It Could Happen Here - CZM Book Club: "Yermak, the Conqueror of Siberia" by Leo Tolstoy
Episode Date: May 19, 2024Margaret reads a piece of folklore about the colonization of Siberia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
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Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show,
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Callzone Media.
Book club, book club, book club, book club book club book club book club hello and welcome to cool zone media book club i'm
your host margaret killjoy today i'm taking you on a journey of discovery well discovery about
the things that i've been researching obsessively for the past several months i've been doing a lot
of research for the past few months for my podcast about the history of Russia, especially all the stuff
that led up to the Russian revolution of 1917. And there's this one character who's loomed larger in
the background of that story, larger than any other. And it's not Rasputin. It's Leo Tolstoy.
Well, he's loomed the largest without taking center stage,
at least as a political thinker, he's loomed really large. Because Leo Tolstoy,
one of the most famous novelists of all time, didn't quite start the Christian pacifist anarchist
movement that was all the rage in Russia in the 19th century. But instead, he had become
its central theorist and the most influential propagandist of it. And so he's just like,
theorist and the most influential propagandist of it. And so he's just like woven his way through all of these narratives. And soon enough with Cool Zone Media Book Club and with my own
Cool People Did Cool Stuff, I'll be leaving Mother Russia behind and learning about and
talking about other places. But I figured last week I told Cossack fairy tales. And today I'm
going to read a folk story written by Tolstoy himself
that's about the Cossacks. And it's kind of about the origin of the Cossacks politically within
Russia. I found this story from 1899 in a book called Fables for Children. And if this is the
stuff that children were reared on, it sort of explains a thing or two about how Russia went pretty immediately after.
It's a story called Yermak, the Conqueror of Siberia.
It's set in the 16th century in Russia.
Well, it's not Russia at the time, it's Siberia at the time.
Until it becomes Russia, see the title, Conquer Siberia.
It's about a guy who conquered Siberia. I like this story. One, because it's
kind of fun. Well, my version of fun. And because I think it's useful to help people understand how
colonization is older than the concepts of the state, how everywhere is conquered and controlled
space, how capitalism has been part of colonization since before capitalism was even a word.
how capitalism has been part of colonization since before capitalism was even a word.
And also the story reads as something between a Conan and Wild West adventure only written by a Christian anarchist pacifist novelist in Russia. Here it is.
Yermak, The Conqueror of Siberia by Leo Tolstoy.
by Leo Tolstoy.
In the reign of Ivan Vasilievich the Terrible,
there were the rich Mertens, the Stroganovs,
and they lived in Perm, on the river Kama.
They heard that along the river Kama,
in a circle of 140 versts,
a verst is about two-thirds of a mile,
there was good land. The soil had not been plowed for centuries. The forests
had not been cut down for centuries. In the forests were many wild animals and along the
river fish lakes, and no one was living on that land, but only Tartars passed through it.
The Stroganovs wrote a letter to the Tsar. Give us this land and we will ourselves build towns
there and gather people and settle them there and will not allow the Tartars to pass through it.
The Tsar agreed to it and gave them the land.
The Stroganovs sent out clerks to gather people.
And there came to them a large number of roving people.
Whoever came received from the Stroganovs land, forest, and cattle, and no tenant pay was collected.
All they had to do was live and in the case of need,
to go out en masse to fight the Tartars. Thus the land was settled by Russian people.
About 20 years passed. The Stroganovs grew richer yet and that land, 140 versts around,
was not enough for them. They wanted to have more land still. About 100 versts from them were high mountains, the Ural Mountains. And
beyond them, they had heard, there was good land, and to that land there was no end. This land was
ruled by a small Siberian prince, Kuchum by name. In former days, Kuchum had sworn allegiance to the
Russian Tsar, but later he began to rebel and he threatened to destroy Stroganov's towns.
So the Stroganovs wrote to the Tsar,
You have given us land and we have conquered it and turned it over to you.
Now the thievish Tsarling Kuchum has rebellion against you and wants to take that land away and ruin us.
Command us to take possession of the land beyond the Ural mountains.
We will conquer Kuchum and bring all his land under your rule.
The Tsar assented and wrote back, If you have sufficient force, take the land away from Kuchum and bring all his land under your rule. The Tsar assented and wrote back,
If you have sufficient force, take the land away from Kuchum,
only do not entice many people away from Russia.
When the Stroganovs got that letter from the Tsar,
they sent out clerks to collect more people,
and they ordered them to persuade mostly the Cossacks from Volga and the Don to come.
