The Cossacks

Since the fall of Kyiv in 1240, the western lands of Galicia and Volhynia had served as the stage for major developments in Ukrainian history. However, by the end of the 16^th century, the focus of events shifted back to the east, to the lands of the Dnieper basin that had long been partially depopulated. In that vast frontier, which at that time was specifically referred to as Ukraina – the land of the periphery of the civilized world – the age-old struggle of the sedentary population against the nomads flared up with renewed intensity, fueled by the bitter confrontation between Christianity and Islam. The oppressive conditions that obtained in the settled western areas provided numerous recruits who preferred the dangers of frontier life to serfdom. As a result, a new class of Cossack-frontiersmen emerged. Initially, the Cossacks concentrated on pushing back the Tatars, thereby opening up the frontier to colonization.

But as they honed their military and organizational skills and won ever more impressive victories against the Tatars and their Ottoman Turkish overlands, Ukrainian society came to perceive the Cossacks not only as champions against Muslim threat, but also as defenders against the religionational and socioeconomic oppression of the Polish szlachta. Gradually, moving to the forefront of Ukrainian society, the Cossacks became heavily involved in the resolution of these central issues in Ukrainian life and, for the next several centuries, provided Ukrainian society with the leadership it had lost as a result of the Polonization of the Ukrainian nobility.

Of Turkic origin, the word Cossack originally referred to the free, masterless men who lacked a well-defined place in society and who lived on its unsettled periphery. Slavic Cossacks first appeared in the 1480s, but it was not until the development of serfdom in the mid 16^th century that their numbers increased significantly. Originally the bulk of Cossacks were runaway peasants, although they also included burghers, defrocked priests, and impecunious or adventure-seeking noblemen. Although Poles, Belorussians, Russians, Moldavians, and even Tatars joined the ranks of the Cossacks, the overwhelming majority of those who lived in the Dnieper basin were Ukrainians. A Russian variant of Cassackdom evolved farther to the east, along the Don river.

The Zaporizhian Sich was on the remote island of Mala Khortytsia below the Dnieper rapids (za porohamy) far beyond the reach of government authorities. Any Christian male, irrespective of his social background, was free to come to this island fortress, with its rough wood-and-thatch barracks, and to join the Cossack brotherhood. He was also free to leave at will. Women and children, regarded as a hindrance in the steppe, were barred from entry. Refusing to recognize the authority of any ruler, the Zaporozhians governed themselves according to traditions and customs that evolved over the generations. All had equal rights and could participate in the frequent, boisterous councils (rady) in which the side that shouted loudest usually carried the day.

These volatile gatherings elected and, with equal ease, deposed the Cossack leadership, which consisted of a hetman or otaman who had overall command, adjutants (osavuly), a chancellor (pysar), a quartermaster (obozny), and a judge (suddia). Each kurin, a term that referred to the Sich barracks and, by extension, to the military unit that lived in them, elected a similar subordinate group of officers, or starshyna. During campaigns, the authority of these officers was absolute, including the right to impose the death penalty. But in the peacetime their power was limited. Generally, the Zaporozhians numbered about 5000-6000 men of whom about 10% served on a rotating basis as the garrison of the Sich, while the rest were engaged in campaigns or in peacetime occupations. The economy of the Sich consisted mainly of hunting, fishing, beekeeping, and salt making at the mouth of the Dnieper. Because the Sich lay on the trade route between the Commonwealth and the Black Sea, trade also played an important role. Despite the ethos of brotherhood and equality that the Zaporozhians espoused, socioeconomic distinctions and tensions gradually developed between the wealthier Cossack officers (starshyna) and the rank and file (chern) and caused recurrent upheavals at the Sich.

Task 2. Pronounce the words and learn their meanings:

frontier [‘fr/\ntjә]	rough [r/\f]
fuel [‘fjuәl]	thatch [θæt∫]
to hone [houn]	equal [‘i:kwәl]
threat [θret]	adjutant [‘æd utәnt]
forefront [‘fכּ:fr/\nt]	quartermaster [kwo:tә,ma:stә]
issue [‘isju, ‘i∫u:]	judge [d /\d ]
Christian [‘kristjәn]	volatile [‘volәtail]

Task 3. Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following word combinations and find the sentences with them in the text:

The age-old struggle; to provide smb/smth with smb/smth; volatile gatherings; to impose the death penalty.

Task 4. Give English equivalents for the following word combinations:

Осілі люди; вдосконавлювати (свою) майстерність; незалежно від соціального стану; гирло Дніпра.

Task 5. Make up your own sentences with the word combinations from tasks 3, 4.

Task 6. Pay attention to the pronunciation of the ending –ed and translate the following words in Participle II into Ukrainian:

Depopulated; renewed; fueled; settled; well-defined; defrocked.

Task 7. Explain word-building for:

Frontiersmen; depopulated; thereby; overlord; forefront; masterless; runaway.

Task 8. Give synonyms for:

Champion; to perceive; remote; frequent; boisterous.

Task 9. Pay attention to the pronunciation of the following adverbs and give their Ukrainian versions.

Initially; gradually; heavily; specifically; significantly; equally; generally; mainly; originally; partially.

Task 10. Ask your friend: If he can explain etymology of the word “Ukraina”.

When a class of Cossack emerged.

What role the Cossacks played in Ukrainian society.

If the word “Cossack” is of Turkic origin.

Whether Slavic Cossacks first appeared in the 15th or 16th century.

What he knows about the Zaporozhian Sich.

Task 1. Read the text to yourself: