Siberia is almost like a land of legend. Its extreme winters and vast uninhabitable landscapes
have made it akin to the fantasy of the North Pole in the minds of many. Yet, unlike the North Pole,
Siberia is in fact a part of Russia, which in turn has given Russia a similar reputation for
some foreigners. But, Siberia hasn’t always been a component of any nation. And since it’s
technically a part of the Asian continent, it can be a bit confusing as to why it is
now considered by many to be European. So, how did Siberia become a part of Russia anyway?...
The first known mention of Siberia in Russian literature comes from a piece written in 1407
telling the account of a Tartar by the name of Khan Tokhtamysh who was murdered “in the Siberian
lands”. Additionally, there are earlier Novgorod chronicles of expeditions into a place called
Ugria, which appears to be the early name for the region of Siberia. The Grand Duke of Moscow would
eventually conquer Novgorod and therefore inherit any lands that the Novgorods had taken in Siberia,
though a vast part of the region was still under the control of local Tartar Khans.
Some would serve as vassals for the Russian Tsars while others refused, and there was a
bit of back and forth for some time relating to who really controlled the Siberian lands.
At the time of these early conquests,
the Tsardom of Russia included a people known as the Cossacks - an East Slavic Orthodox Christian
people who originated in the steppes of Eastern Europe. In the late 16th century,
some of these Cossacks decided to try their hand at expanding their own territory, and one man,
in particular, Yermak Timofeyevich, was determined to make this happen. Gathering a
force of over 500 Cossacks alongside additional Polish, Lithuanian, and German mercenaries,
these troops followed Timofeyevich into Siberia where they ran into the native establishments,
which were already subjects to Russia’s neighbor, the Khan of Siberia. During 1581, the Cossacks
marched through the Siberian territory, slowly but surely overpowering the local towns and people.
The Russians didn’t just waltz through unopposed though. Many of the local Tartar people
launched counterattacks and retaliatory raids on the invaders, and they put up a valiant fight.
Nevertheless, the Cossacks marched on. Their next goal was Isker - the Siberian capital.
After clashing with the forces of the Siberian Khan Kucum and his Tartar allies, the Cossacks
eventually took the capital in October of 1582 despite continued Tartar resistance.
Kucum had temporarily retreated into the steppes but he returned in the
late summer of 1584 with a spectacular ambush of Timofeyevich’s troops. The Cossacks were
caught off guard and utterly routed, and Timofeyevich wouldn’t make it out alive…
Following this defeat, the few surviving troops retreated from the capital as the
Tartars laid waste to the entire city. It took two years for the Cossacks,
now boasting additional military support from the Tsar, to return to the capital - or
what was left of it. The locals were once again overpowered by the Russian firearms
and the Cossacks were able to start making some more permanent establishments in the region,
such as their fortress at Tyumen, not too far from the capital city they so recently took and lost.
Over the next few years, as the Russians continued to clash with the locals,
Kucum managed to escape capture again and again, even after a significant defeat by
the Cossacks at the Battle of Urmin in 1598. However, the khan’s family members
were captured during the conflict and were taken back to Moscow to be kept as hostages,
which had a remarkable impact on the future of Kucum’s political and military
life. He eventually ended up in the south of the Siberian region with the Nogay Horde. From there,
Kucum attempted to negotiate with the tsar, asking that he be able to at least acquire some land near
the Irtysh River, but this was swiftly denied. In reply, the tsar instead invited the khan to
join him in Moscow to “comfort himself”, but Kucum was too smart to take such bait.
After the khan’s death at the start of the 17th century, the Russians continued their expansion
throughout Siberia, building forts and outposts as they went. They initially even tried to push
further into Asia, but upon running into equally powerful artillery and military at
the Chinese border, they decided that this would be the extent of their expansion. Nonetheless,
the Russian borders were being extended by millions of square kilometers over only a few
decades. By 1640, the entire Siberian Khanate and more had been brought under the Russian
Tsardom in what would now collectively be known as Siberia. And while this was vastly impressive
from the Russian perspective, it was not seen quite the same way by the Siberian natives…
The Cossack invasion and subsequent conquest of Siberia had a similar
effect to those seen in other conquest or colonization efforts around the world:
disease spread rapidly among the natives. Smallpox, in particular, was one of the
worst due to its high rate of transmission and death, and in some populations, it is believed
to have wiped out roughly 80% of them. As these viruses wreaked havoc on the natives whilst the
warfare did similar damage, the resistance to the invaders grew weak at a rapid pace.
Initially, the Cossacks showed somewhat of an effort to resolve the issue of pushback
through negotiation, but in the case that the locals refused to submit to the Russian Tsar,
the Cossacks would respond with violence.
Some of the native populations took to warfare as well, hoping to expel the Russians from the
region. This resulted in a series of particularly rough rebellions in 1706,
1731, and 1741 by the Itelmens, who were repeatedly beaten down by the Russians
due to the severely inferior weaponry of the former. The pushback from the
better-armed Koraks beginning in 1745 and lasting over a decade proved to be much
more challenging for the Cossacks to stamp out, but eventually they were able to do just that.
The Chukchi may have been the strongest and most difficult native resistance for the
Russians to overcome. Throughout the mid 18th century, they were in near-constant
battle with the Cossacks and often won. While these conflicts were usually fairly small,
and in turn, the number of Russian casualties was not great, the tsar was still infuriated
by the Chukchi resistance. In 1742 a decree was issued by Empress Elizabeth advising the
Cossacks to “attack the restless Chukchi with an armed hand; eradicate them completely”...
It wouldn’t take long for both disease and warfare to once and for all put an
end to native rebellions and secure Russia’s hold over Siberia. But,
why did they even do any of this, to begin with? Why did they want Siberia?
Well, the main reason was probably due to one thing: fur. In the early Novgorod
expeditions through Siberia, they had quickly realized that the natives had
valuable furs that could be sold and traded for great profit. This also explains why the
conquered native vassals were required to pay their tribute in furs. The motive proved
to greatly enhance the Russian economy and increase its revenue in response. Essentially,
the Cossacks knew that although Siberia was populated at the time of their invasion,
it wasn’t so densely inhabited that they would be unable to wear down the inferiorly equipped
locals. And this would be worth their effort because they knew that the natives had a surplus
of furs that could be taken for the Russians’ own gain. Once the tsar became aware of all this,
it was only that much easier for the Cossacks who had the state’s support, and the usefulness
of the newfound fur trade and revenue greatly benefitted the tsar himself. The war with the
Chukchis was not quite as good of news, and the Cossacks likely didn’t see such a significant
obstacle coming until it hit them in the face. And although they were eventually able to overcome it
and solidify their Siberian rule, this disruption nevertheless cost the Russians money and resources
they would’ve preferred not to use, and time they could have better spent selling furs.
Still, the Cossacks came to Siberia with the goal of creating a lucrative fur
trade and they did just that. They also greatly expanded the Russian borders along the way,
seizing the region of Siberia that still remains a part of Russia to this day.
The reason how Russia was able to conquer Siberia is in part due to the Cossacks’ superior weaponry,
particularly in the form of firearms and artillery. There was also the fact that
the Siberian population was so small and many unprepared for war, whereas the Russians had such
experience and the ability to easily replenish worn-down forces. The disease wreaking havoc
across the native populations additionally aided the Cossacks in their campaigns, and the fact that
there was really only one khanate to oversee the whole of the fragmented region meant that military
resistance would be manageable. Once the Siberian Khanate did collapse, it was merely a matter of
time before the remaining native populations would either be subjugated or eradicated…