In spite of the inhuman cruelty that disgraced his character, and earned for him the name of Terrible, Ivan sought, like his illustrious successor, Peter the Great, to introduce the arts and sciences of Western Europe into his barbarous realm, and to improve the Russian manufactures by encouraging German artists and mechanics to settle in the country. It was in his reign that Chancellor discovered the passage from England to the White Sea, and Ivan gladly seized the opportunity thus afforded. Soon after this the port of Archangel was built, and thus a new seat was opened to civilization at the northern extremity of Europe.
After the conquest of Kasan, several Russians settled in that province; among others, a merchant of the name of Strogonoff, who established some salt-works on the banks of the Kama, and opened a trade with the natives. Among these he noticed some strangers, and having heard that they came from a country ruled by a Tartar Khan, who resided in a capital called Sibir, he sent some of his people into their land. These agents returned with the finest sable skins, which they had purchased for a trifling sum; and Strogonoff, not so covetous as to wish to keep all the advantage of his discovery to himself, immediately informed the Government of the new trade he had opened. He was rewarded with the gift of considerable estates at the confluence of the Kama and Tschinsova, and his descendants, the Counts Strogonoff, are, as is well known, reckoned among the richest of the Russian nobility.
Soon after Ivan sent some troops to Siberia, whose prince, Jediger, acknowledged his supremacy, and promised to pay him an annual tribute of a thousand sable skins. But this connection was not of long duration, for a few years after Jediger was defeated by another Tartar prince, named Kutchum Khan; and thus, after Russian influence had taken the first step to establish itself beyond the Ural, it once more became doubtful whether Northern Asia was to be Christian or Mohammedan. The question was soon after decided by a fugitive robber.
The conquests of Ivan on the Caspian Sea had called into life a considerable trade with Bokhara and Persia, which, however, was greatly disturbed by the depredations of the Don Cossacks, who made it their practice to plunder the caravans. But Ivan, not the man to be trifled with by a horde of freebooters, immediately sent out a body of troops against the Don Cossacks, who, not venturing to meet them, sought their safety in flight. At the head of the fugitives, whose number amounted to no less than 6000 men, was Yermak Timodajeff, a man who, like Cortez or Pizarro, was destined to lay a new empire at the feet of his master. But while the troops of the Czar were following his track, Yermak was not yet dreaming of future conquests; his only aim was to escape the executioner; and he considered himself extremely fortunate when, leaving his pursuers far behind, he at length arrived on the estates of Strogonoff. Here he was well received—better, no doubt, than if he had come single-handed and defenseless; and Strogonoff having made him acquainted with Siberian affairs, he at once resolved to try his fortunes on this new scene of action. As the tyranny of Kutchum Khan had rendered him odious to his subjects, he hoped it would be an easy task to overthrow his power; the prospect of a rich booty of sable skins was also extremely attractive; and, finally, there could be no doubt that the greatest dangers were in his rear, and that any choice was better than to fall into the hands of Ivan the Terrible. Strogonoff, on his part, had excellent reasons for encouraging the adventure. If it succeeded, a considerable part of the profits was likely to fall to his share; if not, he at least was rid of his unbidden guest.
Thus Yermak, in the summer of 1578, advanced with his Cossacks along the banks of the Tschinsova into Siberia. But, either from a want of knowledge of the country, or from not having taken the necessary precautions, he was overtaken by winter before he could make any progress; and when spring appeared, famine compelled him to return to his old quarters, where, as may easily be imagined, his reception was none of the most cordial. But, far from losing courage from this first disappointment, Yermak was firmly resolved to persevere. He had gained experience—his self-confidence was steeled by adversity; and when Strogonoff attempted to refuse him further assistance, he pointed to his Cossacks with the air of a man who has the means of enforcing obedience to his orders. This time Yermak took better measures for insuring success; he compelled Strogonoff to furnish him with an ample supply of provisions and ammunition, and in the June of the following year we again find him, with his faithful Cossacks, on the march to Siberia. But such were the impediments which the pathless swamps and forests, the severity of the climate, and the hostility of the natives opposed to his progress, that towards the end of 1580 his force (now reduced to 1500 men) had reached no farther than the banks of the Tara. The subsequent advance of this little band was a constant succession of hardships and skirmishes, which caused it to melt away like snow in the sunshine; so that scarcely 500 remained when, at the confluence of the Tobol and the Irtysch, they at length reached the camp of Kutchum Khan, whose overwhelming numbers seemed to mock their audacity.
