The Yeniseisk Governorate in the Presidential Library stock

The collections of the Presidential Library with focus on regional studies are every year added with materials on Siberia, its endless taiga spaciousness, operating land deposits, its history. Browsing through the pages of digital books of the Presidential Library, it stands to compare the development of one or another region, which was described by different authors in different historical periods. In this respect, the history of the Yeniseisk Gubernia (Governorate), which currently has become one of the industrial centers of Russia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, is particularly meant to make an example.

Ivan Pestov in his 1833-year book 1831-year notes on the Yeniseisk Governorate of Eastern Siberia tells about the conquest of Siberia by Yermak and the founding of cities. “In 1581, on the Don Cossack’s Ataman Ermak Timofeyevich conquest of the owned by Tsar Kuchum Siberian Kingdom at the end of the reign of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich Grozny (the Terrible), ataman Ivan Koltsov has delivered to His Majesty a note from Yermak reporting on this, which was declaimed in Grozny’s presence. Tsar ordered Sobornaya Church in Moscow to serve an expressing gratitude prayer and give alms to poverty-stricken individuals.”

Immediately the tsar, asked by Ermak, sent Prince Semyon Bolkhovsky to Siberia “as a military governor” along with 500 soldiers who have to serve helping the Russian Cossacks in Siberia.

However, the local ruler set the goal at any costs to beat conquered lands back from the Russians. Kuchum, even though he knew fully well about a bravery of the Russian Cossacks, decided to attack suddenly.

“Slumbering Russians were hacked to death in unwanted attack, except for a few, who managed to board in a hassle accosted the Irtysh vessels; Ermak was among them, made his way through the enemy, wanted to jump over the vessel that was far off-shore, but fell into the water. And since, according to Siberian chroniclers, he wore one of the two heavy shells, which Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich had sent him before, sank to the bottom. This happened at night from the 5th to the 6th of August 1584.

When news about the loss of the Siberian conquests reached Moscow, they “hastened in there, apart from sending help, fight everything back.” To do this, 397 Cossacks were equipped, and “to strengthen them and to assure their successes and safety,” began to establish and to build in Siberia cities - Tyumen, Tobolsk, Lozwa, Pelym, Beryeozov, Surgut, and Tara.

According to His Imperial Majesty's Highest Decree, the fourth Siberian Governorate was established under the name of the Yeniseisk Gubernia. “It joined the lands of the Irkutsk and Omsk Gubernias with the administration subordinated to the Eastern Siberia, consisted of five districts.”

The “Siberian” collection of the Presidential Library describes in details the way of life and customs of various inhabiting Siberia nations. In the 1908-year book On the Yenisei researcher Vladimir Peredolsky tells that he had visited the “country of the Yenisei Ostyaks” three times in 1894, 1895 and 1898, went this land entirely and in such way so the indigenous taiga residents was not afraid of him: “Could a lonely stranger, whose life was repeatedly threatened before their eyes, seem dangerous? – of course not - and this fondly and widely open the birch-bark doors of yurts and dugouts for me, giving to me in the Ostyaks environment, as an equal, a shelter, and a cordial solicitude. All my essays are picturing a reality, even the names have not been changed: Savoska, Yartegin, Kayar, and others.”

This rare book is illustrated by drawings made from photographs of the author.

A book by Vladimir Semyonov entailed The Forgotten Path from Europe to Siberia was published in 1910  - it shows to us a completely different Siberia.

The Yenisei expedition of 1893 consisted of 6 officers, one doctor and 43 people crew. Here is how Semyonov describes his first meeting with the Yenisei:

““So, old man, is Yeniseisk greater than Imbatsky?” “You know what, - he said with an offence for his hometown, - we have a cathedral, four parish churches, two monasteries, 24 residential private stone houses, not counting public! And you are like, Imbatsky!”

The snowstorm suddenly stopped, and Yeniseisk opened before us. I must confess that it exceeded my expectations. I was thinking of seeing a big village - but I saw a city. A long row of two and three-story houses, now wooden, then stone, stretched along the spine of a sheer drop; over them numerous domes of churches and inevitable fire tower elevated. Flags were waiving everywhere; people crowded on the embankment and the boulevard in front of the cathedral. From there, the friendly Russian “hurray!” was heard, to which our crew cheerily answered, standing on the guys and waving their pennons. The past troubles and dangers, storms, shoals, frosts - everything was forgotten, everything disappeared in the happy consciousness that we are the first to bring the color of the Russian navy to this distant city.”

The development of the Yeniseisk Gubernia and the entire Siberia went unprecedentedly fast. The history of Siberia can be studied in detail from such collections as Krasnoyarsk Krai: pages of history, Irkutsk Oblast: pages of history, Tyumen Oblast: pages of history, etc.