Great Perm, or Perm Land, also known as the Principality of Perm (1451–1505), is a historical region and former

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

along the

Kama River The Kama ( , ; ; ), also known as the Chulman ( ; ), is a long«Река КАМА»
Russian St ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The city of Cherdyn was the center of the region. The region is first mentioned in 1324.

Vasily II of Moscow Vasily II Vasilyevich (; 10 March 141527 March 1462), nicknamed the Blind or the Dark (), was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1425 until his death in 1462. He succeeded his father, Vasily I, only to be challenged by his uncle Yuri of Zveni ...

appointed a prince in 1451 to govern the region. Great Perm was formally dependent on

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

until 1471, after which it was dependent on

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

until it was finally incorporated into the Russian state in 1505. The use of the official name ''Great Perm'' ceased in 1708 when the

Siberia Governorate Siberia Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, which existed from 1708 until 1782. Its seat was in Tobolsk (initially spelt as ''Tobolesk''). The governorate was ...

was established as part of administrative reforms by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

Perm Governorate Perm Governorate (), also known as the Governorate of Perm, was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR from 1781 to 1923. It was located on both slopes of the Ural Mountains, and its admi ...

was later established in 1796, which in turn was succeeded by

Perm Krai Perm Krai (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a Krais of Russia, krai), located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is Perm, Russia, Perm. The population of the krai was 2,532,405 (2021 Russian census, 2021 ...

, now a

federal subject The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

of Russia.

Etymology

The origin of the name ''Perm'' is uncertain. Most common explanation derives the name "Perm" from "parma" ("forested highlands" in Komi language). While the city of

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places * Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 ** Perm Governorate, an administr ...

is a modern foundation named for Permia, the town of Cherdyn was reportedly itself known as the capital of "Great Perm" in the past. Cherdyn acted as a central market town, and it is sometimes suggested that ''perm'' was simply a term for "merchants" or "market" in a

local language Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

, but there have been other suggestions. According to Russian linguist Dmitry Bubrikh, the name was loaned into Russian from Finnic ''perämaa'' ("hinterland"). The same name is likely reflected in the toponym

Bjarmaland Bjarmaland (also spelled ''Bjarmland'' and ''Bjarmia'') was a territory mentioned in sagas from the Viking Age and in geographical accounts until the 16th century. The term is usually understood to have referred to the southern shores of the Whit ...

Norse saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

s. The general region of Great Perm was known as ''wisu'' () in medieval Arab ethnography, so referred to in the works of

Ahmad ibn Fadlan Ahmad ibn Fadlan ibn al-Abbas al-Baghdadi () or simply known as Ibn Fadlan, was a 10th-century traveler from Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate, famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir to the king ...

, al-Gharnati,

Zakariya al-Qazwini Zakariyya' al-Qazwini ( , ), also known as Qazvini (), (born in Qazvin, Iran, and died 1283), was a Cosmography, cosmographer and Geography in medieval Islam, geographer. He belonged to a family of jurists originally descended from Anas bin Mal ...

and

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

(in his '' Dictionary of Countries''). The term is perhaps derived from the name of the ''

Ves' Veps, or Vepsians (), are a Baltic Finnic people who speak the Veps language, which belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. According to the 2002 Russian census, there were 8,240 Veps in Russia. Of the 281 Veps in Ukraine, 11 spo ...

'' people who settled around

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

and the upper

Sukhona River The Sukhona () is a river in the European part of Russia, a tributary of the Northern Dvina. The course of the Sukhona lies in Ust-Kubinsky, Sokolsky, Mezhdurechensky, Totemsky, Tarnogsky, Nyuksensky, and Velikoustyugsky Districts of Volo ...

