Zaporozhian Cossacks

Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of Turkey. Painted by Ilya Repin from 1880 to 1891.

The Zaporozhian Cossacks (Ukrainian: Запорожці, Russian: Запорожцы) were Cossacks who lived in Zaporizhya, in Central Ukraine. The Zaporozhian Host grew rapidly in the 15th century by serfs fleeing the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth. .

The name "Zaporozhtsi" actually came from the location of their base/fortress, the Zaporozhian Sich, which was originally built in the area was known as Zaporizhia, (from two Ukrainian words, "Za" (meaning after/behind "За") and "Prohy" (rapids "Пороги").

During the course of the 16th, 17th and well into the 18th centuries the Zaporozhian Cossascks became a strong political and military force that challenged the authority of Poland-Lithuania, the Ottoman Empire and its vassal the Crimean Khanate, and the Tsardom of Russia. The Host went through a series of conflicts and alliances involving the three powers before being destroyed in the late 18th century by the Russian Empire.

Organisation and history

The Zaporozhian Host was led by a Hetman, aided by a head secretary, head judge, head archivist and the supreme government body called the Sichova Rada (council).

Some sources refer to the Zaporizhian Sich as a "cossack republic" [2], as the highest power in it belonged to the assembly of all its members, and because the leaders (starshyna) were elected. The Cossacks formed a society (hromada) that consisted of "kurens" (several hundreds of cossacks). There was a cossack military court, which severely punished violence and stealing among compatriots, bringing women to the Sich, consumption of alcohol in periods of conflict, etc. There were active Orthodox churches and schools, providing religious and secular education for children.

At that time, the Cossacks had one of the finest infantries in Europe, since their soldiers could fight without the aid of cavalry.

In times of peace, Cossacks were engaged in their occupations, living with their families, studying strategy, languages and educating recruits. As opposed to other armies, Cossacks were free to choose their preferred weapon. Wealthy Cossacks preferred to wear heavy armour, while infantrymen preferred to wear simple clothes, although they also occasionally wore chain mail.

In times of war, all Cossacks were divided into regiments and served as a regular soldiers.

Camp of the Zaporizhian Cossacks. Painting by Józef Brandt.

After the Treaty of Pereyaslav in 1654, the territory became a suzerainty under the protection of the Russian Tsar, although for a considerable period of time it enjoyed nearly complete autonomy. After the death in 1657 of the Cossack leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, his successor, Ivan Vyhovsky, alarmed by the growing Russian interference interference in the affairs of the Hetmanate, initiated a turn towards Poland. An attempt was made to return to the three-constituent Commonwealth of nations with the Zaporozhian cossacks joining the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth by signing the Treaty of Hadiach (1658). The treaty, ratified by the Polish Sejm (parliament), was however rejected at the Hermanivka Rada by the Cossack rank and file, who would not accept a union with Catholic Poland, which they perceived as an oppressor of Orthodox Christianity. The angered cossacks executed Polkovnyks (colonels) Prokip Vereshchaka and Stepan Sulyma, Vyhovsky's associates at the Polish Sejm and Vyhovsky himself narrowly escaped death.

In the late 17th century, the Host comprised the Cossack Hetmanate of Left-bank Ukraine, and Zaporizhia, centered around the fortress of Zaporizhian Sich. After Khmelnytsky's death, the Zaporozhians maintained a separate government from Kiev, where the hetmans ruled. The Zaporozhians elected their own leaders, known as Kosh Otaman, for one-year terms. In this period, friction between the cossacks of Kiev and the Zaporozhians escalated.

Cossacks who in the past fought for their independence from Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which attempted to turn them into serfs, were involved into several uprisings against the Russian Tsar, in fear of losing their privileges and autonomy. In 1709, for example, the Zaporozhian Host led by Kost Hordiienko joined Hetman Ivan Mazepa against Russia. Mazepa previously a trusted adviser and closer friend to the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, allied himself with Charles XII of Sweden against Peter I.However after Sweden's defeat at the Battle of Poltava Peter ordered a retaliatory destruction of the Sich.

With the death of Mazepa in Bessarabia in 1710, his council elected his former general chancellor, Pylyp Orlyk, as his successor. Orlyk issued the project of the Constitution, where he promised to limit the authority of the Hetman, preserve the privileged position of Zaporozhians, take measures towards achieving social equality among them, and steps towards the separation of Ukraine from the Russian State—should he manage to obtain power in Ukraine. With the support of Charles XII, Orlyk made an alliance with the Crimean Tatars and Ottomans against Russia, but following the early successes of their 1711 attack on Russia, their campaign was defeated, and Orlyk returned into exile yet again. The Zaporozhians built a new Sich under Ottoman protection, the Oleshky Sich[3] on the lower Dnieper.

Although some of the Zaporozhian cossacks returned to Moscow's protection, their popular leader Kost Hordiienko was resolute in his anti-Russian attitude and no rapprochement was possible until the leader's death in 1733.

