The fate of Ermak’s army, like that of the entire Cossacks, turned out to be great and at the same time tragic. But the free Cossack and ataman Ermak Timofeevich and his squad gloriously served the Russian Land and made an invaluable contribution to strengthening the borders and strengthening the power of the great Russian power.

The annexation of Siberia, which began with Ermak’s campaigns, continued after the death of the ataman. Already in 1586, forts began to grow on the territory conquered by the Cossack army, defending new settlements and subsequently turning into the first Russian Siberian cities.

1586 - the Tyumen fort was founded on the banks of the Tura

Nowadays, it’s a rare person who doesn’t know this richest city.

1587 - foundation of Tobolsk

Tobolsk Ostrog was founded on the southern cape of Voskresenskaya Mountain.

Tobolsk became famous as the city of the first Siberian merchants; the first largest fair of those times opened there, where peasants brought grain, hemp bags and ropes, flax, honey, pine nuts, gems, precious stones and equally valuable wood. Larch and first-class Siberian cow's milk (as butter was called then) were especially valued. Surprisingly, for the sale of its butter, Siberia replenished the treasury of pre-revolutionary Russia more than the Empire received for the sale of Siberian gold.

Now the former Tobolsk prison looks like a pearl against the backdrop of the modern city, attracting many tourists

1594 - Surgut and Tara were founded

Visiting the Surgut Fortress, visitors will be completely immersed in the atmosphere of that time.

vintage Tara

1604 - foundation of the Tomsk fort

1628 - Krasnoyarsk fort was founded

Now Krasnoyarsk is the capital of Eastern Siberia, a beautiful city with unique architecture, where old and new are intricately intertwined. The city stands on the banks of the mighty gray Yenisei, the largest river in Russia.

1661 - Irkutsk fort was created

This Cathedral remembers the history of the creation of its city.

1716 - foundation of the Omsk fortress

Reconstruction plan for the Omsk fortress

Omsk - Tara Gate, part of the old Omsk fortress

In the former fortress, the Hall of National Literatures awaits Omsk residents.

1717 - Berdsk fort was founded

The Berd fort (model) was founded at the mouth of the Berd River at the beginning of the 18th century.

1717 - Semipalatinsk fortress was founded

Semipalatinsk village of the Siberian Cossack Army.

1720 - Ust-Kamenogorsk fortress in the upper reaches of the Irtysh

Already in 1697-1699, a campaign to Kamchatka took place, a little later the Kuril Islands were discovered, and in 1716 an expedition was organized to the shores of Kamchatka through the Sea of Okhotsk.

New lands were conquered and developed, Russia grew and became stronger - the losses of Ataman Ermak were not in vain, his death was not in vain. The great work of the daring Cossack army lived, continued and remained forever in the memory of the Russian people.

Beyond the great Stone Belt, the Urals, lie the vast expanses of Siberia. This territory occupies almost three quarters of the entire area of our country. Siberia is larger than the second largest country (after Russia) in the world - Canada. More than twelve million square kilometers contain inexhaustible reserves of natural resources, which, if used wisely, are sufficient for the life and prosperity of many generations of people.

Trekking beyond the Stone Belt

The development of Siberia began in the last years of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The most convenient outpost for moving deeper into this wild and uninhabited region at that time was the middle Urals, the undivided owner of which was the Stroganov family of merchants. Using the patronage of the Moscow kings, they owned vast territories of land, on which there were thirty-nine villages and the city of Solvychegodsk with a monastery. They also owned a chain of forts that stretched along the border with the possessions of Khan Kuchum.

The history of Siberia, or more precisely, its conquest by the Russian Cossacks, began with the fact that the tribes inhabiting it refused to pay the Russian Tsar yasyk - the tribute that they had been subject to for many years. Moreover, the nephew of their ruler, Khan Kuchum, with a large detachment of cavalry, carried out a series of raids on villages belonging to the Stroganovs. To protect themselves from such unwanted guests, rich merchants hired Cossacks led by ataman Vasily Timofeevich Alenin, nicknamed Ermak. Under this name he entered Russian history.

First steps in an unknown land

In September 1582, a detachment of seven hundred and fifty people began their legendary campaign beyond the Urals. It was a kind of discovery of Siberia. Along the entire route, the Cossacks were lucky. The Tatars who inhabited those regions, although they outnumbered them, were inferior militarily. They had virtually no knowledge of firearms, which were so widespread by that time in Russia, and fled in panic every time they heard a volley.

