The development of Siberia by the Russians, contrary to popular belief, was not always peaceful and cloudless. In 1727, on the initiative of the Yakut Cossack head Afanasy Shestakov, the Senate of the Russian Empire approved the “opinion”: “Foreigners and those peoples who have been found and have settled on the Siberian side, and not under whose authority, those should be subjugated under Russian ownership and introduced into tribute payments.” For this purpose, an expedition of 400 soldiers and Cossacks set off for Chukotka, the base of which was the Anadyr fort. Shestakov was put in charge, and captain of the Tobolsk Dragoon Regiment Dmitry Pavlutsky was appointed head of the military team. Dividing their forces into two detachments, they began to conquer Chukotka. And although the Senate decided to “persuade the aborigines into citizenship voluntarily and with affection,” Shestakov and Pavlutsky did not limit themselves to negotiations alone...