Yermak Timofeyevich
Russian cossack explorer and pirate
Key facts
- Born
- c. 1532, Along Chusovaya River , Northern Dvina river, Kama River or Don River , Grand Principality of Moscow
- Died
- 5 or 6 August 1585 (aged about 53), Sibiryak, Qashliq , Khanate of Sibir
- Occupations
- Soldier Explorer Porter Sailor River pirate
- Known for
- Cossack who led the Russian exploration and conquest of Siberia , in the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
Yermak Timofeyevich (Russian: Ермак Тимофеевич, IPA: [jɪrˈmak tʲɪmɐˈfʲejɪvʲɪt͡ɕ]; c. 1532 – 5 or 6 August 1585) was a Cossack ataman, a zemleprokhodets, who started the Russian conquest of Siberia during the reign of the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible. He is today a hero in Russian folklore and myths.
Russian interests in the fur trade fueled their desire to expand east into Siberia. The Tatar Khanate of Kazan established by Ulugh Muhammad was the best entryway into Siberia. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible's modernized army toppled the khanate. After the takeover of Kazan, the tsar looked to the powerful and affluent Stroganov merchant family to spearhead the eastward expansion. In the late 1570s, the Stroganovs recruited Cossack fighters to invade Asia on behalf of the tsar. These Cossacks elected Yermak as the leader of their armed forces, and in 1582 Yermak set out with an army of 840 to attack the Khanate of Sibir.