The khan sent his nephew Mametkul with an army of ten thousand to meet the Russians. The battle took place near the Tobol River. Despite their numerical superiority, the Tatars suffered a crushing defeat. The Cossacks, building on their success, came close to the khan's capital, Kashlyk, and here they finally crushed their enemies. The former ruler of the region fled, and his warlike nephew was captured. From that day on, the Khanate practically ceased to exist. The history of Siberia is taking a new turn.

Fights with foreigners

In those days, the Tatars were subject to a large number of tribes that they conquered and were their tributaries. They did not know money and paid their yasyk with the skins of fur-bearing animals. From the moment of the defeat of Kuchum, these peoples came under the rule of the Russian Tsar, and carts with sables and martens reached distant Moscow. This valuable product has always and everywhere been in great demand, and especially in the European market.

However, not all tribes accepted the inevitable. Some of them continued their resistance, although it weakened every year. The Cossack detachments continued their campaign. In 1584, their legendary ataman Ermak Timofeevich died. This happened, as often happens in Russia, due to negligence and oversight - no sentries were posted at one of the rest stops. It so happened that a prisoner who had escaped a few days earlier brought an enemy detachment at night. Taking advantage of the Cossacks' oversight, they suddenly attacked and began to slaughter the sleeping people. Ermak, trying to escape, jumped into the river, but a massive shell - a personal gift from Ivan the Terrible - carried him to the bottom.

Life in a conquered land

From that time on, active development began. Following the Cossack detachments, hunters, peasants, clergy and, of course, officials flocked to the taiga wilderness. Everyone who found themselves beyond the Ural ridge became free people. There was no serfdom or landownership here. They paid only the tax established by the state. Local tribes, as mentioned above, were taxed with a fur yasyk. During this period, income from the treasury from Siberian furs was a significant contribution to the Russian budget.

The history of Siberia is inextricably linked with the creation of a system of forts - defensive fortifications (around which, by the way, many cities subsequently grew), which served as outposts for the further conquest of the region. Thus, in 1604 the city of Tomsk was founded, which later became the largest economic and cultural center. After a short time, Kuznetsk and Yenisei forts appeared. They housed military garrisons and the administration that controlled the collection of yasyk.

Documents from those years testify to many facts of corruption among government officials. Despite the fact that, by law, all furs had to go to the treasury, some officials, as well as Cossacks directly involved in collecting tribute, inflated the established norms, appropriating the difference in their favor. Even then, such lawlessness was strictly punished, and there are many cases where covetous people paid for their deeds with freedom and even their lives.

Further penetration into new lands

The process of colonization became especially intense after the end of the Time of Troubles. The goal of everyone who dared to seek happiness in new, unexplored lands was this time Eastern Siberia. This process proceeded at a very rapid pace, and by the end of the 17th century the Russians reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. By this time, a new government structure had emerged - the Siberian Order. His responsibilities included establishing new procedures for managing controlled territories and promoting governors, who were locally authorized representatives of the tsarist government.

In addition to the fur collection, furs were also purchased, the payment for which was made not with money, but with all kinds of goods: axes, saws, various tools, as well as fabrics. History, unfortunately, has preserved many cases of abuse here too. Often, the arbitrariness of officials and Cossack elders ended in riots of local residents, which had to be pacified by force.

Main directions of colonization

Eastern Siberia was developed in two main directions: to the north along the sea coast, and to the south along the borders with neighboring states. At the beginning of the 17th century, the banks of the Irtysh and Ob were settled by Russians, and after them large areas adjacent to the Yenisei. Cities such as Tyumen, Tobolsk and Krasnoyarsk were founded and began to be built. All of them were destined to become major industrial and cultural centers over time.

Further advance of the Russian colonists was carried out mainly along the Lena River. Here in 1632 a fort was founded, which gave rise to the city of Yakutsk - the most important stronghold at that time in the further development of the northern and eastern territories. Largely thanks to this, just two years later the Cossacks, led by them, managed to reach the Pacific coast, and soon they saw the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin for the first time.

Conquerors of the Wild Land

The history of Siberia and the Far East preserves the memory of another outstanding traveler - the Cossack Semyon Dezhnev. In 1648, he and the detachment he led on several ships circumnavigated the coast of North Asia for the first time and proved the existence of a strait separating Siberia from America. At the same time, another traveler, Poyarov, passed along the southern border of Siberia and climbed up the Amur, reaching the Sea of Okhotsk.

