Among the commanders who led the struggle of the Zaporozhye Cossacks against the Polish intervention in the middle of the 17th century, the most famous is Colonel Ivan Bohun. In this difficult time for his Motherland, he proved himself not only as a true patriot, but also as a gifted military leader, capable of conducting military operations both in the field and in the defense of cities. Many of the operations he conducted entered the annals of history and became a kind of training aids for future commanders.
Childhood and youth hidden in history
History has not preserved reliable information about his childhood and early years of life. Even the date of birth is known only approximately. It is believed that the future colonel was born in 1618 in Bratslav. Even his name causes controversy among researchers. Some see it only as a nickname, since the word "bohun" in Ukrainian means a pole for drying nets. Many believe that Ivan spent his youth in the Wild Field - the steppe region between the Dniester and the Don.
Start of serving the Motherland
EarliestDocumentary information about Ivan Bohun indicates his participation in the uprising of the Hetmanate against the gentry, led by the head of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, Yakov Ostryanin. The famous episode of the struggle for national independence, the Azov seat, is also associated with his name. For five years (1637 - 1642), the Cossacks, together with the Don Cossacks, opposed the Turkish troops of Sultan Ibrahim, who besieged the city of Azov. In this heroic defense, the Cossack detachment under the command of Bohun guarded a strategically important site from enemies - the Borevsky ferry across the Seversky Donets.
When in 1648 an uprising broke out under the leadership of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, caused by the strengthening of Polish feudal oppression and a decrease in Cossack privileges, Ivan Bohun was among its leaders. A year later, as a Vinnitsa colonel, he led the several-year-long defense against the Polish troops of Vinnitsa and Bratslav. Here, with extraordinary force, his military talent manifested itself, which allowed him, with the support of the civilian population of the city, to win a brilliant victory.
Battle of Berestets and campaign in Moldova
The next bright episode of his battle path was the battle between the troops of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks and the forces of the Commonwe alth, which took place in early June 1651 in the town of Berestechko on the Styr River. In this battle, the Cossacks, betrayed by their Tatar allies, were defeated, but thanks to Bohun they managed to adequately get out of the encirclement and continue the fight. Chosen as a hetman shortly before, he proved himself to be a wiseand a sensible commander.
In 1653, the Cossack army under the command of Ivan Bohun and Timothy Khmelnitsky, the son of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, made a campaign in Moldova. This operation ended with the death of the son of the hetman of the Zaporozhye army and the defeat of the Cossacks. Finding himself in an extremely difficult situation, Bohun managed to adequately withdraw his troops from the encirclement and take out the body of Timothy. Until the end of the next year, 1654, he participated in numerous campaigns against the troops of the Commonwe alth and the Tatar detachments that entered into an alliance with them. The main areas of his military operations at that time were Bratslavshchina and Umanshchina.
Supporter of the independence of the Zaporozhian Army
It is known that Ivan Bohun was a fierce opponent of any attempts to infringe on the rights of Cossack liberty. This was the reason for his extremely negative attitude towards the Bila Tserkva peace signed by Bogdan Khmelnitsky in September 1651. By concluding this agreement with the Poles, the Ukrainian hetman deprived the Cossacks of all the privileges they gained during the armed uprising of 1648.
For the same reason, Bohun was also opposed to rapprochement with Moscow. When in 1654 in Pereyaslavl a decision was made nationwide to unite the territory owned by the Zaporozhye Host with Russia, the Vinnitsa colonel did not attend the Rada and did not take an oath to the Russian Tsar together with everyone. When Bohdan Khmelnytsky died, Bohun supported hetmans Ivan Vyhovsky and Yuriy Khmelnytsky in every possible way in their activities aimed at establishing the independence of the Cossacks in solvingissues of domestic and foreign policy. But at the same time, he condemned their attempts to rapprochement with the original enemies of the Cossacks - Poland and Turkey.
The trip to Poland and the reason for the failure
In 1656, a significant Cossack formation under the command of Hetman Anton Zhdanovich made a multi-month raid on the territory of Poland. Its purpose was to help the Wallachian and Swedish troops fighting against the units of the Polish king. Among other commanders was Ivan Bohun. Paving their way with fire and sword, the Cossacks reached Krakow, Brest and Warsaw. But then the unexpected happened: the Cossacks, having learned that the campaign was being carried out without the consent of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, to whom they swore allegiance, refused to continue the war. As a result, the army of many thousands returned to the Hetmanate in the summer of 1657.
Opponent of the Vygov Agreement
Two years later, an event occurred that deeply offended the patriotic feelings of Ivan Bohun. In September 1658, in the city of Gadyach, an agreement was signed between Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky and Poland. According to this document, the entire territory of the Zaporozhye Host was to become part of the Commonwe alth as the third member of the bilateral union of Poland and Lithuania. This shameful act was not destined to get legal force, as it was not ratified by the Polish Sejm.
However, he caused an uprising raised by Bohun and his supporters against Vyhovsky. As a result, the traitor of national interests was defeated and wasforced to flee to Poland. In the same way, the Vinnitsa colonel managed to resist Yuri Khmelnitsky, who signed the Slaboschensky treaty in 1660, which infringed on the rights of the Cossacks.
The sunset of a military career
A year later, Bohun became a colonel of the Principality of Lithuania, and in 1661, returning to his homeland, he participated together with Yuri Khmelnitsky in battles against two Russian governors - Grigory Kosagov and Grigory Ramodanovsky. In these battles, military luck turns away from him. To top it off, he is soon arrested by the Poles.
After spending some time in prison, he was released by the king, but on the condition that he would take part in their campaign on the Left Bank. The plans of Jan Casimir included fire and sword to conquer the entire local population from Kyiv to Novgorod Seversky. With a heavy heart, Ivan Bogun went on this campaign, but he had no choice.
Opposition to the Poles and tragic death
History shows that from the first days the Cossack colonel begins to harm the Poles and tries in every possible way to interfere with their plans. At the same time, he protects from destruction the cities captured by the units under his command. Since the army of Jan Casimir did not have sufficient forces to create garrisons in the occupied territories, this resulted in uprisings of the inhabitants of many settlements left behind by the advancing regiments.
When the army of the Commonwe alth laid siege to Hlukhiv, Ivan Bohun did his best to help its inhabitants. Since he was a member of the military councilPolish army, he knew all the details of the upcoming assault, which he handed over to the defenders of the city. In addition to important operational information, he managed to smuggle stocks of gunpowder and cores to the besieged. His plans even included a surprise attack by the Poles from the rear when they attacked the city.
But, unfortunately, this activity became known to the king, and he ordered the immediate arrest of Bohun. Soon a meeting of the field military court took place, which sentenced the Cossack colonel and several of his supporters to death. The sentence was carried out immediately. It happened on February 17, 1664. This is how the hero of the Zaporozhye army Ivan Bohun died, whose biography is inextricably linked with the struggle of the Hetmanate against the Polish invaders.
Ukraine has preserved the memory of its valiant son. After the revolution, the regiment commanded by Nikolai Shchors was named Bogunovskiy. The Kyiv Military Lyceum is named after him. In a number of cities in Ukraine, streets are named after Ivan Bohun, and in 2007 the National Ukrainian Bank issued a coin with his image. The memory of the hero was preserved in the folk song composed in his honor, popular in Ukraine.
