The Cherdyn Road (Чердынская дорога) or Vishera Road (Вишерская дорога) was the standard route used by the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

to travel to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

in the late 16th century. It started in Cherdyn west of the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

and followed a number of rivers and

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

s, from the Vishera through the

Lozva The Lozva (; Northern Mansi: Лӯсум-я̄, ''Lūsum-jā'') is a river in Sverdlovsk Oblast in Russia. At its confluence with the Sosva, the Tavda is formed. The river is long, and its basin covers . The river freezes up in October or early ...

and the Tavda to the

Tobol River The Tobol (, ) is a river in Western Siberia (in Kazakhstan and Russia) and the main (left) tributary of the Irtysh. Its length is , and the area of its drainage basin is . History The Tobol River was one of the four important rivers of the ...

. Around 1580, Yermak and his

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

ascended the

Chusovaya River The Chusovaya () is a river flowing in Perm Krai, Sverdlovsk Oblast and Chelyabinsk Oblast of Russia. A tributary of the Kama, which in turn is a tributary of the Volga, discharges into the Chusovskoy Cove of the Kamsky Reservoir. The river is r ...

and crossed to the Barancha, a tributary of the

Tagil River The Tagil () is a river in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. It is long, with a drainage basin of . The average discharge is . The river has its sources on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, east of Verkhny Tagil. From there, the Tagil flows nort ...

. They succeeded in penetrating the Khanate of Siberia and conquering the area. This route was abandoned because the upper Tagil was too shallow. In 1592, the Russian fort of Pelym was built to guard the eastern terminus of the Cherdyn Road. It was not until 1597 that a much shorter overland route was discovered by Artemy Babinov.Soviet Encyclopaedia of History
/ref> As a result, the Cherdyn Route fell into disuse.

References

{{Russia-history-stub Roads in Russia Roads in Siberia History of Siberia

See also

References