Rapid Eastward Expansion

Administratively and politically, economically and culturally, Siberia has been a part of Russia since the 1580’s. The actual date (1587) normally associated with the beginning of the Russian colonization of Siberia is somewhat arbitrary; it refers to the first Cossack battles in which Indigenous Peoples were defeated.

By the 1630’s, only 50 years after their initial victories, Russians managed to penetrate all the way to Sea of Okhotsk (about 50 years to cross the entire continent).

Limitations and Territorial Losses

Russia continued its eastward expansion across the Bering Strait and down the coast of North America. Shelekhov was one of the founders of the Russian-American company, a private company consisting of tradesmen and explorers who had the control of fur trading and Russian immigration to Alaska and parts of Russian Far East. Although it was a private company, it enjoyed the support of the government support and acted on the government's behalf. Alaska was colonized by Russia, but Alexander II negotiated its sale to the U.S. for about 7 million dollars in 1867 (originally called "Seward's Folly" after William Seward, the Secretary of State who negotiated the deal). It was a U.S. territory until 1959 when it became the 49th state. Alaska belonged to Russia before it became an American territory (and later state) and there are still a lot of Russian influences, as we will learn later in the semester.

Alexander II (1855 - 1881) is known as "The Liberator" because he liberator the Russian serfs who were essentially enslaved to the landowners. An exhibit called The Tsar and the President: Alexander II and Abraham Lincoln, Liberator and Emancipator from the Russian State Archive Exhibition Hall was in Kansas City recently and compared the emancipation of the Russian peasant serfs (who made up about 70-80% of the population at the time) and the emancipation of slaves in the U.S., important events which occurred at about the same time.

Besides the enormous expanses of land and difficulty of terrain in Siberia, the eastward expansion faced potential problem of competition with neighboring countries. Russia's main competition was always with China and Japan. In more recent times, however, there has been the potential competition with the U.S., which is a major Pacific rim power.

As Russians reached the Amur River region (the Amur is the only major Siberian river that runs west to east and does not empty into the arctic) they bumped into the Chinese and started to make treaties to set up the border.

There was a fierce war in 1904-1905 in which the Japanese were victorious. Known as the Russo-Japanese War, it forced the Russians to curtail its expansionist policies in the Russian Far East and Russia gave up large amounts of territory in the region. Today there are still disputes and negotiations over the Kuril Islands and Sakhlin Island.

Colonization of Siberia

The Russian government and the colonizers operated under the assumption that Siberia was part of Russia because it did not belong to any major world power. This was legally justified at the time by the "Doctrine of Discovery." When the conquest began under Ivan IV (August 25, 1530 - March 18, 1584) who became known as "Ivan the Terrible" (Ivan Grozny to Russians), Russia was not yet Russia, it was still known as Muscovy. It was under his rule that Russia began its eastward expansion in earnest (he gave his nod of approval for Cossacks to cross the Urals and engage the Indigenous Peoples).

The first successful Cossack commander was Yermak, who was a highway robber early in his career. Yermak led the first detachment of free Cossacks into Siberia to successfully engage the Indigenous Peoples of western Siberia. Yermak fought the Kuchum, the last khan of the Siberian Khanate. A representation of this battle can be seen in paintings by Surikov.

In the 1890's the Russian painter Surikov painted Indigenous Peoples and Siberian landscapes. You can see the regalia used by shaman in one of his paintings. In Russian the closest translation of "shaman" is medicine doctor. To see one of Surikov's most famous paintings click here which he painted after studying in Saint Petersburg. The two most important painters in history of Russian representational art in Siberia are Surikov and Nicholas Roerich  Another important historic painter was Remezov, who was both a geographer and artist. Remezov made drawings of Cossacks during 1700’s and some of his sketch books still exist. He also made diagrams of Tobolsk while it was under constructions

Peter the Great, who ruled from 1682 to 1725, continued the exploration of Siberia. He was the Tsar who sent Bering and others to the Russian Far East and across to Alaska. The long-term Russian conquest of Siberia was aggressively continued under Peter.

Another group who were important in the colonization were the Old Believers. They were especially important in the Altai region and parts of Siberia east of the Urals mountains.

Russian Cultural Development in Siberia

Siberia is also known as place of exile. After the Decembrist Uprising of 1825, officers were arrested and imprisoned in Peter and Paul fortress in Saint Petersburg. Some were executed, but 120 of them were sent to Siberia. There was no amnesty until after Nicholas I died 30 years later and Alexander II (who we met earlier) as one of his first acts released the Decembrists. The Decembrists had tried to force the liberation of the serfs, which is exactly what Alexander II eventually did. What is important for the development of Russian culture in Siberia was that the Decembrists were highly educated and talented writers, scientists, artists, teachers and professionals. After their release some chose to remain in Siberia and contributed to the development of cultural and educational institutions. Their exile was harsh, but not compared to what would come later under Stalin. Many were able to read and study while imprisoned, had their families move out so that they could visit. For more on the influence of the Decembrist writers in Siberia

One Russian writer from the Soviet period was Vasily Shukshin (born in 1929 died in 1974). He was born in the Altai mountain region, in the village of Srostki. Shukshin was one of Russia’s most famous writers in the 1950’s-1970’s. He produced movies (and also acted in them) which are some of the greatest Russian artistic movies from the Soviet period. His Stories from a Siberian Village are an example of how he was trapped between his peasant village upbringing and his work in Moscow. He was one of the few Russian creative artists during the period of heavy censorship who never gave up his inner freedom

There are many famous writers, artists and scientists who have considered themselves "Siberians" and we will discuss their contributions to Russian culture in Siberia throughout the semester.