After some time, Nerchinsk was founded. Its significance is largely determined by the fact that as a result of moving east, the Cossacks came closer to China, which also laid claim to these territories. By that time, the Russian Empire had reached its natural borders. Over the next century, there was a steady process of consolidating the results achieved during colonization.

Legislative acts related to new territories

The history of Siberia in the 19th century is characterized mainly by the abundance of administrative innovations introduced into the life of the region. One of the earliest was the division of this vast territory into two governor generals, approved in 1822 by a personal decree of Alexander I. Tobolsk became the center of the Western, and Irkutsk became the center of the Eastern. They, in turn, were divided into provinces, and those into volost and foreign councils. This transformation was a consequence of the well-known reform

In the same year, ten legislative acts were published, signed by the tsar and regulating all aspects of administrative, economic and legal life. Much attention in this document was paid to issues related to the arrangement of places of deprivation of liberty and the procedure for serving sentences. By the 19th century, hard labor and prisons became an integral part of this region.

The map of Siberia in those years is replete with the names of mines in which work was carried out exclusively by convicts. These are Nerchinsky, and Zabaikalsky, and Blagodatny and many others. As a result of the large influx of exiles from among the Decembrists and participants in the Polish rebellion of 1831, the government even united all Siberian provinces under the supervision of a specially formed gendarmerie district.

The beginning of industrialization of the region

Of the main ones that received widespread development during this period, gold mining should be noted first of all. By the middle of the century, it accounted for the majority of the total volume of precious metal mined in the country. Also, large revenues to the state treasury came from mining enterprises, which by this time had significantly increased the volume of mineral extraction. Many other branches are also developing.

In the new century

At the beginning of the 20th century, the impetus for the further development of the region was the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The history of Siberia in the post-revolutionary period is full of drama. A fratricidal war, monstrous in scale, swept across its expanses, ending with the liquidation of the White movement and the establishment of Soviet power. During the Great Patriotic War, many industrial and military enterprises were evacuated to this region. As a result, the population of many cities is increasing sharply.

It is known that only for the period 1941-1942. More than a million people arrived here. In the post-war period, when numerous giant factories, power plants and railway lines were built, there was also a significant influx of visitors - all those for whom Siberia became their new home. On the map of this vast region appeared names that became symbols of the era - the Baikal-Amur Mainline, Novosibirsk Akademgorodok and much more.

Types of populated areas in Siberia Zimovya OstrogiCities Small fortifications surrounded by walls made of fortresses along the perimeter. Along the forts there were from one to four towers. Large in area; They had chopped walls (city walls); Unlike forts, the number of towers should have been more than four. The simplest type of fortification of the 17th century. A hut with a flat roof, a low log door and windows, and some defensive fortifications for shooting

The main features of Siberian cities The main features of Siberian cities The development is compact, but chaotic The cities mainly retained military significance (surrounded by 2 - 3 rings of fortifications The cities were closely connected with agriculture “agrarian type of city” 17th century

Cities of Siberia (XVII - XVIII centuries) - predominantly wooden fortifications End of the XVIII century 1. Wooden construction was replaced by stone; 2. Chaos is replaced by design and planning; 3. Provincial and city architects appear 4. Cities are divided into blocks and streets

Types of cities “Group of stagnation” “Group of prosperity” Experienced an upsurge in connection with the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway Novosibirsk; Krasnoyarsk; Irkutsk; “Group of Decline” Tobolsk; Ilimsk; Yeniseisk. Berezov; Kainsk; Kolyvan Those cities whose importance is declining due to the shift of the main transport routes to the south. Small settlements frozen in their development. Founded as fortresses, by the 19th century they lost their military significance

Tomsk city was built in the summer of 1604 at the request of Prince Toyan. Construction was completed on September 27, 1604. Tomsk is one of the important centers of trade and transit movement of the population of Siberia along the waterways of the famous Kyakhta trade. The first university city in Siberia. In 2006, a special economic zone was created here. Tomsk “The history of Tomsk is very remarkable and can be the subject of a special monograph...” N. Kostrov Tomsk Now Tomsk is a city, the administrative center of the Tomsk region.