But Yermak felt as little fear at sight of the innumerable tents of the Tartar host, as the wolf when meeting a herd of sheep. He knew that his Cossacks, armed with their matchlocks, had long since disdained to count their enemies, and, fully determined to conquer or to die, he gave the order to attack. A dreadful battle ensued, for though the Tartars only fought with their bows and arrows, yet they were no less brave than their adversaries, and their vast superiority of numbers made up for the inferior quality of their weapons. The struggle was long doubtful—the Tartars repeating attack upon attack like the waves of a storm-tide, and the Cossacks receiving their assaults as firmly and immovably as rocks; until, finally, the hordes of Kutchum Khan gave way to their stubborn obstinacy, and his camp and all its treasures fell into the hands of the conquerors.
The subsequent conduct of Yermak proved that he had all the qualities of a general and a statesman, and that his talents were not unequal to his fortunes. Without losing a single moment, he, immediately after this decisive battle, sent part of his small band to occupy the capital of the vanquished Kutchum, for he well knew that a victory is but half gained if one delays to reap its fruits. The Cossacks found the place evacuated, and soon after Yermak made his triumphal entry into Sibir. His weakness now became a source of strength, for, daunted by the wonderful success of this handful of strangers, the people far and wide came to render him homage. The Ostiaks of the Soswa freely consented to yield an annual tribute of 280 sable skins, and other tribes of the same nation, who were more backward in their submission, were compelled by his menaces to pay him a tax, or jassak, of eleven skins for every archer.
It was not without reason that Yermak thus sought to collect as many of these valuable furs as he possibly could, for his aim was to obtain from Ivan a pardon of his former delinquencies, by presenting him with the richest spoils of his victories, and he well knew that it would be impossible for him to maintain his conquests without further assistance from the Czar. Great was Ivan’s astonishment when an envoy of the fugitive robber brought him the welcome gift of 2400 sable skins, and informed him that Yermak had added a new province to his realm. He at once comprehended that the hero who with small means had achieved such great successes, was the fittest man to consolidate or enlarge his acquisitions; he consequently not only pardoned all his former offenses, but confirmed him in the dignity of governor and commander-in-chief in the countries which he had subdued. Thus Yermak’s envoy, having been received with the greatest distinction at Moscow, returned to his fortunate master with a robe of honor which had been worn by the Czar himself, and the still more welcome intelligence that re-enforcements were on the march to join him.
Meanwhile Yermak had continued to advance into the valley of the Obi beyond its confluence with the Irtysch; and when at length his force was augmented by the arrival of 500 Russians, he pursued his expeditions with increasing audacity. On his return from one of these forays, he encamped on a small island in the Irtysch. The night was dark and rainy, and the Russians, fatigued by their march, relied too much upon the badness of the weather or the terror of their name. But Kutchum Khan, having been informed by his spies of their want of vigilance, crossed a ford in the river, and falling upon the unsuspecting Russians, killed them all except one single soldier, who brought the fatal intelligence to Sibir. Yermak, when he saw his warriors fall around him like grass before the scythe, without losing his presence of mind for a moment, cut his way through the Tartars, and endeavored to save himself in a boat. But in the medley he fell into the water and was drowned.
By the orders of Kutchum, the body of the hero was exposed to every indignity which the rage of a barbarian can think of; but after this first explosion of impotent fury, his followers, feeling ashamed of the ignoble conduct of their chief, buried his remains with princely pomp, and ascribed miraculous powers to the grave in which they were deposited. The Russians have also erected a monument to Yermak in the town of Tobolsk, which was built on the very spot where he gained his first decisive victory over Kutchum. It is inscribed with the dates of that memorable event, and of the unfortunate day when he found his death in the floods of the Irtysch. His real monument, however, is all Siberia from the Ural to the Pacific; for as long as the Russian nation continues to exist, it will remember the name of Yermak Timodajeff. The value of the man became at once apparent after his death, for scarcely had the news of the disaster arrived, when the Russians immediately evacuated Sibir, and left the country. But they well knew that this retreat was to be but temporary, and that the present ebb of their fortunes would soon be followed by a fresh tide of success. After a few years they once more returned, as the definitive masters of the country. Their first settlement was Tjumen, on the Tara, and before the end of 1587 Tobolsk was founded. They had, indeed, still many a conflict with the Woguls and Tartars, but every effort of the natives to shake off the yoke proved fruitless.