On August 23, 1839, a monument to Ataman Yermak was inaugurated at Cape Chukman. The order to build the monument was given by Nicholas I to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the annexation of Siberia. The project was developed by the Academician of Architecture A. P. Bryullov. Work on the monument lasted for several years, and finally, in December 1835, a sledge ride of four hundred horses delivered the prepared parts of the monument to Tobolsk. But only two years later, engineer Birkin undertook to erect a monument.

The weight of the monument is 187 tons, and the height is 17 meters. On the pedestal on the western side, facing Russia – the inscription “The Conqueror of Siberia Ermak”. On the sides of the obelisk, palm branches are carved in flat relief, on the plinth on the south side – a wreath with the date of the arrival of Yermak’s squad in Siberia “1581”, on the pedestal on the east side “Erected in 1839”. On the plinth on the north side is a wreath with the date of Yermak’s death “1584” (now the year of death is considered 1585).

On July 10, 1891, the monument was examined by the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (the future Emperor Nicholas II). He expressed a desire to make the monument more militant. After that, the cannons were dug into the ground, and chains were stretched between them. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were posts around the monument in a circle, with a picket fence between them. At the foot of the monument were placed cast-iron figures of the Archers, which decorated the monument on the north side.