Pyotr Sahaidachny left a noticeable mark in history. The struggle for the independence of Ukraine, which intensified during the reign of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, began precisely under Sahaidachny. His contribution to the culture of the country, the restoration of the Orthodox Church and the strengthening of the Cossacks have yet to be assessed by historians.
Pyotr Konashevich-Sagaydachny: short biography (before 1600)
In the historical literature there is very little information about the childhood and youth of the future Hetman of Ukraine. The most complete source of information about the beginning of Sagaidachny's life is a poem by the head of the Kyiv fraternal school, Kasiyan Sakovich. Peter was born around 1570. The place of birth can be established only based on the information from the poem - near the city of Przemysl. Looking at the map of the Carpathian region of that time, we can assume that this is the village of Kulchintsy. Parents were quite rich, but, unlike most other gentry, they adhered to the Orthodox faith.
Pyotr Sahaidachny studied at the first higher educational institution in Eastern Europe - the Ostroh Academy. After listening to the full course of the academy, he receives an excellent education. About the early period of the life of the legendary historical figure morenothing is known.
Appearance of Sagaidachny in Zaporozhye
The Cossacks at the beginning of the 17th century were the only pro-Ukrainian force. To achieve the effective operation of such a powerful force, the energy of the Cossacks had to be directed in the right direction. Sahaidachny initially set himself such a task and completed it.
It is difficult to judge the date of ascension to hetmanship, because there are several versions. Ukrainian historian M. Melnichuk believes that in 1598 Konashevich was already elected hetman. Mikhail Grushevsky in his work "History of Ukraine-Rus" expresses the opinion that the commander in 1601 only came to the Cossacks. However, blindly believing each of the above versions is also wrong.
The lack of information about the years of the commander's life after graduating from the Ostroh Academy suggests that he appeared in Zaporozhye sometime after 1595, but he could not immediately become a hetman. It was necessary to earn the trust of the Cossacks in battles. Most likely, Pyotr Konashevich-Sagaydachny (photo in the form of a portrait is attached) was elected to the position in 1602-1606.
Political views
The first hetman who dreamed of freeing himself from Polish rule was Piotr Konashevich-Sagaydachny. He made a good statesman. How did he plan to realize his dream? The idea was to gradually strengthen the Cossacks. It was impossible to do this by revolutionary methods at that time, because both Poland and the Ottoman Empire were very strong, and the Zaporizhian Armynot as organized as it should be.
Sagaidachny carried out an administrative reform. Now the territory of the Zaporizhian Army was divided into regiments with centers in large cities. The divisions were headed by colonels, who led all local authorities. As a result of this reform, it was possible to strengthen the vertical of power in Left-Bank Ukraine.
Pyotr Sahaidachny saw his political ideal as an independent Ukrainian state ruled by the Cossack political elite.
First trips
Pyotr Sahaidachny showed himself as a commander almost immediately after taking up a leadership position. The first of the famous campaigns took place in 1605. The Zaporizhian army then defeated Varna (a Turkish fortress). The symbolism of this victory is that on November 10, 1444, the Turks defeated the Poles near Varna. Pyotr Sahaidachny, together with his soldiers, approached the city from the sea, landed troops, making it unnoticed by the Turks, which made it possible to defeat the local garrison. The goal of the campaign was achieved, because the Cossacks freed the slaves, of which there were a lot, and scored a lot of trophies.
Every year after the campaign against Varna, Pyotr Sahaidachny and the Cossacks made sea trips. The main goal of each exit to the sea is the liberation of Ukrainians, who in the cities of the Black Sea region, controlled at that time by the Turks and the Crimean Khan, were sold in slave markets. In addition, the Cossacks brought a lot of different booty from campaigns. 1607 was marked by Cossack attacks on the Crimean Khanate (they burned down Perekop andOchakov). The following year, the Cossacks attacked the cities located in the south of the current Odessa region (Kiliya, Izmail), from where they brought many former slaves.
Legendary campaigns of 1614 and 1616
The series of sea trips is not over. Their power only grew. The campaign against Turkey itself was very distant and risky, but the goal was good - inflicting damage on the enemy and freeing the prisoners. Two thousand Cossacks on their seagulls reached the shores of Turkey. They were able to destroy the port city of Sinop. The monetary equivalent of the damage is estimated at PLN 40 million. In this campaign, the Cossacks released several thousand prisoners of Orthodox origin.