Krasnoyarsk “This orphan lived under the leadership of Tomsk for about 70 years, neither rich nor poor as a farmer, eating from the bounty of the fertile land and sending for hops, rhubarb, ropontik and other edible plants up the Yenisei” P.A. Slovtsov In 1623, the Yenisei governor Khripunov, in order to protect Yeniseisk from the south from the raid of the warlike Kyrgyz, decided to build a new fort. The main function is to repel raids by warlike nomads and collect yasak. Nowadays Krasnoyarsk is a city, administrative, economic and cultural center of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Krasnoyarsk
Irkutsk “From a comparison of Tobolsk with Irkutsk, it is revealed that although everything in the latter began later, at least half a century, much has nevertheless become equal and even ahead...” P.A. Slovtsov The first settlement on the site of modern Irkutsk arose in 1652, when the Yenisei boyar’s son I. Pokhabov set up a winter hut on Dyachy Island. In 1693, a city already made of wood, cut by gorodnys, was built. Irkutsk city of that time was one of the most beautiful in Siberia. Irkutsk Nowadays Irkutsk is a city, the administrative center of the Irkutsk region, one of the largest centers of Eastern Siberia.

“Who wants to see something beautiful in nature, go to Tobolsk” V. Dmitriev Year of foundation - 1587 Former fort in 1590 Tobolsk fort received the status of a city and became the military administrative center of all of Siberia. Tobolsk Nowadays Tobolsk is a city of regional subordination, the center of the district of the same name in the Tyumen region

Chimgi-Tura is the capital of the Tyumen Khanate, a vassal state of the Golden Horde, which was significant for Central Asia in the 15th–16th centuries. For several centuries it was one of the outposts of Muslim culture in Western Siberia, until the capital was moved to Isker.

The Russian Tyumen fort was founded by governors Vasily Sukin and Ivan Myasnoy, sent by order of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich to build a strategic point (support base) for the development of the eastern territories of Russia.

The military garrison of Tyumen was the largest in Siberia and the most multinational. In 1605, one of the first Yamskaya settlements in Siberia was founded here.

It was from Tyumen that the annexation of the territory of Siberia to Russia began, right up to the Pacific Ocean, and beyond - American Alaska. From here, Cossack pioneers, merchants, Orthodox missionaries, and researchers went on campaigns at a time when only water arteries connected Tyumen with the rivers of the Far North and Far East. Back in the 18th century, Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov noted: “Russian power will grow in Siberia,” part of this statement is enshrined on the coat of arms of the Tyumen region, and the prophetic words of the great scientist came true.

Since the beginning of the 18th century, Tyumen has been a major point of transit trade between Siberia and China and the center of Russia. And today the city remains the most important transport hub of the country: the Trans-Siberian Railway and federal roads pass through it, and the Roshchino international airport operates here. Tura connects the south of the region with the rivers of the Ob-Irtysh basin, which provide access to the Northern Sea Route. The distance from Tyumen to Moscow is 2144 km. Flight duration is 2.5 hours.

On August 14, 1944, from the moment of the formation of the largest Tyumen region in the USSR, Tyumen became a regional center. And since the 60s of the twentieth century, it has been the oil and energy center of Russia. Today in Tyumen there are hundreds of cultural institutions, several dozen research and design institutes and eight universities.

Data

There are many opinions about where the name “Tyumen” came from, but there is no reliable information yet. Tatar legends connect the name of the city with the word “tumen”, which means “ten thousand”, “ten thousandth army”. According to the Bashkir legend, the name comes from “tumende”, which means below, and Yugra – from “yugor”, which means above. In the past, it was also believed that “Tyumen” comes from two Turkic words “tu” (belonging) and “myana” (property) - “my property”.

The coat of arms of the city of Tyumen was first mentioned in 1635. It depicted a fox and a beaver. And in the publication “Coats of arms of cities, provinces, regions and towns of the Russian Empire, included in the complete Collection of Laws from 1649 to 1900” the following description is given: in the upper part on a blue field “a golden pyramid with military fittings, with red banners, drums and halberds ”, at the bottom - “in a blue field there is a silver river with a plank floating along it with a golden mast: as a sign that navigation along the rivers of all Siberia begins from this city.” The modern coat of arms was created back in 1785, but appeared as a symbol of the city in 1993.

