Semyon Stroganov

Semyon Stroganov was a Russian merchant from the wealthy Stroganov family who financed Yermak's Siberian campaign in 1581.

Stroganov family owned salt mines in Solvychegodsk from the early 16th century and from 1558 their wealth was further increased by land grants from Tsar Ivan IV. Stroganovs were allowed to attract inhabitants to those territories, to build towns, and to maintain their own armed forces for defense. They engaged in salt and iron mining and in the timber and fur trades and had extensive agricultural interests.

The Stroganovs traded with Siberia, but complications in their relations with the khan of Siberia, Kuchum, led to operations of a military nature sanctioned by the tsar Ivan IV and financed in greater part by Semyon Stroganov. Yermak Timofeyevich was the leader of Russian forces and his attempts ended in Russian conquest of parts of Siberia. As a mark of gratitude, the Stroganov family was granted a monopoly over Russia’s fur and salt trade which, in a short time, made Semyon Stroganov one of Russia’s richest men.