Vasiliy "Yermak" Timofeyevich Alenin ( born between 1532 and 1542 – August 5 or 6, 1585) is a Cossack who starts the Russian conquest of Siberia, in the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible (ruled 1547-1584).

Russians' fur-trade interests fuel their desire to expand east into Siberia.

In 1552, Ivan the Terrible's modernized army toppled the kKhanate of Kazan.

After the takeover of Kazan, the tsar looks to the powerful and affluent Stroganov merchant family to spearhead the eastward expansion.

In the late 1570s, the Stroganovs recruit Cossack fighters to invade Asia on behalf of the tsar.

These Cossacks elect Yermak as the leader of their armed forces, and in 1582 Yermak sets out with an army of 840 to attack the Khanate of Sibir.

On October 26, 1582, Yermak and his soldiers overthraw Kuchum Khan's Tatar empire at Qashliq in a battle that marks the "conquest of Siberia".

Yermak remains in Siberia and continues his struggle against the Tatars until 1584, when a raid organized by Kuchum Khan ambushes and kills him and his party.

The specifics of Yermak's life, such as his appearance, background, and dates of events, remain points of controversy for historians because the texts that document his life are not reliable.

However, his life and conquests have a profound influence on Siberian relations, sparking Russian interest in the region and establishing the Tsardom of Russia as an aggressive imperial power east of the Urals.