At that time, many Cossacks were roving along the Volga and the Don to come. At that time, many Cossacks were roving
along the Volga and the Don. They used to gather in bands of two, three, or six hundred men,
and to select an Ottoman, and to row down in barges to capture ships and rob them,
and for the winter they stayed in little towns on the shore. The clerks arrived at the Volga,
and there they asked who the famous Cossacks of the region were.
They were told, there are many Cossacks, it is impossible to live for them. There is Mishka,
Chernyshenin, and Sarazman, but there is no fiercer one than Yermak Timurovitch, the Ottoman.
He has a thousand men, and not only the merchants and the people are afraid of him,
but even the Tsar and army does not dare to cope with him. And the clerks went to Ermak the Ottoman and began to persuade him to go to the Stroganovs. Ermak received the clerks,
listened to their speeches, and promised to come with his people about the time of the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin. Near the holiday of the Assumption, there came to the Stroganovs 600
Cossacks with their Ottoman, Ermak Timofich. And at first, Stroganovs 600 Cossacks with their Ottoman, Yermak Timofich. And at first,
Stroganovs sent them against their neighboring Tartars. The Cossacks annihilated them. Then,
when nothing was doing, the Cossacks roved in the neighborhood and robbed. So Stroganovs sent
for Yermak and said, I will not keep you any longer if you are going to be so wanton. But
Yermak said, I do not like it myself, but I cannot control my people.
They are spoiled.
Give us work to do.
So Stroganoff said,
Go beyond the Ural and fight the Kuchum and take possession of his land.
The Tsar will reward you for it.
And he showed the Tsar's letter to Yermak.
Yermak rejoiced and collected his men and said,
You are shaming me before my master.
You are robbing without reason.
If you do not stop,
he will drive you away. And where will you go then? At the Volga, there is a large Tsaran army.
We shall be caught and then we shall suffer for our old misdeeds. But if you feel lonesome,
here is work for you. And he showed them the Tsar's letter, in which it was said that Stroganoff had been permitted to conquer land beyond the Ural. The Cossacks had a consultation and agreed to go. Yermak went to Stroganoff,
and they began to deliberate how they had best go. They discussed how many barges they needed,
how much grain, cattle, guns, powder, lead, how many captive Tartar interpreters, how many
foreigners as masters of gunnery. Stroganov thought, though it may cost me
much, I must give them everything, or else they will stay here and ruin me. Stroganov agreed to
everything, gathered what was needed, and fitted out Yermak and the Cossacks. On the 1st of September,
the Cossacks rode with Yermak up the river Chusevaya on 32 barges, with 12 men in each.
For four days they rode up the river, and then
they turned into the Serebrnaya river. Beyond that point, it was impossible to navigate. They asked
the guides and learned that from there they had to cross the mountains and walk overland about 200
versts, and then the rivers would begin again. The Cossacks stopped, built a town, and unloaded all
their equipment. They abandoned the boats, made carts, put everything upon them, and started overland across the mountains.
All those places were covered with forest, and nobody was living there.
They marched for about ten days and struck the river Zoraniah.
There they stopped again and made themselves boats.
They loaded them and rode down the river.
They rode five days, and then they came
to more cheerful places, meadows, forests, lakes. There they had a plenty of fish and animals,
and animals that had not been scared by hunters. They rode another day and sailed into the river
Tura. Along the Tura, they came upon Tartar people and towns. Yermak sent some Cossacks to take a
look at a town to see what it was like
and whether there was any considerable force in it. Twenty Cossacks went there and they frightened
all the Tartars and seized the whole town and captured all the cattle. Some of the Tartars
they killed and others they brought back alive. Yermak asked the Tartars through his interpreters
what kind of people they were and under whose rule they were living. The Tartars said that they were in the Siberian kingdom and that their king was Kuchum. Yermak let the Tartars go,
but three of the more intelligent he took with him to show him the road. They rode on. The farther
they rode, the larger did the river grow, and the farther they went, the better did the places
become. They met more and more people, only they were not strong men,
and all the towns that were near the river the Cossacks conquered. In one town they captured
a large number of Tartars and one old man who was held in respect. They asked him what kind
of a man he was, and he said, I am Tazik, a servant of my king Kuchum, who has made me a
commander in this town. Yermak asked Tazik about his king, how far his city of Cyber king, Kuchum, who has made me a commander in this town. Yermak asked Tazek about his king,
how far his city of Cyber was, whether Kuchum had a large force, whether he had much wealth.
Tazek told him everything. He said, Kuchum is the first king in the world. His city of Cyber is the
largest city in the world. In that city, he said, there are as many people and as many cattle as
there are stars in the heaven. There is no counting his force, and not all the kings in the world can conquer him.
