What was the ermak. Ermak: the main secrets of the conqueror of Siberia

Painting by V.I. Surikov "Conquest of Siberia by Ermak Timofeevich"

Biography of Ermak Timofeevich

Ermak Timofeevich (1539 - August 6, 1585) - Cossack chieftain, conqueror of Siberia. Most researchers consider him a Don or Volga Cossack, and according to some chronicles, he came from Central Russia.

From these chronicles it follows that Yermak's grandfather, Afanasy Grigoriev Alenin, was a townsman in Suzdal, then moved to Vladimir, where he took up a cart. His sons - Rodion and Timofey moved to the Chusovaya River, where Timofey had 3 sons: Gabriel, Frol and Vasily (Yermak). Historians recorded 7 names of Ermak: Ermak, Ermolai, German, Ermil, Vasily, Timofey and Yeremey.

The first mention of his military affairs dates back to the 60s of the 16th century. According to some reports, in 1571, together with his squad, he repelled the raid of the Crimean Khan Davlet-Girey under the walls of Moscow, took part in the Livonian War.

In June 1581, Yermak, at the head of a Cossack squad, fought in Lithuania against the Polish-Lithuanian troops of Stefan Batory. At this time, his friend and associate Ivan Koltso fought in the Trans-Volga steppes with the Nogai Horde.

After the end of the Livonian War, Yermak's detachment arrives on the Volga and in Zhiguli unites with Ivan Koltso's detachment. Here they are found by a messenger from the Stroganov merchants with a proposal to go to their service. Knowing that for the defeat of the Tsar's caravan, Yermak had already been sentenced to be quartered, and the Ring to be hanged, the Cossacks accept the invitation of the Stroganovs to go to their Chusovskie towns to protect themselves from the raids of the Siberian Tatars.

On September 1, 1582, a detachment of Ermak and chieftains Ivan Koltso, Matvey Meshcheryak, Bogdan Bryazga, Ivan Alexandrov, nicknamed Cherkas, Nikita Pan, Savva Boldyr, Gavrila Ilyin in the amount of 540 people along the Volga and Kama rises on plows to the Chusovsky towns. The Stroganovs gave Yermak some weapons, but they were insignificant, since Yermak's entire squad had excellent weapons.

Taking advantage of the convenient moment when the Siberian Khan Kuchum was busy with the war with the legs, Yermak himself undertakes an invasion of his lands. In just three months, Yermak's detachment made its way from the Chusovaya River to the Irtysh River. Through the Tagil passes, Yermak left Europe and descended from the "Stone" (Ural Mountains) to Asia.

This was made possible thanks to iron discipline and a solid military organization. In addition to the atamans, the Cossacks were commanded by tenants, Pentecostals, centurions and captains.

With the detachment there were three Orthodox priests and one priest-defiant. Ermak strictly demanded the observance of all Orthodox fasts and holidays during the campaign.

And now thirty Cossack plows are sailing along the Irtysh, on the front the wind is rinsing the Cossack banner: blue with a wide red border, the red red is embroidered with patterns, in the corners of the banner there are bizarre rosettes; in the center on a blue field are two white figures: a lion standing opposite each other on its hind legs and an ingor-horse with a horn on its forehead, the personification of "prudence, purity and rigor".

Yermak fought with this banner against Bathory in the West, and came to Siberia with it.

Kuchum at that time sent his eldest son Alei with an army to take the Russian fortress of Cherdyn in the Perm region. The appearance of Yermak was a complete surprise for him. Meanwhile, at the mouth of the Tobol River, Yermak's detachment defeated the hordes of Murza Karachi, Kuchum's chief dignitary. This infuriated Kuchum, he gathers an army and sends his nephew Prince Mametkul to meet Yermak.

On October 26, on the Chuvash Cape, on the banks of the Irtysh, a grandiose battle broke out, which was led by Kuchum himself from the opposite side. In this battle, Kuchum's troops were defeated, Mametkul was wounded, Kuchum fled, and Yermak occupied his capital Kashlyk. Soon the Cossacks occupied the towns of Yepanchin, Chingi-Tura and Isker, subjugating the local princes and kings.

However, in December, when a small detachment of Cossacks led by ataman Bryazga went to Lake Abalak for fish, they were suddenly attacked by Mametkul and completely destroyed. Upon learning of this, Yermak immediately set out on a campaign and on December 5, 1582, defeated the 10,000-strong army of Mametkul in a life-and-death battle near Lake Abalak. For each of the Cossacks there were more than twenty enemies. This battle showed the heroism and moral superiority of the Cossacks, it meant the complete and final conquest of Siberia.

In the spring of 1583, Yermak sent a detachment of 25 Cossacks to Ivan IV the Terrible, led by Ivan Koltso, Cherkas Alexandrov and Savva Boldyr. The detachment brought the tsar yasak-furs and a message about the annexation of Siberia to Russia.

Ivan the Terrible accepts Yermak's report, forgives him and all the Cossacks their former "guilts" and sends a detachment of 300 archers led by Prince Semyon Bolkhovsky to help.

Winter 1583-1584 In Siberia, it was especially difficult for the Russians, supplies ran out, famine began. By spring, all the archers died along with Prince Bolkhovsky and a significant part of the Cossacks.

In the summer of 1584, Kuchum's dignitary, Murza Karacha, fraudulently lured a detachment of Cossacks led by Ivan Koltso to the feast, and at night, having attacked them, he slaughtered them all sleepily.

Upon learning of this, Yermak sent a new detachment to the camp of Karachi, led by Matvey Meshcheryak. In the middle of the night, the Cossacks broke into the camp of Karachi. In the battle, two sons of Karachi were killed, and he himself barely escaped with the remnants of the army. Soon, messengers from Bukhara merchants arrived at Yermak with a request to protect them from the arbitrariness of Kuchum. Yermak with the rest of the army - less than a hundred people - set off on a campaign. On the banks of the Irtysh near the mouth of the Vagai River, where Yermak's detachment spent the night, Kuchum attacked them during a terrible storm and thunderstorm.

Yermak assessed the situation and ordered to board the plows. Meanwhile, the Tatars had already broken into the camp. Yermak was the last to withdraw, covering the Cossacks. A cloud of arrows was fired by Tatar archers. The arrows pierced Yermak Timofeevich's broad chest. The swift icy waters of the Irtysh swallowed him up forever...

Arriving in Kashlyk, Matvey Meshcheryak gathered the Circle, on which the Cossacks decided to go to the Volga for help. Already in 1586, a detachment of Cossacks from the Volga came to Siberia and founded the first Russian city there - Tyumen, which served as the basis for the future Siberian Cossack Army.

Nordrus.ru›Biography of Yermak Timofeevich

Ermak is a nickname, his name was Ermil. "Yermil Timofeevich to be an ataman," they sing in one song. In another Yermak about himself: "I staggered, dangled, Yermil, I, Yermil, broke the beads-ships." It was in his Don period, and then, when he became famous on the Volga and in Siberia, from Yermila he became Yermak. On the Don and on the lower reaches of the Volga, this was especially in vogue.

