The Social Composition of the Cossacks

The Cossacks can be divided into three major groups: the Zaporozhians, who usually stayed in the Sich and made frequent sea raids against Ukraine’s neighbors; the Registered Cossacks, who were paid for their service by the Polish government and had a number of privileges; the nadvirni Cossacks who were hired by the szlachta³⁶ to serve in their private armies to protect their estates from Tatar raids and put down peasant uprisings. The wealthiest group of these was the Registered Cossacks. They were paid by the king, owned property (sometimes quite large), and did not pay taxes. The Registered Cossacks’ hetman and colonels were not elected but appointed by the king. Registered Cossacks usually received good education of high European standards in Catholic or Orthodox collegiums and formed the Cossack aristocracy. Having families made them vulnerable in wars compared to the fearless Zaporozhians (who had nothing to loose). The Registered Cossacks tended to compromises and cautious behavior in military campaigns as they had what to loose. The registered Cossacks were used by the Polish government to protect Ukraine’s borders and to take part in wars against enemies of the Rzeczpospolita. They were also used by the Polish government in wars against the Zaporozhians. But it was difficult to force all Registered Cossacks to fight against the Zaporozhians in such conflicts. In Cossack-Polish wars the Registered Cossacks as well as the nadvirni Cossacks often fought on both sides; part of them supporting the Polish-Lithuanian government and the other part - the rebellious Zaporozhians.

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. Solovyov, V. Klyuchevsky, 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 (Yablonowsky, 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.

Turkish historians write about 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.

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. The most famous Ukrainian historian M. Hrushevsky, 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 wrote about 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”). Kulish believed that most of the Cossacks were not patriots but adventurous people who preferred exciting though dangerous life of the Cossacks to the peaceful but hardworking life of the peasants.

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 condemn 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 The Tripillian civilization was discovered in 1896 by the famous archeologist Innokentii Khvoika.

2 Goths were not nomads.

3 The name is derived from Norman, which means Viking.

4 Squirted from tubes or thrown in clay pots from catapults, Greek fire could burn even under water. The formula still remains a secret.

5 Some historians derive this name from Scandinavian “Sveineld.” Other historians think that ‘Sviatoslav’ is a Slavic name.

6 Because of his diplomatic skills, cultural interests, and codification of laws, Yaroslav became known as the Wise.

7 In Western European model the edicts of the Roman Catholic Church had priority over the edicts of the kings. The kings could not even be crowned without the Roman Pope’ permission.

8 According to a legend Vladimir wanted to choose Islam first, since it allowed polygamy and the prince was a famous womanizer. The thing that severely disappointed him in Islam was the prohibition of drinking alcohol. “Drinking is the joy of Rus – we cannot live without it,” Vladimir said.

9 The result of their efforts was a new language – Old Slavonic (Старославянский), based on Macedonian and Bulgarian dialects but understood in all Slavic lands. This language was used for writing books or in church; people rarely used it for speaking.

10 Icons – paintings on wood of holy figures or saints.

11 Fresco – a picture painted on a wall or ceiling while the plaster is still wet (to allow the paint to penetrate it and thus last longer).

12 Mosaic – a picture made by placing together small pieces of glass, stone, etc of different colors.

13 The French erected a monument in honor of Anna of Kiev.

14 Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, founded Moscow in 1147. His tomb is located in Kiev.

15 Golden Horde was the name of a state established by Batu at the lower Volga.

16 It was in a process of disintegration.

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

18 Salt was used not only for cooking but also for preservation of food.

19 He failed to do it however and was forced to pay tribute to the khan.

20 Other western parts of the former Kievan Rus were attached to Hungary in the 12^th -13^th centuries (Transcarpathia /Закарпаття); and to Moldavia in 1359 (Bykovyna).

21 He was 37 at that time. After the death of Jadviga at age 24, he married again three times.

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

23 The union was in a form of federation between the two countries.

24 The Sejm was made up of two chambers. Senators served in the upper chamber.

25Yuri Drohobych, for example, became rector of the famous Bologna University.

26 Collegium was a type of advanced-secondary school.

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

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

29 Crimean Tatars as well as Ottoman Turks were Muslims.

30 Yasyr – people captured during Tatar raids on Ukraine.

31 Literary the Turkish word kazak means a freebooter.

32 Dashkevych was also famous for military raids against the Tatars. In 1532 the angry Tatar khan tried to destroy Cherkassy as punishment for the Cossacks raids but failed to capture it.

33 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.

34 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”).

35 Foreign travelers wrote that drinking competitions were especially popular with the Cossacks.

36 Polish word for nobility.

30