But you know what can conquer you is advertising. Gets into everyone's heads. Slips into the middle
of stories. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show,
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And we're back.
Yermak said,
We Russians have come here to conquer your king and take his city
and put it into the hands of the Russian Tsar.
We have a large force.
Those who have come with me are only the advance guard.
Those that are rowing down behind us in barges are numberless,
and all of them have guns.
Our guns pierce trees,
not like your bows and arrows. Just look. And Yermak fired at a tree and pierced it. The Cossacks
began to shoot on all sides. Tazek in fright fell on his knees. Yermak said to him, go to your king
Kuchum and tell him what you have seen. Let him surrender. And if he does not, we will destroy him.
Let him surrender, and if he does not, we will destroy him.
And he dismissed Tazik.
The Cossacks rode on.
They sailed into the river Tobol and were getting nearer to the city of Cyber.
They sailed up a small river Babasan, and there they saw a small town on its bank,
and around the town, a large number of Tartars.
They sent an interpreter to the Tartars to find out what kind of people they were.
The interpreter returned and said,
That is Kuchum's army that has gathered there.
The leader of that army is Kuchum's own son-in-law, Mehmetko.
He has commanded me to tell you that you must return or else he will destroy you.
Ermak gathered his Cossacks, landed on the bank, and began to shoot at the Tartars.
The moment the Tartars heard the shooting, they began to run.
The Cossacks ran after them and killed some and captured others.
Mamatku barely escaped.
The Cossacks sailed on.
They sailed into a broad, rapid river, the Irtysh.
Down Irtysh River, they sailed for a day and came to a fair town where they stopped.
The Cossacks went to the town.
As they were coming near, the Tartars began to shoot their arrows and wounded three Cossacks. Then Yermak sent an interpreter to tell the Tartars that they must surrender the town or else they would all be
killed. The interpreter went and he returned and said, Here lives Kuchum's servant, Atikmurza
Karchara. He has a large force and he says he will not surrender the town.
Yermak gathered the Cossacks and said, boys, if we do not take this town, the Tartars will rejoice and will not let us pass on. The more we strike them with terror, the easier it will be. Land all
and attack them all at once. So they did. There were many Tartars there and they were brave.
When the Cossacks rushed at them,
the Tartars began to shoot their arrows. They covered the Cossacks with them. Some were killed,
and some wounded. The Cossacks became enraged, and when they got to the Tartars, they killed all that
they could lay their hands on. In this town, the Cossacks found much property, cattle, rugs, furs,
and honey. They buried the dead, rested themselves, took away much property, cattle, rugs, furs, and honey. They buried the dead, rested themselves,
took away much property, and sailed on. They did not sail far when they saw on the shore,
like a city, an endless number of troops, and the whole army surrounded by a ditch,
and the ditch protected by timber. The Cossacks stopped. They deliberated.
Irmak gathered a circle around him. Well, boys, what shall we do?
The Cossacks were frightened.
Some said that they ought to sail past, while others said they ought to go back.
And others said they should take advantage of these sweet, sweet deals.
God, I...
Yep, here's ads.
Hey guys, I'm Kate Max.
You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show,
where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs,
the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a
chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together.
You know that rush of endorphins you feel after a great workout?
Well, that's when the real magic happens.
So if you love hearing real, inspiring stories from the people you know, follow, and admire, join me every week for Post Run High.
know, follow, and admire, join me every week for Post Run High. It's where we take the conversation beyond the run and get into the heart of it all. It's lighthearted, pretty crazy, and very fun.
Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second
season digging into how tech's elite has turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires.
From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search,
Better Offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech
from an industry veteran with nothing to lose. This season, I'm going to be joined by everyone
from Nobel winning economists to leading journalists in. This season, I'm going to be joined by everyone from Nobel-winning economists
to leading journalists in the field,
and I'll be digging into why the products you love keep getting worse
and naming and shaming those responsible.
Don't get me wrong, though.
I love technology.
I just hate the people in charge and want them to get back to building things
that actually do things to help real people.
I swear to God things can change if we're loud enough.
So join me every week to understand what's happening in the tech industry
and what could be done to make things better.
Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Check out betteroffline.com.
Hola, mi gente. It's Honey German, and I'm bringing you Gracias, Come Again,
the podcast where we dive deep into the world of Latin culture,
música, películas, and entertainment with some of the biggest names in the game.
If you love hearing real conversations with your favorite Latin celebrities, artists, and culture shifters, this is the podcast for you.
We're talking real conversations with our Latin stars, from actors and artists to musicians and creators, sharing their stories, struggles, and successes.