Around the origin of Yermak and his name alone, even in scientific literature, not to mention folklore, a huge number of versions have developed. Some historians considered him a Pomor, a native of the Russian North, others - a native of the Urals, who came in his youth on the Kama and Chusovaya rivers. There is also a version about the Turkic origin of Yermak. The sonorous name of the legendary chieftain is considered to be a derivative of Yermolai, Yermil, Yeremey, or even recognized as the nickname of a Cossack baptized by Vasily. The great Russian historian N. M. Karamzin gave a description of Yermak’s appearance in his “History of the Russian State”: “He looked noble, dignified, medium height, strong muscles, broad shoulders; had a flat but pleasant face, a black beard, dark, curly hair, bright, quick eyes, a mirror of the soul of an ardent, strong, penetrating mind. This portrait definitely reconciles any disputes about Yermak's small homeland. It is described poetically, but Karamzin himself called the chapter on Siberia a poem.

However, no matter where Yermak Timofeevich was born and no matter how he looked, it can be said with certainty that at first he led the Cossack squad on the Volga, robbed the merchant ships following the river and was quite pleased with that. What happened next?

This is how brothers meet

In the spring of 1581, smoke from the roofs of Russian settlements in the estates of the merchants Stroganovs in the Kama region, ruined by the Nogai Tatars, stretched into the sky. A little later, the Voguls rebelled in the same place, in the Volga region - the Cheremis, and at the end of the summer in the Urals, the Pelym prince Ablegirim appeared: “ the prince's army, and with him seven hundred people; and the animal was driven away ... ". The Stroganovs informed Moscow about this at the end of the year, but by that time the formidable tsar was already aware of the atrocities that were happening. At the turn of June - July 1581, the Cossacks burned the capital of the Nogai Horde, Saraichik.

Parsun Ermak Timofeevich, created in the XVIII century. The unknown author of the portrait portrayed the ataman in Western outfit, which became the basis for the appearance of a version about the participation of the Germans in the Siberian campaign

At the same time, the ambassador of the Russian kingdom to the Nogais, V.I. On the Volga, near present-day Samara, the caravan was attacked and robbed by dashing Cossacks: “Ivan Koltso, yes Bogdan Borbosha, yes Mikita Pan, yes Savva Boldyrya with his comrades…”. Among the names of Yermak's future associates, he himself is not mentioned, although a year earlier he stole a caravan of a thousand heads from the Nogai Murza, and in the spring of 1581 - another sixty horses. Frisky horses were useful to the Cossacks on the western outskirts of the kingdom.

Probably, Yermak participated in the battles of the Livonian War, being not an ordinary Cossack, but a centurion. The most important evidence of this is the text of the letter of the commandant of Mogilev, sent in 1581 to Stefan Batory, which mentions "Ermak Timofeevich - Cossack Ataman".

Lion and unicorn on the banner of Yermak, who was with him during the conquest of Siberia

By August 1581, the village, which was headed by Yermak, according to the historian A. T. Shashkov, along with other troops, was sent by Ivan IV to the Volga. They went to Pine Island, where free Cossacks took the Russian-Nogai embassy by surprise. It was there that Yermak and his faithful companions in the Siberian campaign met. Part of the Horde managed to escape to Yaik. The united Cossacks pursued them. The chieftains understood: for a raid on an embassy caravan, the tsar would not pat on the heads, rather, the heads would roll from the chopping block. At the council, it was decided to follow in the Urals. Along the Volga, the Cossacks reached the Kama, upstream they reached the Chusovaya River, then the Sylva, and here they clashed with the people of the prince of the Voguls Ablegirim: “Someone was in Siberia, the Pelym prince Aplygarym, fought with his Tatars Great Perm”.

"Seven Cossacks"

Behind Bishop Pelym stood the Siberian Khan Kuchum. Having seized power over the expanses around the Irtysh and Tobol back in 1563, he continued to pay yasak to the Moscow Tsar. But the suppression of pockets of resistance to the usurper in Siberia among the Tatars, Khanty and Mansi untied his hands. The eastern Russian outskirts took up fire.

Fragments from the "Brief Siberian Chronicle" by Semyon Remezov (St. Petersburg, 1880). On the left: “Hearing Yermak from many Chusovlyans about Siberia as the tsar is the owner, behind Kamen the rivers flow for two, to Rus' and Siberia, from the portage of the Nitsa, Tagil, Tura fell to Tobol, and Vogulichi live on them, ride deer ... " . On the right: “Meetings of warriors in the summer of 7086 and 7, with Yermak from the Don, from the Volga and from Eiku, from Astrakhan, from Kazan, stealing, breaking the sovereign’s state courts of ambassadors and Bukharts to the mouth of the Volga river. And hearing those sent from the king with the execution, and ovia from them dispersed, others from a large number scattered to various cities and towns.
dlib.rsl.ru

The Stroganovs beat Ivan the Terrible with their foreheads, first asking for warriors for protection, and soon - permission to hire them themselves. Yermak and his comrades came to Chusovaya at that time. Merchants were careful not to mention them in a petition: it would be more expensive to take sovereign robbers on their own. At the end of 1581, Tsar Ivan gave the Stroganovs the go-ahead not only to hire warriors, but also to retaliate: « And those vogulichs come to their prisons with war and mend zeal ... And those vogulichs would come, and I will provide for them ... besiege from the war, and it’s disgraceful for them to steal ahead ”. At the same time, a new governor arrived in the Urals, in Cherdyn - none other than V.I. Pelepelitsyn. He did not forget what he had experienced, although he was in no hurry to recall his grievances to Yermak's people. They wintered on Sylva, periodically arranging forays into the Vogul uluses. The spring of 1582 opened the ice on the rivers, and after that came a letter from the king. The Stroganovs crossed themselves and equipped the embassy to the Cossacks. Having accepted the invitation of the merchants, on May 9 they left the camp on the Sylva and went down to the mouth of the Chusovaya. Initially, the agreement was reduced to a campaign in Pelym in order to repay Ablegirim in the same coin. The salt producers were ready to supply the Cossacks with both weapons and supplies to the conscience.

The training camp took most of the summer. At the end of August, the Siberians with the Voguls themselves attacked the Russian towns, just like a year ago. The raid was led by the eldest son of Khan Kuchum Aley. The people of the Pelym prince also took part in it. “At this time, Yermak’s squad, which repelled the attack of Alei’s army on the Nizhnechusovsky prison and thereby fulfilled its obligations to M. Ya. Stroganov, changed its plans for a campaign against Pelym”,- writes Shashkov. - “The Volga Cossacks decided to retaliate with blow for blow. And therefore, Siberia has now become their main goal..

For the Stone!

To call the expedition a gamble is to say nothing. Historians still argue about the size of Yermak's troops. The minimum is usually considered to be 540 "Orthodox wars", which are often "reinforced" by three hundred Poles, Lithuanians and Germans. The Stroganovs allegedly ransomed prisoners of war from the front of the Livonian War from the tsar, and then entrusted them to the ataman. The main argument is the Western European equipment of Yermak and his warriors in later images. True, according to Semyon Remezov, all participants in the campaign, and especially its leader, had such armor and helmets. Well, the mentioned number is indirectly supported by the number of plows on which Yermak and his comrades went “for the Stone”: 27 ships, 20 soldiers each.

The path was incredibly hard. Up the Chusovaya, the Cossacks went to the Serebryanka River, from which the plows had to be dragged by land by dragging as many as 25 versts (1 verst is equal to 1.07 km) to the Baranchi River, from it to Tagil, then to Tura, from Tura to Tobol ... « Cossack plows, adapted for sailing on the seas, sailed, tacking on numerous river turns,- noted the outstanding Soviet historian R. G. Skrynnikov. - "The rowers, replacing each other, leaned on the oars".