In the 18th century, stone construction began in Tyumen. In 1700, on the banks of the Tura, the first stone barns were built to store the treasury, above which the Church of the Annunciation rose. And in 1715, on the territory of the Transfiguration Monastery, the construction of the stone Trinity Cathedral was completed. Afterwards, the Church of Peter and Paul was built on the same land.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Tyumen became the center of the manufacturing industry. In 1836, the first steamship in Siberia was launched onto the river in Tyumen. Soon the city becomes one of the largest river shipbuilding bases in Russia.

The first private printing house in the Tobolsk province was founded in 1869 in Tyumen by Konstantin Vysotsky. It was already followed by the printing houses of A. Krylov in 1897, A. Afromeev in 1910, and the printing house of the Bryukhanov and Co. partnership in the same year. Vysotsky began to publish the first private newspaper in the province - “Siberian List of Ads”. In addition, the first photo workshop in Tyumen was opened at Vysotsky’s printing house.

In the 1960s, large oil deposits were discovered hundreds of kilometers north of Tyumen. The exploration of the subsoil of Yugra and Yamal and their further development were recognized by the government as very promising. However, not everyone believed in success, and even Vladimir Vysotsky sang in the song “Tyumen Oil”: “And the money was given to you - for thousands. Build a kindergarten on the shore: You won’t find anything in Tyumen - You are driving money into the swamp.”

The process of conquering Siberia included the gradual advance of Russian Cossacks and servicemen to the East until they reached the Pacific Ocean and consolidated their position in Kamchatka. In the folklore of the peoples of North-East Siberia, the word “Cossack” is used to designate aliens with the ethnonym “Russian”.

The routes of movement of the Cossacks were predominantly water. Getting acquainted with river systems, they walked by dry route exclusively in watershed areas, where, having crossed the ridge and arranged new boats, they descended along the tributaries of new rivers. Upon arrival in an area occupied by a tribe of natives, the Cossacks entered into peace negotiations with them with a proposal to submit to the White Tsar and pay tribute, but these negotiations did not always lead to successful results, and then the matter was decided by force of arms.

Having imposed yasak on the natives, the Cossacks set up on their lands either fortified forts (if the tribe was warlike), or simply winter quarters, where part of the Cossacks usually remained in the form of a garrison to maintain obedience and to collect yasak. Following the troops were settlers, administrators, clergy, fishermen and merchants.

The local population was taxed. The most active resistance was provided by the Siberian Khanate and a number of large tribal unions (for example, the Khanty). There were several local wars with China in Transbaikalia and the south of the Far East.

Key dates of the conquest of Siberia

1581 -1585 - Siberian campaign of Ermak
1596 - conquest of the Piebald Horde
1607 - conquest of the Enets
1623 - Pyanda first reached the Lena River in the Kirensk region
1633 - Ivan Rebrov opened the mouth of the Lena and Yana
1638 - Yakut Voivodeship was established, centurion Ivanov’s horse campaign to Indigirka against the Yukaghirs
1639 - Ivan Moskvitin with the Cossacks went to the Sea of Okhotsk
1643 - Ataman Vasily Kolesnikov reaches Baikal, and Mikhail Stadukhin - Kolyma
1644-1645 - campaign of the Cossacks against the Buryats in the Angarsk steppe
1648 - Semyon Dezhnev passes the Bering Strait, separating Alaska from Chukotka
1667 and 1679 - Kyrgyz commander Bek Irenek besieged Krasnoyarsk twice
1673 - the Kyrgyz detachment of Prince Shandy Senchikeyev burned down the Achinsk fort
1685 - Battle of Albazin: the first Russian-Chinese clash in the Amur region
1686 - the first attempt to penetrate Taimyr: the expedition of Ivan Tolstoukhov went missing
1688 - siege of the Selenga fort
1697 - annexation of Kamchatka by Atlas
1711 - Danila Antsiferov discovers the Kuril Islands
1712 - riot and murder of their commanders by Cossacks in Kamchatka
1733 -1743 - Great Northern Expedition: Taimyr was explored, the Byrranga Mountains and Cape Chelyuskin were discovered
1747 - the Chukchi destroyed the detachment of the Anadyr commandant

