TY - JOUR

T1 - Ivan Cherepanov’s Siberian Chronicle on Yermak’s Campaign: Sources and Authorial Rhetoric

AU - Melnichuk, Valentina

N1 - Melnichuk, V. (2026). Ivan Cherepanov’s Siberian Chronicle on Yermak’s Campaign: Sources and Authorial Rhetoric. Quaestio Rossica, 14(1), 215–230. https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2026.1.1053

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - This article examines Siberian Chronicle, an eighteenth-century historical source by Ivan Cherepanov, a resident of Tobolsk. The text analyses the author’s choice of narrative structure in depicting the exploits of Yermak, the protagonist of this section of the work in question. A comparison with G. F. Miller’s Description of the Siberian Kingdom, S. U. Remezov’s History of Siberia, and the Stroganov and Esipov chronicles reveals the distinctive approach of the authors of this historical narrative dedicated to Yermak’s conquest of Siberia, as well as the portrayal of the legendary ataman himself in Cherepanov’s chronicle. The chronicler depicts Yermak in a multifaceted manner combining a folk-epic interpretation of the campaign, a pro-Christian understanding of it, and an emerging scholarly approach to the phenomenon of the fact as an objective event. He is a character that is close to the democratic reader, a bandit opposed to the authorities of the state, striving for freedom, and subsequently wishing to atone for his guilt and regain his legitimacy; a warrior chosen by God, fighting the infidels and expanding the state’s borders whilst possessing hagiographic traits. The unfolding of history, as revealed in this work – whose genre is complex and cannot be unambiguously defined as a chronicle – is driven not only by socio-political ideas but also by individual biographical factors, including vital concerns and social unrest.

AB - This article examines Siberian Chronicle, an eighteenth-century historical source by Ivan Cherepanov, a resident of Tobolsk. The text analyses the author’s choice of narrative structure in depicting the exploits of Yermak, the protagonist of this section of the work in question. A comparison with G. F. Miller’s Description of the Siberian Kingdom, S. U. Remezov’s History of Siberia, and the Stroganov and Esipov chronicles reveals the distinctive approach of the authors of this historical narrative dedicated to Yermak’s conquest of Siberia, as well as the portrayal of the legendary ataman himself in Cherepanov’s chronicle. The chronicler depicts Yermak in a multifaceted manner combining a folk-epic interpretation of the campaign, a pro-Christian understanding of it, and an emerging scholarly approach to the phenomenon of the fact as an objective event. He is a character that is close to the democratic reader, a bandit opposed to the authorities of the state, striving for freedom, and subsequently wishing to atone for his guilt and regain his legitimacy; a warrior chosen by God, fighting the infidels and expanding the state’s borders whilst possessing hagiographic traits. The unfolding of history, as revealed in this work – whose genre is complex and cannot be unambiguously defined as a chronicle – is driven not only by socio-political ideas but also by individual biographical factors, including vital concerns and social unrest.

KW - Ivan Cherepanov’s Chronicle of Siberia

KW - author’s rhetoric

KW - conquest of Siberia

KW - image of Yermak

KW - «ЛЕТОПИСЬ СИБИРСКАЯ» ИВАНА ЧЕРЕПАНОВА

KW - ОБРАЗ ЕРМАКА

KW - ЗАВОЕВАНИЕ СИБИРИ

KW - АВТОРСКАЯ РИТОРИКА

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105037717523

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105042501013

UR - https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=89211814

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/09384b87-b6f5-34f1-94b6-b5a6be79be1b/

U2 - 10.15826/qr.2026.1.1053

DO - 10.15826/qr.2026.1.1053

M3 - Article

VL - 14

SP - 215

EP - 230

JO - Quaestio Rossica

JF - Quaestio Rossica

SN - 2311-911X

IS - 1

M1 - 13

ER -