Russian hegemony

File:Zapor.jpg

A Zaporozhian Cossack Attack, by Franz Roubaud.

Over the years the friction between the Cossacks and the Russian tsarist government lessened, and privileges were traded for a reduction in Cossack autonomy. The Ukrainian Cossacks who did not side with Mazepa elected Ivan Skoropadsky, one of the "anti-Mazepist" Polkovnyks (Colonels) as their Hetman. While advocating for the preservation for the Hetmanate autonomy and privileges of Cossack nobility, Skoropadsky was careful to avoid open confrontation, and remained loyal to the union with Russia. To accommodate Russian military needs, Skoropadsky allowed for stationing of ten Russian regiments in the territory of the Hetmanate. At the same time, Cossacks took part in the construction, fortification and channel development projects in Saint Petersburg, to establish a new Northern Russian capital. Many Cossacks did not return, and it is often stated that Saint Peterburg "was built on Cossack bones".

In 1734, as Russia was preparing for a new war against the Ottoman Empire, an agreement was made between Russia and the Zaporozhian cossacks. Under the Treaty of Lubny, the Zaporozhian Cossacks regained all of their former lands, privileges, laws and customs, in exchange for serving under the command of a Russian Army stationed in Kiev. A new sich (Nova Sich) was built to replace the one that had been destroyed by Peter I. Concerned about the possibility of Russian interference in Zaporozhia's internal affairs, the Cossacks began to settle their lands with Ukrainian peasants fleeing serfdom in Polish and Russian proper. By 1762, 33,700 Cossacks and over 150,000 peasants populated Zaporozhia.

By the late 18th century, much of the Cossack officer class in Ukraine was incorporated into the Imperial Russian nobility (Dvoryanstvo), but many of the rank and file Cossacks, including a substantial portion of the old Zaporozhians, were reduced to peasant status. They were able to maintain their freedom and continued to provide refuge for those fleeing serfdom in Russia and Poland, including followers of the Russian Cossack Yemelyan Pugachev, which aroused the anger of Russian Empress Catherine II. As a result, by 1775 the number of runaway serfs from the Hetmanate and Polish-ruled Ukraine to Zaporizhiya rose to 100,000.

After the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, which annexed the Crimean Khanate into Russia, the need for further southern frontier defence (which the Zaporozhians carried out) no longer existed. Colonisation of New Russia began. This created new tensions between the Zaporozhian cossacks and the Serbian colonists who were invited to settle new colonies, such as New Serbia and Slavyanoserbia. This escalated conflicts over land ownership with the Cossacks. As a result, the Zaporozhians became increasingly alarmed by the Russian interests in developing the region.

Destruction of the Zaporozhian Sich (1775)

The decision to destroy the Sich was adopted at the court council of Empress Catherine II on May 7, 1775. General Pyotr Tekeli received orders to occupy the main Zaporozhian fortress, the Sich, and liquidate it. The plan was kept secret and regiments returning from the Russo-Turkish war, in which Cossacks also participated, were mobilized for the operation. They included 31 regiments (65,000 men in total). The attack took place on May 15, and continued to June 8. The order was given by Grigory Potemkin, who formally became an honorary Zaporozhian Cossack under the name of Hrytsko Nechesa a few years prior. Potemkin, in his turn, was given a direct order from Empress Catherine II, which she explained in her Decree of August 8, 1775:

With this we would like to let our Empire and our faithful subjects be known that the Zaporozhian Sich is now destroyed and the name of Zaporozhian Cossacks is to be no more as well, mentioning of whom will be considered no less as an affront to our Imperial Majesty for their deeds and insolence for disobeying the will of our Imperial Majesty.

On June 5 1775, General Tekeli's forces divided into 5 detachments and surrounded the Sich with artillery and infantry. The lack of southern borders and enemies in the past years had a profound effect on the combat-ability of the Cossacks, who realised the Russian infantry was to destroy them only after being surrounded. To trick the Cossacks, a rumour was spread that the army was crossing Cossack lands en route to guard the borders. The surprise encirclement put a devastating blow to the morale of the Ukrainians. In addition, the capital of the republic was terminated by destroying the port, killing guards silently, and surrounding the Citadel.

Petro Kalnyshevsky was given two hours to decide on the Empress's ultimatum. Under the guidance of a starshyna Lyakh, behind Kalnyshevky's back a conspiracy was formed with a group of 50 Cossacks to go fishing in the river Ingul next to the Southern Buh in Ottoman provinces. The pretext was enough to allow the Russians to let the Cossacks out of the siege, who were joined by five thousand others. The fleeing Cossacks traveled to the Danube Delta where they formed the new Danube Sich, under the protectorate of the Ottoman Empire.

When Tekeli became aware of the escape, there was little left to do for the remaining 12 thousand Cossacks. The Sich was razed to the ground. The Cossacks were disarmed in the mostly bloodless operation while their treasury and archives were confiscated. Petro Kalnyshevsky was arrested and exiled to the Solovki, where he lived to 112 years of age. Most upper level Cossack Council members, such as Pavlo Holovaty and Ivan Hloba, were repressed and exiled as well, although lower level commanders and rank and file Cossacks were allowed to join the Russian husar and dragoon regiments.

Aftermath

The after effects of the Sich's destruction did not aid the Russian Empire. Supporting the increase in the privileges gained by the higher ranking leadership put a strain in the budget, whilst the stricter regulations of the regular Russian Army prevented many other Cossacks from integrating. The existence of the Danubian Sich, who would now support the Ottoman Empire in the next war was also troublesome for the Russians. In 1784 Potemkin formed the Host of the Loyal Zaporozhians (Войско верных Запорожцев) and settled them between the Southern Buh and Dniester rivers. For their invaluable service during the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792 they were rewarded with the Kuban land and migrated there in 1792.

In 1828, the Danubian Sich ceased to exist after it was pardoned by Emperor Nicholas I, and under amnesty settled on the shores of the Northern Azov between Berdyansk and Mariupol forming the Azov Cossack Host. Finally in 1860 they too migrated to the Kuban and merged with the Black Sea Cossacks to form the Kuban Cossack Host. The Kuban Cossacks served Russia's interests right up to the October Revolution and their descendants are now undergoing active regeneration both culturally and militarily. The 30,000 descendants of those cossacks who refused to return to Russia in 1828 still live in the Danube delta region of Romania, where they pursue the traditional Cossack lifestyle of hunting and fishing and are known as Rusnaks.

Legacy

Although in 1775 the Zaporozhian Host formally ceased to exist, its has left a profound cultural and a political as well as a military legacy on Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Turkey and many other states that came in contact with it.

The shifting alliances of the Cossacks generated considerable controversy. Their independence and will shaped and influenced the idea of Ukrainian self-determination. The shifting of alliances is interpreted by some as a way of survival for the Host, and the ultimate destruction of the Sich in 1775 is interpreted as a blow against Ukrainian self-determination and independence..

Some of the descendants of the Zaporozhian Sich Cossacks, the Kuban Cossacks remain loyal towards Russia, many fought in the local conflicts following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and today, just like before the revolution when they made up the private guard of the Emperor, the majority of the Kremlin Presidential Regiment is made from Kuban Cossacks

For Poland-Lithuania, the Zaporozhian Cossacks, and the Khmelnytskyi Uprising effectively marked the begging of its end with the Deluge, which led to the gradual demise of the Commonwealth ending the Partitions of Poland in the the late 18th century.

Similar fate awaited both the Crimean Khanate and the Ottaman Empire, having endured numerous raids and attacks from both of them, the Zaporozhian Cossacks aided the Russian Army to end Turkey's ambitions of expanding into northern and central Europe, and like Poland, after the loss of Crimea, the Ottoman Empire began to demise.

File:Greater Coat of Arms of Ukraine.svg

The importance of Zaporozhian Cossacks in shaping the Ukrainian identity means that the Greater Coat of arms of Ukraine features a Zaporozhian Cossack figure on the right of the national emblem

However the biggest historical legacy of the Zaporozhian Cossacks lies in modern Ukraine. It was their independence and will, and the memory left by their demise that would in the latter half of the 19th century shape and influence the idea of Ukrainian Self determination and independence. Ukrainian historians, such as Adrian Kaschenko (1858-1921) , Olena Apanovich and others go on to interpret the final abolishment of the Zaporizhian Sich in 1775, as the destruction of the Cossack historic stronghold perceived as the bastion of protection of the Ukrainians and their ways of life, was the final blow that brought Ukrainians to the total submission of the Russian Empire.

The Ukrainian aspect of the Zaporozhians would be the stimulus of the emerging Ukrainian self awareness in the middle of the 19th century and culminate in a distinct Ukrainian nationality who would claim the Zaporozhian Cossacks as their progenitors. During the Soviet times this point of view was slightly watered down in order to prevent the rise of nationalist sentiment, but at the same time supported (and becoming official) to create a negative image of the Russian Imperialist policies, yet retaining the Russophilic tendency of the Zaporozhians to justify Ukraine being part of the Soviet Union.

Zaporozhian attire, songs and music found its way into official state dance and music ensembles, which stylized the image of Ukraine in the years to come. Since the Independence of Ukraine in late 1991, attempts at regenerating the Cossack lifestyle have been made, although these attempts have diverged more into politics, horsemanship and cultural endeavors.

References

In-line

See also

• Cossack host
• Dmytro Yavornytsky
• Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks
• Khmelnytsky Uprising
• Kuban Cossacks
• Jewish Cossacks
• Sloboda Ukraine
• Zaporizhian Sich
• Tatar invasions
• Crimean Khanate
• Mezhyhirskyi Monastery

External links

• Zaporizhian Cossaks at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
• Zaporizhia in The Encyclopedia of Ukraine
• Story about Zaporizhean Cossaks by A.Kaschenko Template:Uk icon
• Cossack Navy 16th - 17th Centuries