You know it's going to be filled with chisme laughs and all the vibes that you love.
Each week we'll explore everything from music and pop culture to deeper topics like identity, community, and breaking down barriers in all sorts of industries.
Don't miss out on the fun, el té caliente, and life stories.
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Listen to Gracias Come Again
on the iHeartRadio app,
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And we're back.
They looked gloomy and began to scold Irmak.
They said,
Why did you bring us here?
Already a few of ours have been killed and many have been wounded,
and all of us will perish here.
They began to weep.
But Irmak said to his sub-Ottoman, Ivan Kolstow,
Well, Vanya, what do you think?
And Kolstov said,
What do I think?
If they do not kill us today, they will tomorrow.
And if not tomorrow, we shall die anyway on the oven.
In my opinion, we ought to go out on the shore and rush in a body against the Tartars.
Maybe God will give us victory.
Ermak said,
You are a brave man, Vanya.
That is what must be done.
Oh, you boys, you are not Cossacks, but old women. All you are good for is to catch sturgeon and frighten Tartar women. Can't you see for yourselves? If we turn back, we shall be destroyed.
If we stay here, they will destroy us. How can we go back? After a little work, it will come easier.
Listen, boys, my father had a strong mare.
Downhill, she would pull, and on an even place, she would pull. But when it came to going uphill,
she became stubborn and turned back, thinking it would be easier. But my father took a club
and belabored her with it. She twisted and tugged and broke the whole cart. My father unhitched her
from the cart and gave her a terrible whacking. If she had pulled the cart, she would have suffered no torment. So it is with us, boys. There is only one thing left for us to do, and that is to make
straight for the Tartars. The Cossacks laughed and said, Timofey, you are evidently more clever
than we are. You have no business to ask us fools. Take us where you please. A man does not die twice
and one death cannot be escaped. And Yermak said, Listen, boys,
this is what we shall do. They have not yet seen us all. Let us divide into three parts. Those in
the middle will march straight against them, and the other two divisions will surround them on the
right and on the left. When the middle detachment begins to walk toward them, they will think that
we are all there, and so they did.
When the middle detachment with Yermak advanced, the Tartars screamed and leaped forward.
Then they were attacked by even Kolstow on the side, and by Meshtcheryakov, the Ottoman, on the left.
The Tartars were frightened and ran. The Cossacks killed a great many of them.
After that, nobody dared to oppose Yermak. Thus, he entered the city of Siberia.
And there, Yermak settled down as though he were a king.
Then kinglets came to see Yermak and bowed to him. Tartars began to settle down in Siberia,
and Kuchum and his son-in-law Mamatku were afraid to go straight at him,
but kept going around in a circle, wondering how they might destroy him.
In the spring, during high water, the tartars came running to Yermak and said,
Mamatku is going against us.
He has gathered a large army and is making a stand near the river Varghe. Yermak made his way over rivers, swamps, brooks, and forests, stole up with his Cossacks,
rushed against Mamat Kul, killed a large number of Tartars, and took Mamat Kul alive and brought
him to Siberia. After that, there were only a few unruly Tartars left, and Yermak went that summer
against those who had not yet surrendered. And along the Irtish and the Ob, Yermak conquered so much land that one could not march around it
in two months. When Yermak had conquered all that land, he sent a messenger to the Stroganoffs and
a letter. I have taken Kuchum city, he said, and have captured Mamatkul, and have brought all the
people here under my rule. Only I have lost many Cossacks. Send people to us that
we might feel more cheerful. There is no end to the wealth in this country. He sent them many costly
furs, fox, marten, and sable furs. Two years passed after that. Yermak was still holding Siberia,
but no aid came from Russia, and a few Russians were left with Yermak.
but no aid came from Russia, and a few Russians were left with Yermak.
One day, the Tartar Karacha sent a messenger to Yermak, saying,
We have surrendered to you, but now the Nogais are oppressing us.
Send your brave men to aid us. We shall together conquer the Nogais.
And we swear to you that we shall not insult your brave men.
Yermak believed their oath and sent 40 men under Ivan Kolstoy. When these 40 men came there, the Tartars rushed against them and killed them, and there were still fewer Cossacks
left. Another time, some Bukhara merchants sent word to Yermak that they were on their way to the
city of Siberia with goods, but that Kuchum had taken his stand with an army and would not let
them pass through.
Yermak took with him 50 men and went out to clear the road for the Bukhara merchants.
He came to the Irtish river, but did not find the Bukharans.
He remained there overnight.
It was a dark night, and it rained.