A fragment from the “Brief Siberian Chronicle” by Semyon Remezov (St. Petersburg, 1880): “Having come in the spring, as if the Cossacks were brave, they saw and understood that the Siberian country is rich and abundant in everything and the people living in it are not warriors, and swimming down the Tagil Maya in 1 day, smashing the courts along Tura and up to the first prince Yepanchi, where Yepanchin Useninovo now stands; and that a lot of Agarians gathered and repaired the battles for many days, like a great bow, go up for 3 days, and in that bow beat the velmi to the exit, and that Cossacks will overcome.
dlib.rsl.ru

The beginning of Yermak's Siberian campaign is still often dated in the autumn of 1581: with a long road and wintering in the mountains, waiting until the ice breaks on Tagil, and so on. For all the complexity of the path of the Cossacks, this version should be recognized as an exaggeration. The campaign did not drag on for a whole year - it passed, as it had begun, quickly and decisively. Following to the capital Kuchum would be greatly slowed down by skirmishes with warriors from the uluses submissive to him, but the Pogodin Chronicle does not contain descriptions of any serious battles. The first of these was the meeting at Yepanchin. According to the description made by the clerks of the Posolsky Prikaz in Moscow from the words of an associate of Yermak, « rowed to the village to Yepanchina ... and here Yermak had a battle with the Totars with the Kuchumovs, but the Tatar language was not izymash ". One of the Khan's subjects managed to escape. He probably brought the news to Qashlyk about aliens with outlandish bows that blaze with fire, blow smoke and sow death with invisible arrows.

Yermak lost the precious effect of surprise, a well-known advantage in the fight against the strong superiority of the enemy forces. But neither the ataman retreated from his plan, nor Kuchum was greatly alarmed: after all, he had already made his move, leaving Aley with an army on the Russian settlements. Moscow waged a difficult war in the west and could not afford the luxury of scattering squads in the east - perhaps, the khan reasoned like that. Nevertheless, Kuchum hastened to convene to repulse all those capable of holding a bow and blade from the Siberian uluses. But the fact that he called the Khanty and Mansi villages under his banner today raises doubts among historians. Soon the sails of the Cossack plows were full of colors on the surface of the Tobol. The crossing on the Volga became the place of the historical meeting of the Cossack chieftains, while the khan went out with his army to the banks of the Irtysh, to the Chuvashev Cape.

The date of the battle is another subject of dispute among historians. It is not exactly known until now, it is “appointed” by various authors on different days, but the majority of both chroniclers and scientists converge on October 26 (November 5, according to the new style), 1582. According to one version, Yermak even deliberately timed the slaughter to the day of memory of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica. « Russian scribes, most likely, tried to give the "Siberian capture" a symbolic meaning",- notes the historian Ya. G. Solodkin.

Fragments from the "Brief Siberian Chronicle" by Semyon Remezov (St. Petersburg, 1880) about the battle on the Chuvashev Cape. On the left: “All the Cossacks were intent on a perfect blow, and now the battle of the 4th from Kuchumlyany. Kuchyumu is standing on the mountain and with his son Mametkul at the notch; when the Cossacks, by the will of God, left the city ... And they all swelled together, and there was great battle ... ". Right: “The Kuchumlyans had no weapons, just bows and arrows, a copy and sabers. Be the same 2 guns at Chuvash. Well, the Cossacks uttered a call to them; Well, they threw them from the mountain into the Irtysh. Kuchum standing on the Chuvash mountain and having seen many visions of his own, wept bitterly ... ".
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There were ten or even twenty times fewer Cossacks than Siberians. However, they had nowhere to retreat, besides, Yermak's comrades had firearms. At the beginning of the battle, when the Cossacks, like marines, landed on the shore from the plows, the "fiery battle" did not bring much harm to the opponents who had taken refuge behind the log fence. However, when the nephew of Khan Mametkul led the Siberian Tatars out of hiding and threw them into the attack, the Cossacks fired several more successful volleys from the squeakers. This was enough for the Ostyak and Vogul warriors. Their princelings began to take people away from the battlefield. Kuchum's lancers tried to save the situation with a desperate blow led by Mametkul, but the bullet overtook him as well. The wounded Siberian commander was almost taken prisoner. Khan's army dispersed. Kuchum left the capital and fled. Sometimes, between the battle and entry into Kashlyk, historians lay up to two days, although it is not clear why the Cossacks had to delay so much. On the same day, the atamans and comrades entered the abandoned Siberian settlement.

Legends of a legend

The subsequent history of Yermak's expedition is no less epic than its background and progress to the Chuvashev Cape. This definition is not accidental: even well-known events that are considered traditional make researchers argue until they are hoarse. For example, on December 5 of the same 1582, Mametkul, who had recovered from his wound, at the head of a detachment, attacked the Cossacks of Ataman Bogdan Bryazga, who had gone fishing on Lake Abalak. Those were killed. Enraged, Yermak rushed in pursuit. Was it a slaughter that eclipsed the Chuvashev Cape, or an insignificant skirmish? Sources provide a basis for both points of view.

"Conquest of Siberia by Yermak". Artist Vasily Surikov, 1895

Further, the famous embassy of 1583 to Moscow from the Cossacks bowing to Ivan the Terrible at the feet of Siberia. Alexei Tolstoy in The Silver Prince perfectly described this ray of light in the kingdom darkening on the eve of the Time of Troubles with the arrival at the court first of the Stroganovs, and then of the dashing ataman Ivan Koltso: "CAr held out his hand to him, and the Ring rose from the ground and, in order not to stand directly on the scarlet foot of the throne, first threw his ram's hat on him, stepped on it with one foot and, bending low, put his mouth to the hand of John, who embraced him and kissed me on the head. In fact, even the winners of Kuchum would hardly have reached the capital without a road trip or a letter to that effect from the sovereign. The diploma, by the way, was disgraced. In it, Ivan the Terrible, according to the governor Pelepelitsyn, accused both the Stroganovs and the Cossacks: “And that was done by your treason ... You took the Vogulichs and Votyaks and Pelymians away from our salary, and they bullied them and came to war against them, and with that enthusiasm they quarreled with the Siberian Saltan, and having called the Volga atamans to yourself, they hired thieves in their prisons without our decree."

Ivan Koltso allegedly died at the hands of the servants of the adviser to Khan Kuchum Karachi, who treacherously lured the ataman and 40 more Cossacks into a trap. However, if the envoys of Karachi did come to Kashlyk, as it is said in the work of Semyon Esipov, they should have literally encountered the people of the voivode Semyon Bolkhovsky, who had exactly arrived to help Yermak. In addition, could a dashing gang led by an experienced ataman be flattered by the promises of an enemy nobleman? Be that as it may, what happened was already a legend for the first chroniclers of the campaign.

"Ambassadors Ermakovs - Ataman Koltso with his comrades beat the brow of Ivan the Terrible with the Kingdom of Siberia." 19th century engraving

Finally, the date of the death of Yermak himself is approximately clear - she overtook the winner Kuchum in August 1584. Her circumstances are shrouded in a fog of uncertainty. It is likely that the ataman drowned in the river during the battle. However, the legend about the death of Yermak because of the heavy shell donated by Ivan the Terrible, which allegedly dragged him to the bottom, should be left among the legends.

