the food problems of the beginning of the century.

Of the 20 Siberian counties, only 3 - Berezovsky, Surgut and Mangazeya - remained "unplowed", while the rest had cultivated fields and a solid foundation for the development of agriculture. Most of the rural settlements that emerged on their territory survived until the 20th century.

An indicator of the success of Siberian agriculture was the state of the flour-grinding industry, which was closely connected with it: over time, it was more and more improved and enlarged. It is known that at first there were not enough mills in Siberia. This greatly complicated the life of the settlers. For example, in 1628 in the Yenisei district, four mills could no longer meet the needs of the inhabitants for grinding, and since they did not have flour, there was no way to bake bread. As reported from Yeniseisk, "many service people and arable peasants boil rye with kutya and eat it." However, by the end of the XVII century. in the “arable” districts of Siberia, hundreds of water mills were already operating (there were only a few windmills), among which the number of simple ones (“whorls”) was decreasing more and more and the number of “wheeled” ones, more complex in design and more productive, was multiplying.

Western European travelers passing at the end of the 17th century. in Siberia, in many of its regions they felt like in an agricultural country, noting the abundance and availability of various types of food. So, the Russian envoy to China, the Dutchman Izbrant Idee, having examined the lands south-west of Tyumen in June 1692, wrote: “This journey ... gave me the greatest pleasure, since along the way I met the most beautiful meadows, forests, rivers, fertile and beautifully cultivated fields as one can imagine, all well populated by Russians; here you could get all sorts of supplies at a reasonable price. The cheapness of grain and meat, not to mention fish, he noted while in Tobolsk. Following further, Idee pointed out that in the Yenisei district there are not only “many villages”, but also “a lot ... of grain, meat, cattle and poultry.” Near Nerchinsk, according to Ides' description, the inhabitants "have good and convenient land for cultivation, where they sow and plant grains and vegetables as much as they need."

Siberian nugget scientist, historian, cartographer and architect Semyon Remezov at the end of the 17th century. spoke about his native Siberia with pride and love: “The air above us is cheerful and healthy in measure and human life is necessary ... The land is grain-growing, vegetable and cattle, besides honey and grapes, nothing is scarce.”

Such assessments and opinions were by no means formed under the influence of a random combination of favorable circumstances. Historians have calculated, for example, that if in the first quarter of the 17th century. the total sown area in Siberia was about 30 thousand acres, then by the beginning of the 18th century. it was equal to 100-120 thousand acres, and the total collection of grain from it is determined for this time at 3,919,320 pounds.

Thus, over the course of one century, in fact, breadless Siberia turned into a land that provided itself with its own bread.

In 1685, obligatory food supplies beyond the Urals from European Russia were abolished, and this should be recognized as the greatest achievement of Russian farmers. It is also significant that by the end of the XVII century. Growers made up the majority of the Russian population in Siberia. Of the 25 thousand Russian families, about 15.5 thousand were engaged in agriculture there, and the peasants themselves, making up almost half of the settlers (11 thousand families), had already equaled in number the originally most representative group of the Russian population in Siberia - service people. True, they retained a numerical superiority in most of the Siberian territory, but these were its least populated, least developed areas.