Siberian Chronicles

Siberian Chronicles, a series of Russian chronicles dating from the late 16th through the 18th century and dealing with the history of Siberia. They individually go by such names as the Esipov, Kungur, Remezov, and Stroganov chronicles (about 40 in all) and collectively constitute the basic source for the study of early historical Siberia.

The origin, reliability, and interrelationships of the chronicles have long been a focus of historians’ debate, for they are indeed complex and contradictory. The traditional—but not wholly accepted—hypothesis, proposed by historian S.V. Bakhrushin (1882–1950), is that the chronicles ultimately derive from a now-lost work, Napisany, kako priydosha v Sibir (“Description of How to Reach Siberia”), written in 1621 by survivors of the 16th-century expeditions into Siberia led by the Cossack hero Yermak Timofeyevich (q.v.). This work was purportedly copied and interpreted in later works, which in turn became the source of borrowings into the Siberian Chronicles. Whatever their origins, however, the chronicles do offer accounts of Yermak’s campaigns and related information, along with elements of popular folklore.