In conclusion, I would like to return to the disputes about Yermak's small homeland: perhaps they are still not accidental. A simple Cossack was destined to become, without exaggeration, a national hero, the personification of Russia's movement to the east, "beyond the Stone", to the Pacific Ocean - and a pioneer on this path. Ermak's Siberian campaign fell on the eve of the Troubles. She knocked down the state, but did not erase the track beaten by the ataman. In a certain sense, two dates - November 5, the day Yermak captured the capital of the Siberian Khanate, and November 4, now the Day of National Unity - in Russian history are brought together not only by the calendar.

Literature:

1. Zuev A.S. Motivation of actions and tactics of Yermak’s squad in relation to Siberian foreigners // Ural Historical Bulletin. 2011. No. 3 (23). pp. 26-34.
2. Zuev Yu. A., Kadyrbaev A. Sh. Ermak's campaign in Siberia: Turkic motifs in the Russian theme // Bulletin of Eurasia. 2000. No. 3 (10). pp. 38-60.
3. Skrynnikov R. G. Ermak. M., 2008.
4. Solodkin Ya. G. "Ermakov's capture" of Siberia: debatable problems of history and source studies. Nizhnevartovsk, 2015.
5. Solodkin Ya. G. "Ermakov's capture" of Siberia: riddles and solutions. Nizhnevartovsk, 2010.
6. Solodkin Ya. G. The Ostyak princes and Khan Kuchum on the eve of the “Siberian capture” (on the interpretation of one chronicle message // Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2017. No. 1 (28), pp. 128-135.
7. Shashkov A. T. Ermak's Siberian campaign: a chronology of events in 1581-1582. // Proceedings of the Ural State University. 1997. No. 7. S. 35-50.

Symbol of Russian fearlessness

Ermak is an unusual name. There is not and was not another person who would be called that, because there is no such name in the Orthodox calendar. And the legendary Cossack chieftain was a pious man and, of course, baptized. Some scholars believe that Ermak is a changed name of Ermolai. According to Yermolai, memorial services are served, commemorating Yermak. But there were also opinions that Yermak's real name was either Herman or Yeremey. One chronicle, considering the name Yermak as a nickname, gives him the Christian name Vasily.

There is evidence that in his youth, the dashing chieftain held a modest position as a cook in the Volga village and ground bread at the “ermak” - a hand mill. But whatever the origin of the name, the person who wears it is known and fanned with glory as Ermak Timofeevich. Moreover, during his lifetime among the local Ostyak population of Siberia (now the Ostyaks are called Khanty), the name Yermak was a household name. The author of the historical novel "Ermak" Yevgeny Fedorov writes that, seeing the Cossack boats on the Irtysh and the Ob, the fishermen fearlessly swam up to them, offering fish, and, having heard about the Russians, greeted the Cossacks with exclamations:

- Yermak! Yermak!

The name or nickname of one person has become a symbol of Russian fearlessness.

Feat

On September 1, 1581, a squad of Cossacks under the command of Yermak set out from the Urals on a campaign to the east. To the sounds of military trumpets and nozzles, the Cossacks sailed up the Chusovaya, in order to later drag their ships to the tributaries of the great Siberian rivers: to sail along the Zheravl, Barancha, Tagil, Tura, Tobol. There were 540 Cossacks of his detachment in the Ermakov army and 300 military men of the Ural industrialists, the Stroganov brothers. There were three associates of Yermak in the squad (the main one was Ivan Koltso), four elected captains, and also clerks, bannermen, three priests, trumpeters, timpani players and drummers, and even a “man of God” - an old tramp. We went to Siberia seriously and for a long time. According to some reports, the desire to develop new lands for Rus' was the cherished desire of Yermak himself, according to others, it was the initiative of the Stroganovs. Equipped squad like the Ural merchants. And it is difficult to blame Tsar Ivan the Terrible for an aggressive policy. He even got angry at the Stroganovs for quarrels with local princes, tributaries of the Siberian "Saltan", and demanded that Yermak be sent to Perm. Yes, he has already gone in the opposite direction.

On the Tura and at the mouth of the Tavda, the Cossacks defeated the Tatars. Khan Kuchum sent the army of his relative Mametkul against them, but it was also defeated on the banks of the Tobol. The arrows of the natives were powerless against the guns. Then Kuchum, himself a stranger in these parts and a conqueror who had killed the ruler of the Siberian Horde, Moscow-friendly Prince Ediger, began to gather an army from the Tatars and the Ostyaks subject to him. Kuchum was old and blind, but extremely belligerent and intolerant of Russians. He gathered innumerable forces: thirty people against one warrior Yermak. On the Cossack circle they decided: what to do? To evade the battle was considered a shame and "a crime of one's word." They decided to rely on God's help, stand up for the Orthodox faith and serve the Tsar until death.

The battle took place on October 23, 1582 on Mount Chuvashevo near present-day Tobolsk. The Cossacks lost 107 men and won. Yermak entered the capital of the Siberian kingdom Isker, or otherwise Siberia. The city was empty, but gradually the Tatars, Ostyaks and Voguls (Mansi) came to beat the victor with their foreheads. Ivan Koltso was sent to Ivan the Terrible with the news that God had given the sovereign the Siberian land, and to ask for reinforcements. Convicted in previous years for robbery, Ivan Koltso was forgiven. The tsar sent two shells, a silver ladle, kamki and a fur coat from his shoulder as a gift to Yermak.

Personality

The origin of Yermak is shrouded in mystery. According to one legend, his grandfather was a townsman of the city of Suzdal and was engaged in carting, and then retired to the Kama region, where the famous grandson was born. Another chronicle calls Yermak a native of the Kachalinskaya village on the Don. Be that as it may, it is obvious that this person became famous not for the nobility of his ancestors, but for his own qualities. Russian historian Alexander Nechvolodov writes: “By the time he appeared with the Stroganovs, he was a real Russian hero, brave and decisive, enterprising and intelligent, who knows people well and is hardened both in the fight against harsh nature and with all worldly hardships. Yermak, in addition, was distinguished by remarkable eloquence and knew how to say a word in time, coming from the depths of his gigantic soul, to induce his brave comrades-in-arms to fearless feats.

The power of nature and fortitude were combined with the severity of life and the ability to curb temperament. In Ermak's squad, "fornication and uncleanness in the great prohibition," the chronicler noted. And when Isker was busy, Ermak Timofeevich strictly forbade his Cossacks to do the slightest violence to the locals - and he met everyone kindly. The chieftain was not ferocious and vindictive - perhaps this is partly due to his success in conquering Siberia to Moscow. Although luck did not always accompany Yermak.

Doom

Soldiers from the capital came to the rescue under the leadership of the governor Bolkhovsky and Glukhov. But there were not enough food supplies, diseases spread. More terrible, however, was the Eastern treachery. With the onset of the spring of 1584, local residents brought food, but the Cossacks suffered another misfortune. One of Kuchum's tributaries, Karacha-Murza, pretended to be loyal to the Russian Tsar and asked Yermak for help against the Nogais. Ataman sent Ivan Koltso with a detachment of 40 people. All were killed. Ataman Yakov Mikhailov went for news of his comrades and was also killed. And in August, Yermak himself set out at the mouth of the Vagai, because he found out that a caravan with goods was heading north and Kuchum wanted to cut off his path. While waiting for the caravan, the soldiers fell asleep on the Irtysh island. Kuchum vigilantly followed all movements. At night, his men attacked the sleeping ones. Waking up, Yermak rushed to his plow, but, dressed in a heavy shell bestowed by the tsar, did not swim to the ship and, falling into a whirlpool, drowned. This happened on the night of August 5-6, 1584.