.Janet Martin, 'Treasure from the Land of Darkness: The Fur Trade and its significance for Medieval Russia', 1986, page 7

History

Early history

The region of Perm is first mentioned in 1187, which at first referred to the

Vychegda The Vychegda (; ) is a river in the European part of Russia, a tributary of the Northern Dvina. Its length is about . Its source is approximately west of the northern Ural Mountains. It flows roughly in a western direction, through the Komi Re ...

basin and what later came to be known as ''Old Perm'' or ''Little Perm''. The Komi territories "along the

Kama River The Kama ( , ; ; ), also known as the Chulman ( ; ), is a long«Река КАМА»
Russian St ...

" in the south were first mentioned under the year 1324 in the chronicle of

when describing the last trip of

Yury of Moscow Yury (Georgy) Danilovich (; 1281 – 21 November 1325) was Prince of Moscow from 1303 to 1325 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1318 to 1322. He contested the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir with his uncle Mikhail of Tver. As Yury's father ...

to the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

. Great Perm came to consist of the upper Kama, from the

Pechora River The Pechora (; Komi: Печӧра; Nenets: Санэроˮ яха) is the sixth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Northwest Russia and into the Arctic Ocean, it lies mostly in the Komi Republic but the northernmost part crosses the Nenets A ...

and

Lake Chusovskoye Chusovskoye () is a lake in Perm Krai, Russia. Area is 19.1 km2. Average depth is 1.5 – 2 m, maximal depth is 8 m. Is stretches from north to south for more than 15 km. It is largest lake in Perm Krai, located in the extreme north of C ...

in the north, the confluence of 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 the Kama River in the south, the source of the Kama in the west, and the

Ural Mountains 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.

in the east. Salt production on the

Usolka River The Usolka () is a river in Perm Krai, Russia; the west tributary of the river Kama. It is long, and its drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mout ...

began in 1430 and the Russian settlement of Sol-Kamskaya (now

Solikamsk Solikamsk (, , also Соликамскӧй, ''Sovkamsköy'') is a town in Perm Krai, Russia. Modern Solikamsk is the third-largest town in the krai, with a population of History The earliest surviving recorded mention of Solikamsk, initially a ...

) was established the same year. Although Novgorod claimed the territory, it had little control and formally gave up its rights in 1471, before it was ultimately annexed by

in 1478.

Principality

appointed as the prince of Great Perm in 1451. Mikhail's father, , and his brother, Vasily, were sent to govern

Vychegda Perm Vychegda Perm, also known as Little Perm or Old Perm was a medieval state and later vassal of the Novgorod Republic and Muscovy, which was based in along the Vychegda River. Vychegda Perm was originally a tribal state and was an important fur tr ...

. According to the ''Vychegda-Vym Chronicle'': "Grand Prince Vasily Vasilyevich sent to the Perm land a viceroy from the line of the Vereyan princes, Yermolai, and after him Yermolai and his son Vasily, to rule the Perm land of Vychegda, and sent the eldest son of Yermolai, Mikhail Yermolich, to Great Perm to Cherdyn". Mikhail recognized the suzerainty of the grand prince of Moscow, but refused to participate in the Russo-Kazan War of 1467–1469 during the reign of

Ivan III Ivan III Vasilyevich (; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1462 until his death in 1505. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blind father Vasily II be ...

. Instead, in 1467, he launched a campaign against the

Mansi Mansi may refer to: * Mansi people, an Indigenous people of Russia ** Mansi language *Mansi (name), given name and surname *Mansi Junction railway station * Mansi Township, Myanmar ** Mansi, Myanmar, a town in the Kachin State of Myanmar (Burma) * ...