The importance of the campaign against Kafu in 1616 is difficult to overestimate. Peter Sahaidachny proved to be excellent as a commander, because success depended on cunning. At the exit from the Dnieper to the sea, the Cossacks stumbled upon a group of Turkish border galleys, with whom they had to fight. The Cossacks defeated and deceived the Turks: some of the gulls (and there were 150 in total) returned back to the Sich, and the rest hid near Ochakov. The Turks thought that the Cossacks had left. The Cossacks had no further obstacles. The victory in the Cafe made it possible to return to their families a huge number of Orthodox slaves.
Pyotr Konashevich-Sagaidachny. Historical portrait of the hetman in cultural politics
Sagaidachny was one of the most educated people of that time in Ukraine. Realizing that the Cossacks were in fact the military elite of society, but not every one of them had at least someeducation, he decided to join all the Cossacks in the Kiev Brotherhood. Purpose: activation of cultural life in Ukraine and raising the cultural level of the Cossacks.
Besides this, Petr Konashevich-Sagaydachny (a brief biography is given in the article) organized the restoration of the Orthodox department in Kyiv. After the proclamation of the Union of Brest in 1586, almost all churches and cathedrals became the property of the Greek Catholic Church. On the way from Moscow to Jerusalem, the main Orthodox hierarch Theophilus stopped in Kyiv, with whom the hetman met. He explained to the patriarch the situation that had happened to Ukrainian Orthodoxy. By the decision of Theophilus, taken under the influence of the request of the hetman, in 1615 the Kyiv Metropolis was restored; The Orthodox Church regained many possessions. The Metropolitan of Kyiv and 6 bishops were elected, who headed the departments in the field.
Participation of the Cossacks in the campaign against Moscow
In 1618, the Poles fought against the Moscow principality. Realizing that they really needed military assistance from Zaporozhye, the country's leadership turned to Sahaidachny. He, realizing the complexity of the situation of the Polish state, put forward serious political demands (we will consider them below), which were accepted. Only after agreeing on the possibility of fulfilling the requirements did the Cossack detachments set out on a campaign. The Cossacks moved into the interior of Muscovy quite quickly. During the campaign, 20 Russian cities were captured, some of them were burned by the Cossacks. The Zaporizhian Army andhere they used a trick, constantly changing the places of crossing the Oka River and not storming those fortresses, with the capture of which there could be problems. Petro Sahaidachny (the hetman's biography is very interesting) decided to simply bypass such cities as Kolomna and Zaraysk. Before the start of the assault on Moscow, a message was received that a peace treaty had been concluded between the Poles and the Muscovites.
Political successes of Sagaidachny
As a diplomat, this man also achieved a lot for Ukraine. The Commonwe alth was forced to make concessions and comply with the requirements of the Ukrainian side. In 1618, even before the Moscow campaign, the top of the Cossacks set the following conditions:
- abolition of Polish supervision of the Cossacks;
- legitimacy of the hetman's power over the entire territory of Ukraine;
- increasing the rights of the Cossacks;
- independence of the judiciary from the Poles;
- freedom of religion of the population.
The last requirement was aimed at strengthening the positions of Orthodoxy on the lands of Ukraine, because the Uniate priests carried out very active propaganda.
The Short Life of a General
The war between Poland and Turkey began almost immediately after the end of the military conflict with Muscovy. The Poles could not do without the Cossacks - the most serious military force in the kingdom. The fateful battle for the end of the hetman's life took place near Khotyn (now the Khmelnytsky region of Ukraine), in which he was badly wounded.
Historicthe portrait of the commander would be incomplete without information about his family. He was married, but in general family life did not work out. Probably, such people were born not for the family, but for the country, for the Motherland. After all, the hetman did not give his inheritance to his wife, but bequeathed it to the needs of churches, monasteries and the Kyiv Brotherhood.
April 22, 1622, the great hetman of the Zaporozhye Army died of wounds received near Khotyn.
Of course, history does not know the subjunctive mood, but, analyzing the course of events in 1618-1621, we can assume with great certainty that during the life of Sagaidachny, if not for that ill-fated injury, Ukraine could gain independence or very broad autonomy. It is likely that this would be achieved by Pyotr Sahaidachny, whose brief biography is unlikely to show the fullness and importance of his life for the country.
