[I 008/ Yermak], the `Conqueror of Siberia', was chosen by the Stroganov family to lead an expedition against the Tartar khanate of Sibir in order to assert their claim to land leased to them by the tsar. On September 1, 1581, he set out with a force of 840 [G 06 / Cossacks] and by a series of attacks using rafts and boats, reached the center of Tartar territory by the spring of 1582. Kechum, the Tartar [G 11 / khan], retreated to his capital at Kashlyk (also known as Sib-ir) as the support of the local tribes dwindled. Yermak took Kashlyk in October of 1582, but Kechum managed to escape to fight another day.
In a gesture of triumph Yermak sent the tsar a tribute of over 2,500 furs. In turn Ivan the Terrible rewarded Yermak with a magnificent suit of golden armor and the tsar's own fur-lined cape. He also granted Yermak and his men pardons for their past misdeeds. Yermak continued his campaigns along the Ob and Irtysh Rivers with an additional 500 men Ivan sent to bolster his force. Nevertheless, Kechum continued to harass the Cossacks. Finally on August 16, 1584, he surprised Yermak in a night raid on an island encampment in the Irtysh. According to legend, Yermak tried to swim the river in his suit of armor but its weight dragged him under and he drowned.
Since then it is said that on the shortest night of the year an arm clad in blazing golden armor emerges from the water and suddenly disappears again when an attempt is made to touch it. Yermak's name carries on to this day as the top brand of Russian backpack.