His body washed ashore on 13 August. According to legend, when the Tatars began to take off the ataman's clothes, blood gushed from Yermak's mouth and nose, as if he was still alive. The body was put on display, and every local resident could shoot it with a bow and stab it with a spear. But the blood continued to flow, and the birds did not dare to peck at the corpse. Everyone who was nearby was seized with horror, the blasphemy was stopped. Yermak was mistaken for God and buried under a pine tree. After that, 30 bulls and 10 rams were slaughtered and a rich feast was celebrated for the Russian hero.

After the death of Yermak, the Cossacks left Siberia for a while. But the contradictions in the khanate led to its end. And Rus' the Great powerfully moved to the east. Tyumen was founded in 1586, Tobolsk was founded in 1587, Pelym, Berezov and Obdorsk were born in 1592, Tara and Surgut in 1594, Turinsk in 1601, and Tomsk in 1604...

Timofeevich

Battles and victories

In the people's memory, Yermak lives as an ataman-bogatyr, the conqueror of Siberia, a strong and invincible warrior, even despite his tragic death.

In the historical literature there are several versions of his name, origin and even death...

The Cossack ataman, the leader of the Moscow army, successfully began, on the orders of Tsar Ivan IV, a war with the Siberian Khan Kuchum. As a result, the Siberian Khanate ceased to exist, and the Siberian lands became part of the Russian state. In different sources it is named differently: Ermak, Ermolai, German, Ermil, Vasily, Timofey, Yeremey.

According to N.M. Karamzin,

Yermak was of an obscure family, but with a great soul.

Some historians consider him a Don Cossack, others - a Ural Cossack, others see him as a native of the princes of the Siberian land. In one of the manuscript collections of the XVIII century. a legend about the origin of Yermak, allegedly written by himself, has been preserved (“Ermak wrote about himself, where his birth came from ...”). According to him, his grandfather was a Suzdal townsman, his father, Timofey, moved "from poverty and poverty" to the patrimony of the Ural merchants and salt industrialists Stroganovs, who received in 1558 the first letter of commendation for "Kama abundant places", and by the beginning of 1570 - x years. - on the lands beyond the Urals along the rivers Tura, Tobol with permission to build fortresses on the Ob and Irtysh. Timofey settled on the Chusovaya River, got married, raised his sons Rodion and Vasily. The latter was, according to the Remizov Chronicle, "very courageous and reasonable, and transparent, flat-faced, black-haired and curly-haired, flat and broad-shouldered."

He went to the Stroganovs on plows to work along the Kama and Volga rivers, and from that work he took courage, and having cleaned up a small squad for himself, he went from work to robbery, and from them he was called ataman, nicknamed Yermak.

Before heading to Siberia, Yermak served on Russia's southern border for two decades. During the Livonian War, he was one of the most famous Cossack commanders. The Polish commandant of the city of Mogilev reported to King Stefan Batory that in the Russian army there were "Vasily Yanov - the governor of the Don Cossacks and Yermak Timofeevich - the Cossack ataman." Yermak's closest associates were also experienced governors: Ivan Koltso, Savva Boldyr, Matvey Meshcheryak, Nikita Pan, who led regiments more than once in wars with the Nogais.

In 1577, the merchants Stroganovs invited Yermak to return to Siberia in order to hire the Siberian Khan Kuchum to protect their possessions from raids. Previously, the Siberian Khanate maintained good-neighbourly relations with the Russian state, expressing its peacefulness by sending an annual fur tribute to Moscow. Kuchum stopped paying tribute, starting to oust the Stroganovs from the Western Urals, from the Chusovaya and Kama rivers.

It was decided to organize a campaign against Kuchum, which was carefully prepared. Initially, there were five hundred and forty Cossacks, then their number tripled - up to one thousand six hundred and fifty people. The main roads in Siberia were rivers, so about a hundred plows were built - large boats, each of which could accommodate up to twenty people with weapons and food supplies. Yermak's army was well armed. Several cannons were mounted on the plows. In addition, the Cossacks had three hundred squeakers, shotguns and even Spanish arquebuses. The guns fired at two hundred - three hundred meters, squeaked - at a hundred meters. It took several minutes to reload the pishchal, that is, the Cossacks could make only one volley at the attacking Tatar cavalry, and then hand-to-hand combat began. For this reason, no more than one third of the Cossacks had firearms, the rest were armed with bows, sabers, spears, axes, daggers and crossbows. What helped Yermak's detachment to defeat the Tatar detachments?

Firstly, the great experience of Yermak himself, his closest assistants and the clear organization of the troops. Yermak and his associates Ivan Koltso and Ivan Groza were considered recognized voivodes. Yermak's squad was divided into regiments led by elected governors, hundreds, fifty and dozens. There were regimental clerks, trumpeters, timpani and drummers who gave signals during battles. The strictest discipline was observed throughout the campaign.

Secondly, Yermak chose the right tactics to fight the Tatars. The Tatar cavalry was fast and elusive. Yermak achieved even greater maneuverability by placing his army on ships. The relatively large number of Kuchum's detachments were opposed by a skillful combination of "fiery" and hand-to-hand combat, the use of light field fortifications.

Thirdly, Yermak chose the most favorable time for the campaign. On the eve of Ermak's campaign, Khan sent his eldest son and heir Aley with the best warriors to the Perm Territory. Some weakening of Kuchum led to the fact that the Ostets and Vogul "princes" with their detachments began to evade joining his army.

Yermak, once chosen as the supreme leader of his brother, knew how to keep his power over them in all cases that were contrary and hostile to him: for if you need an always approved and inherited opinion in order to rule over the multitude, then you need greatness of spirit or elegance of some kind of revered quality, to be able to command his brother. Ermak had the first and many of those properties that a military leader needs, and even more so a leader of unenslaved warriors.

A.N. Radishchev, "The Tale of Yermak"

The campaign began on September 1, 1581. Yermak's army, having sailed along the Kama River, turned into the Chusovaya River and began to rise upstream. Then, along the Serebryanka River, the "ship's army" reached the Tagil passes, where it was convenient to cross the Ural Mountains. Having reached the pass, the Cossacks built an earthen fortification - Kokuy-gorodok, where they wintered. In the spring, the boats were dragged to the Tagil River, already on the other side of the "Stone". Throughout the winter, Yermak conducted reconnaissance and conquered the surrounding Vogul uluses. Along the Tagil River, Yermak's army descended into the Tura River, where the possessions of the Siberian Khan began. Near the mouth of the Tura, the first serious clash of the Russian "ship's army" with the main forces of the Siberian army took place. Six Siberian murzas, headed by the nephew of Khan Mametkul, tried to stop the Cossacks by shelling from the shore, but were not successful. The Cossacks, firing back from the squeakers, entered the Tobol River. The second major battle took place at the Babasanov yurts, where the Cossacks landed on the shore and built prisons from logs and poles. Mametkul attacked the fortification in order to throw the Cossacks into the river, but the Russian soldiers themselves went into the field and accepted a "direct" battle. The losses on both sides were heavy, but the Tatars could not stand it first and rushed to run.