The Cossacks had just lain down to sleep when suddenly the Tartars rushed out and threw themselves on the sleepy men and began to strike them down.
Yermak jumped up and began to fight.
He was wounded in the hand.
He ran toward the river, the Tartars after him.
He into the river.
That was the last time he was seen.
His body was not recovered, and no one found out how he died.
The following year came the Tsar's army army and the Tartars were pacified.
The end. What a good story for kids. I, you know, can't imagine any other story I'd rather
tell children. And the thing I find interesting about it, there's so many things I find interesting
about it.
And one of them is that, okay, this is presented as a story for kids.
Because Yermak, the conqueror of Siberia, was almost certainly a real person.
But he also is completely shrouded in mystery.
And the first sources, the original sources, there's a word here that I should know and I normally do
know. The primary sources are contradictory and not conclusive. And I haven't done a wild,
deep dive into this particular historical figure or time, but I just, I find it so interesting.
I find how this story feels like it could kind of be anywhere in the world. So fascinating to me.
this story feels like it could kind of be anywhere in the world. So fascinating to me.
For a full-blown history episode, I'll go deeper on my sources in Wikipedia, but for now,
I'm going to reference the Wikipedia page on the historical Yarmouk. I've talked a lot on my podcast recently about the Cossacks, how culturally that label meant something between the name of an
ethnic group and the name for mercenary groups of bandits loyal to the czar and i had no idea
where that had come from right that was just always presented as like oh of course the cossacks
you know they're loyal to the czar even though they're this nomadic people who do war i'll
probably not get into the nomadic war machine concept by delus and quattari but this story is
like the best example that i've ever seen in my life. If you ever want to lose yourself to strange
continental philosophy that reads like poetry and halfway makes sense, read Nomadology by Deleuze
and Guattari about the concept of the nomadic war machine in any way. And so this story, not
this version of it, but Yermak and this conquering, is where the distinction came from
about what Cossacks mean in sort of more modern contexts. To quote Wikipedia,
Yermak transformed the image of the Cossack overnight from a bandit to a soldier recognized
by the Tsar of Moscow. Yermak's call for aid thus spawned a new type of Cossack, which by virtue of
its link to the government would enjoy significant favor from future Russian rulers. And so you have
this idea, oh, I said I wasn't going to get into the nomadic war machine, but here I am doing it.
There's this idea, it's a philosophical idea, it's not a like true guaranteed science thing,
true guaranteed science thing, that we tend to think of violence as the thing that the state does. But there's this idea that the thing that does the violence is often a force that's outside
the state. And specifically, it's often a nomadic war machine. It is a tool that is used by the
state to enact violence. And the reason that they're distinct is that the state doesn't want chaos, right?
It wants control.
It wants everything to be the same and predictable.
Violence and war are kind of the opposite of that.
And so the modern state exists on some way.
Again, we're talking philosophically rather than like true or whatever. The modern
state exists by balancing this calm center, right? This non-chaotic space with a harnessed
war machine. And it's interesting because in that same way, what can undo the state
also lies there. And you will see this a lot in like, say, for example,
most famously, the Mexican Revolution, where a lot of the more important revolutionary figures
actually came from banditry. And, you know, banditry is a sort of classic nomadic war
machine. The Cossacks are sort of a classic nomadic war machine, only in this case,
they're primarily for the state, you know? And you have exceptions, like some of the Cossacks ended up fighting in Ukraine against all of the
armies, except the Black Army, Makhno's Black Army, and fighting for a society of equals and
things like that. And you have like this like roots of democracy, you have this like violent
force, the Cossacks in this story, right? they're running around and they're colonizing and they're killing all these people but their ataman their leader
is clearly not an authoritarian leader he is saying like well boys what do we do how are we
going to do this you know and they all have to sort of give their assent and i am not yet an
expert on exactly how that what their decision structures were,
but this is the kind of thing that we see again and again, most famously in a Western sense,
the pirates of the golden era of piracy. And I think all that stuff's neat, and I hope you did
too. So thanks for listening. See you next week with another
Cool Zone Media Book Club, the only book club where you don't have to do the reading because
I read it to you. Unfortunately, you don't get to say as much about what happened because I also do
the interpretation for you. That part doesn't seem fair. So, if you want to go on Reddit,
that sentence doesn't start anything good. If you want to go on Reddit, that sentence doesn't start anything good.
If you want to go on Reddit to the subreddit,
then you could talk about the stories
and the books that we talk about on Cool Zone Media Book Club.
And that is one way you can talk about it.
Otherwise, you're stuck with my interpretation. Bye!
It Could Happen Here is a production
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