Evaluation of Cossackdom

The Ukrainian Cossackdom is quite a complicated phenomenon. No wonder that historians give different assessments of it.

Many prominent Russian historians (S. Soloviov, V. Kliuchevskii, and others) usually gave negative evaluation of Cossackdom. They wrote that the Cossacks were anarchical people who wanted to live at the expense of the others (by plundering their neighbors).

Polish historians and writers (Jablonowski, H. Sienkiewicz, etc) usually associated Cossackdom with bloody mass killings. They wrote that the Cossacks were lazy and cruel drunkards who were preventing the spread of civilization over Ukrainian lands. Polish historians usually deny the existence of patriotic feelings among Ukrainian Cossacks. They stress that the Cossacks put their own interests over those of Ukraine, fought against each other, invited the Tatars and paid them with Ukrainian peasants.

In contrast to Ukrainian patriotic historians who describe the Sich as an organization of a democratic kind and the Cossacks as builders of Ukrainian statehood, their Russian and Polish colleagues say that the Sich was a typical ochlocracy (the rule of mob) and the Cossacks were against statehood as they did not want to be under control. Similar views were expressed by a German historian I. Francisk, who stated that the Cossacks valued the ‘wild freedom’ more than anything else.

Turkish historians describe the Cossacks as cruel people who often attacked, robbed, and killed the peaceful population of Turkey’s coastal line. They also stress the fact that Turkey did not attack Ukraine (it was the Crimean Tatars who did it) but the Cossack preferred to make raids against Turkey since the Ottoman Empire was richer than the Crimean Khanate. Turkish and Polish historians consider Cossack sea raids on Crimea and Turkey as acts of piracy since the aim of those raids was booty. They also say that the Zaporozhian Sich was a typical pirate republic.

Most Ukrainian historians justify the Cossacks’ activity. They say that Cossackdom was a protest against national and religious oppression. In their opinion the Cossacks defended Ukraine from Tatar raids and from the spread of Catholicism. They also try to prove that the Cossacks created the foundations of Ukrainian statehood which had a democratic character. M. Kostomarov, for example, called the Sich “a Christian Cossack republic.” The most famous Ukrainian historian M. Hrushevskyi, however, also wrote about some negative aspects of Cossackdom. He said, for example, that Cossacks considered war their profession and were ready to sell their services to those who paid more (Tatars, Turks, Moldavians, Russians, Austrians, etc). Thus, they were not reliable allies.

The famous Ukrainian writer and public figure P. Kulish at first described the Cossacks as real knights who defended Ukraine. Later he changed his opinion and said that Cossackdom was a revelation of the darkest and wildest instincts of the Ukrainian people. The Sich was not a democracy but rather a kind of anarchy. Thus the Cossacks were unable to create statehood. He wrote that the Cossacks ruined the culture and economy of Ukraine. Poland, in his opinion, was a positive force which wanted to harness the Cossacks to let the economy to develop. He criticized Ukrainian patriotic writers for idealization of the Cossacks: “we created for ourselves the heroes of honor from bandits” („Ми з розбишак наробили собі героїв честі”). In his opinion, the Cossacks are not pride but rather shame of Ukrainian history. Kulish believed that most of the Cossacks were not patriots but adventurous people who preferred an exciting though dangerous life of the Cossack to a peaceful but hard life of the peasant.

Thus, as before mentioned opinions indicate, it is difficult to give a fare assessment to Cossackdom. Ukrainian historians usually praise the Cossacks while foreign historians criticize them. But we can assume that the Cossacks had positive (defense of Ukraine and its Orthodox faith and liberation of captives) and negative (cruel raids against peaceful people and taking captives) traits. Cossackdom has been also a symbol of freedom for many generations of Ukrainians. According to numerous records of foreign contemporaries, the Cossacks valued freedom most of everything else on earth and were ready to sacrifice their lives for it. The history of Cossackdom inspired generations of Ukrainian patriots to struggle for independence.

[1] Under the Mongols, however, Ukrainian princes had wide autonomy. They paid taxes (tribute) to the khans and were almost complete masters of their lands.