In subsequent battles, Yermak ordered only half of his Cossacks to make the first salvo. The second volley followed when the shooters reloaded their squeaks, which ensured the continuity of fire.

Not far from the Irtysh, where the Tobol River was squeezed by steep banks, a new obstacle awaited the Cossacks. The path of the plows was blocked by a notch of trees lowered into the river and tied with chains. The notch was fired upon from high banks by Tatar archers. Yermak ordered to stop. For three days the Cossacks prepared for battle. It was decided to attack at night. The main forces landed on the shore and imperceptibly approached the Tatar army. Plows rushed to the notch, on which only two hundred Cossacks remained. So that the Tatars would not suspect anything, stuffed animals were planted in empty places. Having swum up to the barrier, the Cossacks from the plows opened fire from cannons and squeakers. The Tatars, having gathered on the high banks of the Tobol, answered with arrows. And at that time, a detachment sent by Yermak to the rear of the enemy attacked the Tatars. Unexpected, Mametkul's warriors fled in panic. Having broken the barrier, the "ship's army" rushed to Isker. The fortified town of Karachin, located sixty kilometers from Isker, Yermak took with an unexpected blow. Kuchum himself led an army to recapture the town, but was forced to retreat.

After the defeat near Karachin, Khan Kuchum switched to defensive tactics, apparently convinced of the resilience of the Cossacks. Soon the Cossacks also captured Atik, another fortified town that covered the approaches to the capital of the Siberian Khanate. Before the assault on Isker, the Cossacks gathered in their traditional "circle" to decide whether to attack the city or retreat. There were both supporters and opponents of the assault.

But Yermak managed to convince the doubters:

Not from many fights, victory happens.

Sketch of Yermak's head

Artist Surikov V.I.

Khan Kuchum managed to gather really large forces behind the fortifications on the Chuvash Cape. In addition to the cavalry of Mametkul, there was a whole militia from all the “uluses” subject to the khan. The first attack of the Cossacks failed. The second assault was also unsuccessful. But then Khan Kuchum made a fatal mistake, ordering his soldiers to attack the Cossacks. Moreover, the khan himself prudently remained standing with his retinue on the mountain. The Tatars, having broken the fortifications in three places, led their cavalry into the field and rushed from all sides to the small army of Yermak. The Cossacks stood in dense rows, taking up a circular defense. The pishchalnikov, having fired, retreated into the depths of the formation, reloaded their weapons and again went out to the front rows. Shooting from squeakers was carried out continuously. If the Tatar cavalry still managed to get closer to the Cossack formation, then the Russian warriors met the enemy with spears and sabers. The Tatars suffered huge losses, but they could not break through the Cossack system. In the battle, the leader of the Tatar cavalry Mametkul was wounded. The worst thing for Khan Kuchum was that his hastily assembled army began to scatter. Vogul and Ostyak detachments "fled to their homes."

October 23, when the Cossacks, by the will of God, left the town, unanimously proclaiming: “God is with us! Make sure, pagans, that God is with us, and submit!”, and came together face to face, - a great battle took place ... The Cossacks ... shot many infidels, killing them to death. The infidels, forced by Kuchum, suffered greatly from the Cossacks, complaining that fighting against their will, they die ... And Kuchum turned out to be helpless and disgraced, oppressed by the invisible power of God, and decided to run away ...

Remezov Chronicle

On the night of October 26, 1582, Khan Kuchum fled the capital. The next day, Yermak entered Isker with his army. Here the Cossacks found significant food supplies, which was especially important, since they had to spend the winter in the Siberian "kingdom". In order to stay in the fortress, thousands of kilometers away from Russia, Yermak, as a wise strategist, immediately tried to establish friendly relations with the Vogul and Ostyak "princes". And he succeeded, but the first wintering in the conquered Isker was a difficult test. The battles with the cavalry detachments of Mametkul did not stop, inflicting quick, treacherous and sometimes very painful blows. The Tatars prevented the Cossacks from fishing, hunting, maintaining relations with the local Vogul and Ostyak "princes". Fleeting fights often developed into stubborn, bloody battles. In early December 1582, a Tatar detachment unexpectedly attacked the Cossacks who were fishing on Lake Abalak and killed many of them. Ermak hurried to the rescue, but near Abalak he was attacked by a large army of Mametkul. Russian warriors won, but the losses were significant. Four Cossack chieftains and many ordinary Cossacks fell in the battle.

Having defeated a large Tatar army, Yermak immediately tried to put neighboring lands under his authority. Cossack detachments were sent in different directions along the Irtysh and the Ob. One of these detachments managed to capture the "prince" Mametkul himself. In the summer of 1583, the Cossack "ship's army" moved along the Irtysh, subjugating the local princelings and collecting yasak. Having reached the Ob River, the Cossacks ended up in sparsely populated areas and, after a three-day voyage along the great river, turned back.

As a result of constant clashes, the Cossacks became less and less, and then Yermak decided to ask for help from Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The first village of twenty-five Cossacks was sent to Moscow from Isker, headed by Ataman Cherkas Aleksandrov. The collected yasak and Yermak's report about the "Siberian capture" were taken on two plows.

Kuchum deposed the proud tsar, and captured all his cities, and brought various princes, and Tatar, Vogul and Ostyak murzas with other peoples under the sovereign hand (your) ...

Ermak to Ivan the Terrible

Ivan the Terrible immediately appreciated the importance of the received report. The embassy was graciously received and the request was fulfilled. A detachment of archers was led to Yermak by the governor, Prince Semyon Bolkhovskoy. By royal decree, the Stroganovs were ordered to prepare fifteen plows. The detachment arrived in Isker in 1584, but it was of little use: the reinforcements were few, the archers did not bring food with them, the Cossacks managed to prepare supplies only for themselves. As a result, by the spring, Yermak had only about two hundred combat-ready warriors left. All sent archers, together with the governor Semyon Bolkhovsky, died of starvation.

In the spring, Isker was surrounded by the warriors of Karachi, the chief khan's dignitary, who hoped to take the city by siege and starvation. But Yermak found a way out of this difficult situation. On a dark June night, several dozen Cossacks, led by Matvey Meshcheryak, quietly left the city and attacked the camp of Karachi. The Cossacks cut down the guards. Two sons of Karachi remained at the scene of the fight, but he himself managed to escape. The next day, Karacha lifted the siege of Isker and began to retreat to the south. Yermak, with a hundred of his Cossacks, rushed after him. This was the last campaign of the legendary Cossack ataman. At first, the campaign was successful, the Cossacks won two victories over the Tatars: near the Begichev settlement and at the mouth of the Ishim. But then an unsuccessful assault on the town of Kulary followed. Ataman ordered to move on. Along the river, the Cossack plows climbed to the Atbash tract, surrounded by impenetrable forests and swamps.

Ermak took his last battle on the night of August 5-6, 1585. The Cossacks spent the night on the island, not suspecting that the enemies knew about the place of their overnight stay and they were only waiting for the right moment to attack. The Tatars attacked the sleepy Cossacks, a real battle began. The Cossacks began to make their way to the plows in order to sail away from the island. Apparently, Yermak was one of the last to retreat, delaying the Tatars and covering his comrades. He died already at the very river or drowned, unable to board the ship because of his wounds.