(Voguls), together with Vyatka. Although the Russian missionary

Stephen of Perm Stephen of Perm (; ; – 26 April 1396) was a Russian Orthodox bishop, painter and missionary. He is known as being one of the most successful missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church. Stephen is credited with the conversion of the Komi peopl ...

in the late 14th century was unusually successful in converting the Komi, as he was able to establish his residence at

Ust-Vym Ust-Vym (; , ''Jemdïn'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Ust-Vymsky District of the Komi Republic, Russia, located by the mouth of the Vym River, from which it takes its name: "Ust-" is a common prefix it Russian toponymy for places by the ...

and become the first bishop in the Vychegda basin, Great Perm remained unconverted for another century. The first attempt at Christianizing the

Komi-Permyaks The Komi ( also ) are a Permian ethnic group who are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit a region around the basins of the Vychegda, Pechora and Kama rivers in northeastern European Russia. They mostly reside in the Komi Republic, Perm Krai, Murm ...

in 1455 ended in failure, as the Russian bishop of Perm, , was killed by the Mansi during a raid. From 1462, the efforts of the new bishop, , led to new churches and monasteries being built, such as the in Cherdyn. Russian influence grew as Moscow massed up forces to attack the Mansi and Russian colonists began to settle on the upper Kama. In 1472, Ivan III dispatched for a campaign against Great Perm, and his forces from

Veliky Ustyug Veliky Ustyug () is a town in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located in the northeast of the oblast at the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug Rivers. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 31,665. Veliky Ustyug has a great historical signific ...

defeated the Komi-Permyak forces. Fyodor Paletsky founded the settlement of Pokcha, which became a stronghold for Moscow. Prince Mikhail and other members of the nobility were captured and taken to Moscow, before being sent back. Prince Mikhail was allowed to continue to rule as a servant of the grand prince. During a raid by the Mansi prince in 1481, Mikhail died and was succeeded by his son Matvey. The Komi-Permyaks later took part in Moscow-led campaigns against Yugra and the Mansi. At the same time, Great Perm was subject to attacks by the Mansi,

Ostyak Ostyak () is a name formerly used to refer to several Indigenous peoples and languages in Siberia, Russia. Both the Khanty people and the Ket people were formerly called Ostyaks, whereas the Selkup people were referred to as Ostyak-Samoyed. Kh ...

s and

Siberian Tatars Siberian Tatars () are the Indigenous peoples of Siberia, indigenous Turkic languages, Turkic-speaking population of the forests and steppes of southern Western Siberia, originating in areas stretching from somewhat east of the Ural Mountains to ...

. Great Perm was finally incorporated into the Russian state in 1505 when Ivan III appointed a Russian prince, , as the governor. The next grand prince,

Vasily III Vasili III Ivanovich (; 25 March 14793 December 1533) was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1505 until his death in 1533. He was the son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil (). Following on t ...

, issued the Great Perm Charter the same year which set the powers of the governor.

Ivan IV Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. ...

would later expand this charter in 1553. He also issued a charter in 1558 giving large landholdings to the

Stroganov family The Stroganov family (Russian: Стро́гановы, Стро́гоновы; French: Stroganoff) emerged as a preeminent Russian noble family renowned for their roles as merchants, industrialists, landowners, and statesmen. By the reign of Iva ...

. By the early 16th century, Russians had replaced the Komi elite in local administration. Russian peasants also heavily colonized Komi lands around 1500, leading to the assimilation of the Komi, while other Komi were forced to move further north, which in turn led to some of the Mansi being displaced.

Later history

Up to the early 18th century, the name Great Perm was officially used of the Upper Kama area, a southern part of which was governed by the

Stroganov The Stroganov family (Russian: Стро́гановы, Стро́гоновы; French: Stroganoff) emerged as a preeminent Russian noble family renowned for their roles as merchants, industrialists, landowners, and statesmen. By the reign of Iv ...

family. The name was borrowed (as the '

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

' period) by the nineteenth century geologist Sir

Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigating and desc ...

to refer to rocks of a certain age, following extensive studies which he conducted in the region.

Notes

References

Sources

* *

External links

Е.Вершинин. Пермь Великая. Как Москва пришла на Урал

Энциклопедия Пермского края

ПЕРМЬ ВЕЛИКАЯ - Культурное наследие Прикамья
{{DEFAULTSORT:Principality Of Great Perm Perm Krai Medieval history of Russia Permians Novgorod Republic Historical regions in Russia