In the Russian culture at the end of the 19th century, the personality of Ivan the Terrible has been regarded as the embodiment of tyranny and despotism. The image of the villain-king was captured in his works by many artists - V. Schwartz, M. Antokolsky, I. Repin. Another historical character that worried the minds of the creative intelligentsia was Ermak and the related topic of Siberian conquest. 

A significant canvas by Rostworowski, which has another name found in the sources, ‘Yermak’s ambassadors bow low to Ivan the Terrible, bringing the conquered Siberian kingdom’, was in tune with the spirit of the times and was a clear evidence of the changes that took place at the Academy of Arts at the end of the 19th century. It was during this period that the costume class appeared, where sitters posed in clothes that were diverse in time and character, and students worked in a la prima style, which made it possible to quickly grasp the color relationships of the folds of clothes. Composition in painting has become a means of conveying reality and approach to any biblical or historical topic as a fact that actually took place. In the decisions of academic programs appeared optically accurate transmission of form, a convincing reproduction of reflexes and color halftones. 

All these changes can be noted in the picture of Rostworowski, the manner of painting in which is distinguished by the use of black-and-white and coloristic construction of volumes. Using the experience of realistic painting of the Wanderers, the artist gives a certain characteristic to each figure in the picture, especially deeply analyzing the image of Ivan the Terrible. The picture captures the moment when Yermak’s ambassadors, headed by Ataman Ivan the Ring, offer the tsar a bow from Yermak and the ‘gift’: ‘I am sending the whole Siberian country as a treat, give pardon to Yermak! ’ The terrible tsar Ivan Vasilyevich behaved as the song goes - ‘he changed his anger to mercy, forgave the bold robbers and granted deservedly’.