Yermak's death did not lead to the loss of Western Siberia. What he has done for Russia is great and priceless. The memory of the glorious ataman Yermak has been forever preserved among the people.

After the overthrow of the Tatar yoke and before Peter the Great, there was nothing in the fate of Russia more huge and important, happier and more historical than the annexation of Siberia, on the expanses of which old Rus' could be laid several times.

V.G. Rasputin

Surzhik D.V., IVI RAS

Literature

Kargalov V.V. Commanders X-XVI centuries. M., 1989

Nikitin N.I. Russian explorers in Siberia. M., 1988

Okladnikov A.P. Discovery of Siberia. Novosibirsk, 1982

Skrynnikov R.G. Yermak. M., 1986

Skrynnikov R.G. Expedition to Siberia by Yermak's detachment. L., 1982

Siberian expedition of Yermak. Novosibirsk, 1986

Internet

Kornilov Lavr Georgievich

KORNILOV Lavr Georgievich (08.18.1870-04.31.1918) Colonel (02.1905). Major General (12.1912). Lieutenant General (08.26.1914). Infantry General (06.30.1917). with a gold medal from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (1898). Officer at the headquarters of the Turkestan Military District, 1889-1904. Participant in the Russian-Japanese war of 1904 - 1905: headquarters officer of the 1st rifle brigade (at its headquarters). When retreating from Mukden, the brigade got surrounded. Having led the rearguard, he broke through the encirclement with a bayonet attack, ensuring the freedom of defensive combat operations of the brigade. Military attache in China, 04/01/1907 - 02/24/1911. Participant in the First World War: commander of the 48th Infantry Division of the 8th Army (General Brusilov). During the general retreat, the 48th division was surrounded and General Kornilov, who was wounded on 04.1915, was captured near the Duklinsky Pass (Carpathians); 08.1914-04.1915. Captured by the Austrians, 04.1915-06.1916. Dressed in the uniform of an Austrian soldier, he escaped from captivity on 06.1915. Commander of the 25th Rifle Corps, 06.1916-04.1917. Commander of the Petrograd Military District, 03-04.1917. Commander of the 8th Army, 04.24-07.08.1917. On 05/19/1917, by his order, he introduced the formation of the first volunteer "1st Shock Detachment of the 8th Army" under the command of Captain Nezhentsev. Commander of the Southwestern Front...

Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich

Admiral, Hero of the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet. One of the leaders of the Defense of Sevastopol in 1941 - 1942, as well as the Crimean operation of 1944. During the Great Patriotic War, Vice Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky was one of the leaders of the heroic defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Being the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, at the same time in 1941-1942 he was the commander of the Sevastopol Defense Region.

Three orders of Lenin
three orders of the Red Banner
two orders of Ushakov 1st degree
Order of Nakhimov 1st class
Order of Suvorov 2nd class
Order of the Red Star
medals

General Ermolov

Slashchev-Krymsky Yakov Alexandrovich

Defense of the Crimea in 1919-20 “The Reds are my enemies, but they did the main thing - my business: they revived great Russia!” (General Slashchev-Krymsky).

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

He personally took part in the planning and implementation of ALL offensive and defensive operations of the Red Army in the period 1941-1945.

Kovpak Sidor Artemevich

Member of the First World War (he served in the 186th Aslanduz Infantry Regiment) and the Civil War. During the First World War, he fought on the Southwestern Front, a member of the Brusilov breakthrough. In April 1915, as part of the guard of honor, he was personally awarded the St. George Cross by Nicholas II. In total, he was awarded St. George's crosses III and IV degrees and medals "For Courage" ("George" medals) III and IV degrees.

During the Civil War, he led a local partisan detachment that fought in Ukraine against the German invaders together with the detachments of A. Ya. .Denikin and Wrangel on the Southern Front.

In 1941-1942, Kovpak's formation carried out raids behind enemy lines in the Sumy, Kursk, Oryol and Bryansk regions, in 1942-1943 - a raid from the Bryansk forests on the Right-Bank Ukraine in the Gomel, Pinsk, Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr and Kiev regions; in 1943 - the Carpathian raid. The Sumy partisan formation under the command of Kovpak fought over 10 thousand kilometers in the rear of the Nazi troops, defeated the enemy garrisons in 39 settlements. Kovpak's raids played a big role in the deployment of the partisan movement against the German occupiers.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union:
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 18, 1942, for the exemplary performance of combat missions behind enemy lines, the courage and heroism shown in their performance, Kovpak Sidor Artemyevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 708)
The second medal "Gold Star" (No.) Major General Kovpak Sidor Artemyevich was awarded by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of January 4, 1944 for the successful conduct of the Carpathian raid
four Orders of Lenin (18.5.1942, 4.1.1944, 23.1.1948, 25.5.1967)
Order of the Red Banner (24.12.1942)
Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 1st class. (7.8.1944)
Order of Suvorov, 1st class (2 May 1945)
medals
foreign orders and medals (Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia)

Vatutin Nikolai Fyodorovich

Operations "Uranus", "Little Saturn", "Jump", etc. and so on.
A true war worker

Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich

During the outbreak of the war with England and France, he actually commanded the Black Sea Fleet, until his heroic death he was the immediate superior of P.S. Nakhimov and V.I. Istomin. After the landing of the Anglo-French troops in Evpatoria and the defeat of the Russian troops on the Alma, Kornilov received an order from the commander-in-chief in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to flood the ships of the fleet in the roadstead in order to use sailors to defend Sevastopol from land.

Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich

"There is a city in vast Russia to which my heart is given, it went down in history as STALINGRAD ..." V.I. Chuikov

Gurko Joseph Vladimirovich

Field Marshal General (1828-1901) Hero of Shipka and Plevna, Liberator of Bulgaria (a street in Sofia was named after him, a monument was erected). In 1877 he commanded the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division. To quickly capture some of the passes through the Balkans, Gurko led an advance detachment, composed of four cavalry regiments, an infantry brigade and a newly formed Bulgarian militia, with two batteries of horse artillery. Gurko completed his task quickly and boldly, won a series of victories over the Turks, ending with the capture of Kazanlak and Shipka. During the struggle for Plevna, Gurko, at the head of the troops of the guard and cavalry of the western detachment, defeated the Turks near Gorny Dubnyak and Telish, then again went to the Balkans, occupied Entropol and Orkhanie, and after the fall of Plevna, reinforced by the IX Corps and the 3rd Guards Infantry Division , despite the terrible cold, he crossed the Balkan Range, took Philippopolis and occupied Adrianople, opening the way to Constantinople. At the end of the war, he commanded military districts, was a governor-general, and a member of the state council. Buried in Tver (settlement Sakharovo)

Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky (November 1, 1578 - April 30, 1642) - Russian national hero, military and political figure, head of the Second People's Militia, which liberated Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders. With his name and with the name of Kuzma Minin, the exit of the country from the Time of Troubles, which is currently celebrated in Russia on November 4, is closely connected.
After Mikhail Fedorovich was elected to the Russian throne, D. M. Pozharsky played a leading role in the royal court as a talented military leader and statesman. Despite the victory of the people's militia and the election of the tsar, the war in Russia still continued. In 1615-1616. Pozharsky, at the direction of the tsar, was sent at the head of a large army to fight against the detachments of the Polish colonel Lisovsky, who besieged the city of Bryansk and took Karachev. After the struggle with Lisovsky, the tsar instructed Pozharsky in the spring of 1616 to collect the fifth money from the merchants to the treasury, since the wars did not stop, and the treasury was depleted. In 1617, the tsar instructed Pozharsky to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the English ambassador John Merik, appointing Pozharsky as governor of Kolomensky. In the same year, the Polish prince Vladislav came to the Moscow state. The inhabitants of Kaluga and neighboring cities turned to the tsar with a request to send them D. M. Pozharsky to protect them from the Poles. The tsar fulfilled the request of the people of Kaluga and ordered Pozharsky on October 18, 1617 to protect Kaluga and the surrounding cities with all available measures. Prince Pozharsky fulfilled the tsar's order with honor. Having successfully defended Kaluga, Pozharsky received an order from the tsar to go to the aid of Mozhaisk, namely, to the city of Borovsk, and began to disturb the troops of Prince Vladislav with flying detachments, inflicting significant damage on them. However, at the same time, Pozharsky fell seriously ill and, at the behest of the tsar, returned to Moscow. Pozharsky, barely recovering from his illness, took an active part in the defense of the capital from the troops of Vladislav, for which Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich rewarded him with new estates and estates.

Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich

The great commander of the ancient Russian period. The first Kiev prince known to us, having a Slavic name. The last pagan ruler of the Old Russian state. He glorified Rus' as a great military power in the campaigns of 965-971. Karamzin called him "Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history." The prince freed the Slavic tribes from vassalage from the Khazars, defeating the Khazar Khaganate in 965. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, in 970, during the Russian-Byzantine war, Svyatoslav managed to win the battle of Arcadiopol, having 10,000 soldiers under his command, against 100,000 Greeks. But at the same time, Svyatoslav led the life of a simple warrior: “On campaigns, he didn’t carry carts or cauldrons behind him, he didn’t cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or beast, or beef and roasting it on coals, he ate like that; he didn’t have a tent , but slept, spreading a sweatshirt with a saddle in their heads - the same were all the rest of his warriors... And sent to other lands [envoys, as a rule, before declaring war] with the words: "I'm going to you!" (According to PVL)

Prince of Italy (1799), Count of Rymnik (1789), Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Generalissimo of the Russian land and sea forces, Field Marshal of the Austrian and Sardinian troops, grandee of the Sardinian kingdom and prince of royal blood (with the title "king's cousin"), knight of all Russian orders of their time, awarded to men, as well as many foreign military orders.

Katukov Mikhail Efimovich

Perhaps the only bright spot against the background of the Soviet commanders of the armored forces. A tanker who went through the entire war, starting from the border. The commander, whose tanks always showed their superiority to the enemy. His tank brigades were the only (!) in the first period of the war that were not defeated by the Germans and even inflicted significant damage on them.
His first guards tank army remained combat-ready, although it defended from the very first days of the fighting on the southern face of the Kursk Bulge, while exactly the same Rotmistrov's 5th guards tank army was practically destroyed on the very first day when it entered the battle (June 12)
This is one of the few of our commanders who took care of his troops and fought not by numbers, but by skill.

Kuznetsov Nikolai Gerasimovich

He made a great contribution to the strengthening of the fleet before the war; conducted a number of major exercises, became the initiator of the opening of new maritime schools and maritime special schools (later Nakhimov schools). On the eve of Germany's sudden attack on the USSR, he took effective measures to increase the combat readiness of the fleets, and on the night of June 22 he gave the order to bring them to full combat readiness, which made it possible to avoid the loss of ships and naval aviation.

Romanov Mikhail Timofeevich

The heroic defense of Mogilev, for the first time all-round anti-tank defense of the city.

Paskevich Ivan Fyodorovich

Hero of Borodin, Leipzig, Paris (division commander)
As commander in chief, he won 4 companies (Russian-Persian 1826-1828, Russian-Turkish 1828-1829, Polish 1830-1831, Hungarian 1849).
Knight of the Order of St. George 1st class - for the capture of Warsaw (according to the statute, the order was awarded either for saving the fatherland or for taking the enemy capital).
Field Marshal.

Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich

Hero of the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813
"General Meteor" and "Caucasian Suvorov".
He fought not in numbers, but in skill - first, 450 Russian soldiers attacked 1,200 Persian sardars in the Migri fortress and took it, then 500 of our soldiers and Cossacks attacked 5,000 askers at the crossing over the Araks. More than 700 enemies were exterminated, only 2,500 Persian fighters managed to escape from ours.
In both cases, our losses are less than 50 killed and up to 100 wounded.
Further, in the war against the Turks, with a swift attack, 1000 Russian soldiers defeated the 2000th garrison of the Akhalkalaki fortress.
Then, again in the Persian direction, he cleared Karabakh of the enemy, and then, with 2,200 soldiers, defeated Abbas-Mirza with a 30,000-strong army near Aslanduz, a village near the Araks River. In two battles, he destroyed more than 10,000 enemies, including English advisers and artillerymen.
As usual, Russian losses were 30 killed and 100 wounded.
Kotlyarevsky won most of his victories in night assaults on fortresses and enemy camps, preventing the enemies from coming to their senses.
The last campaign - 2000 Russians against 7000 Persians to the fortress of Lankaran, where Kotlyarevsky almost died during the assault, lost consciousness at times from blood loss and pain from wounds, but still, until the final victory, he commanded the troops as soon as he regained consciousness, and after that he was forced to be treated for a long time and move away from military affairs.
His feats for the glory of Russia are much cooler than the "300 Spartans" - for our generals and warriors have repeatedly beaten a 10-fold superior enemy, and suffered minimal losses, saving Russian lives.

Monomakh Vladimir Vsevolodovich

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

Finnish war.
Strategic retreat in the first half of 1812
European campaign of 1812

Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich

During the First World War, the commander of the 8th Army in the Battle of Galicia. On August 15-16, 1914, during the Rogatin battles, he defeated the 2nd Austro-Hungarian army, capturing 20 thousand people. and 70 guns. Galich was taken on August 20. The 8th Army takes an active part in the battles near Rava-Russkaya and in the Battle of Gorodok. In September he commanded a group of troops from the 8th and 3rd armies. September 28 - October 11, his army withstood the counterattack of the 2nd and 3rd Austro-Hungarian armies in the battles on the San River and near the city of Stryi. During the successfully completed battles, 15 thousand enemy soldiers were captured, and at the end of October his army entered the foothills of the Carpathians.

Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich

Commander-in-Chief during the Patriotic War of 1812. One of the most famous and beloved by the people of military heroes!

Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky Pyotr Alexandrovich

Drozdovsky Mikhail Gordeevich

Vladimir Svyatoslavich

981 - the conquest of Cherven and Przemysl. 983 - the conquest of the Yatvags. 984 - the conquest of the natives. 985 - successful campaigns against the Bulgars, the taxation of the Khazar Khaganate. 988 - the conquest of the Taman Peninsula. 991 - the subjugation of the White Croats. 992 - successfully defended Cherven Rus in the war against Poland. in addition, the saint is equal to the apostles.

Russian travelers and pioneers

Again Travelers of the Age of Discovery