Dates of foundation of Siberian cities

1586 - the city of Tyumen was founded: the first Russian city in Siberia, on the site of the former capital of the Siberian Khanate
1587 - Tobolsk was founded on the Irtysh, which later became the “capital of Siberia”
1593 - Berezov was founded
1594 - Surgut founded
1595 - Obdorsk founded
1601 - Mangazeya was founded to control the West Siberian Samoyeds
1604 - Tomsk was founded as a fortress against the Kalmyks
1607 - Turukhansk was founded: the first city on the Yenisei
1619 - Yeniseisk founded
1626 - voivode Andrei Dubensky founded Krasnoyarsk on the Yenisei
1630 - Vasily Bugor founded Kirensk on Lena
1631 - Ataman Maxim Perfilyev founded the Bratsk fort on the Angara
1632 - Pyotr Beketov founded Yakutsk and Zhigansk
1653 - the cities of Chita and Nerchinsk, Transbaikalia were founded
1661 - Irkutsk was founded on the Angara by Yakov Pokhabov
1665 - Selenginsk was founded on Selenga by Gavrila Lovtsov
1666 - the Udinsky fort, the future Ulan-Ude, was founded on the Uda at the confluence with the Selenga

Features of the relationship between Russians and the peoples of Siberia

In the folklore of the peoples of North-East Siberia, the word “Cossack” is used to designate aliens with the ethnonym “Russian”. Based on the frequency of use of these names, all folklore material for a given region can be divided into three groups:

folklore of peoples who easily fell under the “sovereign’s high hand” and had few armed clashes with the Russians (Entsy, Evenki), in which only the name “Russian” is found;
the folklore of the peoples who submitted to the Russians after a stubborn and lengthy struggle (Yakuts), in which, along with the “Russians,” the “Cossack” also appears in the legends;
folklore of peoples who did not submit to the conquerors or were only partially dependent (Chukchi, Koryaks), in which the newcomers are represented exclusively by “Cossacks”.

As we can see, the image of a Cossack appears in the folklore of those regions of Siberia whose population had to wage an armed struggle against the aliens. And since the main role in the hostilities was played by servicemen, the image of a Cossack in the minds of the aborigines was formed as the image of a person whose main occupation was to “pacify” the “natives.” In the case when the role of the “armed hand” in bringing the aborigines into Russian citizenship was minimal, the Cossacks in the eyes of the indigenous population did not stand out in any way from the general mass of Russians.

Thus, much of what concerns Russians in general will be true for Cossacks in particular, although, undoubtedly, the image of a Cossack also carried many specific features. In other words, the Cossack in the folklore of the peoples of North-East Siberia, in addition to features characteristic only of him, also carries a complex of features inherent to him due to the fact that he is Russian. This complex of features is common both to the image of a Cossack and to the image of a Russian in general, and therefore, in order to highlight it, we will have to consider the image of a Russian in folklore.

In general, Russians are an important part of the Aboriginal picture of the universe. This is evidenced by the fact that in this region, in all creation myths, Russians are present as the most important participants. For example, the legend about the emergence of different peoples, which existed in the northern regions of Yakutia, tells about three sons of God, the youngest of whom - Russian - was appointed by God the Father to dominate the other elders - Yakut and Even.

Violation of primogeniture in favor of the youngest of the brothers introduces a feeling of injustice of this order of affairs, which, apparently, is intended to smooth out the idea of the divine origin of Russian power. There is a similar plot in the Chukchi creation myth, where God the Father destined all peoples, except the Chukchi, into slavery to the Russians. Only the Chukchi should be equal to the Russians. Here the myth reflects the remnants of freedom preserved by the Chukchi in the fight against the conquerors. The Chukchi's recognition of the Russians as their equals suggests that the newcomers turned out to be worthy opponents. The Chukchi treated all their neighbors extremely arrogantly and not a single people in Chukchi folklore, with the exception of the Russians and the Chukchi themselves, are called people.

In general, the image of an alien in Chukchi folklore is somewhat different from the image depicted in Yakut legends. There is only one explanation here: the Yakuts entered Russia relatively easily, the fighting was not particularly fierce. Having had close contacts with the Russians for a long time, the Yakuts were able to record not only the negative, but also the positive traits of the newcomers, which were summarized in the image of the Russian.

The image of a Cossack is characterized mainly by the absence of any positive traits and even the fundamental impossibility of having them. All the evil that the aliens brought to the natives of Siberia was primarily associated with the process of conquest itself, and since the primary duty of the service people was precisely to bring the indigenous peoples “into all kinds of submission,” as a result, all the negative traits inherent in Russians in general were personified in image of a Cossack.