[2] Most Ukraine belonged to Lithuania except Galicia, Bukovyna, and Transcarpathia.

[3] The Lithuanians made up only about 1/10 of the principality’s population.

[4] Salt was used not only for cooking but also for preservation of food.

[5] He failed to do it however and was forced to pay tribute to the khan and help him fight against Lithuanians and Poles.

[6] Now the city of Kholm belongs to Poland.

[7] By that time Jadwiga had been engaged to a young Austrian prince Wilhelm whom she really loved and even tried to flee to him but was caught. Jadwiga died immediately after the death of her only and new-born child. After the death of Jadwiga at age 24, Jagailo married again three times. Jadwiga was canonized for her pious and peace-loving activity. In the 20^th century the tomb of St Jadwiga was reopened and her body was exhumed. After the exhumation, 16 persons directly involved had died from uncertain causes within a short period of time.

[8] A good example of a formal union in today’s world is the union between Great Britain and Canada where the queen of Great Britain is the head of Canada, though in reality Canada is a fully independent country.

[9] It was signed in the city of Lublin in Poland.

[10] Poland thus became an elective monarchy, where the szlachta (nobility) played a dominant role.

[11] The union was in a form of federation between the two countries. Lithuania retained its own laws, its own administration, and its own army.

[12] The Sejm was made up of two chambers. Senators served in the upper chamber.

[13]Iurii Drohobych, for example, became rector of the famous Bologna University

[14] Collegium was a type of advanced-secondary school.

[15] This church was also widely known under the name of Uniate church (уніатська церква).

[16] The Gregorian calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII) was officially adopted in the Commonwealth.

[17] There are some impressive remains of these fortresses in present-day Crimea. The most popular with tourists are Genoese fortresses in Sudak and Theodosia.

[18] They were used in households (servants), agriculture, ships (rowers), and the Army (ianychars).

[19] Not only Muslim traders (Tatar and Turks) were attacked but also their Orthodox colleagues (from Moscow and Rzechpospolita).

[20] Hetman – the name of military leader in Rzechpospolita.

[21] Dashkevych was also famous for military raids against the Tatars. In 1532 the angry Tatar khan tried to destroy the town of Cherkassy as punishment for the Cossack raids but failed to capture it.

[22] In 1563 Vyshnevetsky at the head of Cossacks troops tried to capture Moldova and become king of that country. Turks helped Moldavians to defeat the Cossacks. Vyshnevetsky was brought to Istanbul and executed there.

[23] Boplan, a French engineer who served in Ukraine at that time wrote that during his 17-ears stay in Ukraine all hetmans lost their life in that way.

[24] This happened, for example, to the famous otaman Severyn Nalyvaiko in 1596.

[25] The laws were not codified in any document and were transmitted orally from generation to generation.

[26] Some historians point out that Cossacks took Christians as iasyr while Tatars did not take Muslims as iasyr.

[27] This word apparently comes from Turkish ‘Sayka’, Italian ‘Saicca’ or Bulgarian ‘шайка’ which means a ‘pirate ship.’

[28] This famous in Cossack military history capture of Kaffa was done at the request of the Khan Shagin-Girei, who needed Cossacks’ help in a civil war against his brother Mahomet supported by Turkey.

[29] There was a popular saying, “If he was not in a sea raid he cannot be called a Cossack.” („Не козак той, хто не був у морському поході”).

[30] In this battle Bohdan Khmelnytskyi’s father was killed; Bohdan himself was taken prisoner.

[31] Foreign travelers wrote that drinking competitions were especially popular with the Cossacks.

[32]„ Козацька здобиченька марно пропадає. Тиждень козак заробляє, за один день пропиває”.

[33] Cossacks fulfilled that promise and that fact stopped the movement of Greek Catholic priests to Kyiv area.

[34] Many Cossacks ended their lives in Orthodox monasteries as monks.

[35] The name comes from the word ‘register’ (official list).

[36] They were paid by magnates and received from them landed property.

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