Petro Sagaidachny: short biography, interesting facts, historical portrait

Pyotr Sahaidachnyi left a notable mark in history. The struggle for Ukraine's independence, which intensified during the reign of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, began precisely at Sagaidachny. His contribution to the culture of the country, the restoration of the Orthodox Church and the strengthening of the Cossacks have yet to be appreciated by historians.

Petr Konashevich-Sahaidachny: a brief biography (before 1600)

In the historical literature very little information is given 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 the poem of the head of the Kiev Brotherhood School Kasiyan Sakovich. Peter was born around 1570. Place of birth can be established only on the basis of information from the poem - near the city of Przemysl. Having looked at the map of the Carpathians of that time, we can assume that this is the village of Kulchintsy. The parents were quite rich, but, unlike most other noblemen, adhered to the Orthodox faith.

Pyotr Sagaidachny studied at the first higher educational institution in Eastern Europe - the Ostroh Academy. After listening to the full course of the academy, he gets an excellent education. About the early period of life of the legendary historical personality, nothing is known.

The appearance of Sagaidachny in Zaporozhye

The Cossacks in 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 channeled in the right direction. Sahaidachny initially set himself such a task and fulfilled it.

About the date of the ascent to the Hetmanate is difficult to judge, because there are several versions. Ukrainian historian M. Melnychuk believes that in 1598 Konashevich was already elected hetman. Mikhail Grushevsky in his work "The History of Ukraine-Rus" expresses the opinion that the commander in 1601 only came to the Cossacks. However, it is also incorrect to believe each of the above versions blindly.

The lack of information on the years of life of the commander after the termination of the Ostroh Academy suggests that he appeared in Zaporozhye somewhere after 1595, but he could not immediately become a hetman. It was necessary to earn the confidence of the Cossacks in the battles. Most likely, Peter Konashevich-Sagaidachny (photo as a portrait attached) was elected to the post in 1602-1606.

Political Views

The first hetman who dreamed of freeing himself from the Polish rule was Peter Konashevich-Sagaidachny. A statesman from him turned out good. How did he plan to realize his dream? The idea was to gradually strengthen the Cossacks. It was impossible to do this at that time by revolutionary methods, because both Poland and the Ottoman Empire were very strong, and the Zaporozhye Army was not organized as it should be.

Sahaidachny conducted administrative reform. Now the territory of the Zaporozhye Army was divided into regiments with centers in large cities. At the head of the units were colonels, who led the entire local government. As a result of this reform, it was possible to strengthen the vertical of power in the Left Bank Ukraine.

The political ideal Peter Sagaidachny saw an independent Ukrainian state ruled by the Cossack political elite.

First trips

Pyotr Sagaidachny as commander showed himself almost immediately after taking up a leadership position. The first of the famous expeditions took place in 1605. The Zaporizhian army then defeated Varna (the Turkish fortress). The symbolism of this victory is that on November 10, 1444, the Turks at Varna defeated the Poles. Pyotr Sagaidachny together with his soldiers got to the city from the sea, landed the landing, making it unnoticed for the Turks, which allowed to defeat the local garrison. The goal of the campaign was achieved, because the Cossacks freed the slaves, which were very many, and collected a lot of trophies.

Every year after the march to Varna, Pyotr Sagaidachny and the Cossacks marched. The main goal of each outlet to the sea is the liberation of Ukrainians, who were sold in the slave markets in the cities of the Black Sea region controlled at that time by the Turks and the Crimean Khan. In addition, the Cossacks brought from the hikes a lot of different prey. 1607 was marked by attacks by Cossacks on the Crimean Khanate (Perekop and Ochakov were burned). The following year, the Cossacks attacked the cities in the south of the present Odessa region (Kiliya, Izmail), from which many former slaves were brought.

Legendary campaigns of 1614 and 1616 years

A series of sea expeditions did not end. Their strength only increased. The march to Turkey itself was very remote and risky, but the goal was good - damage to the enemy and the release of 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 damage is estimated at 40 million zlotys. In this campaign, the Cossacks liberated several thousand prisoners of Orthodox origin.

The importance of a trip to Cafu in 1616 is difficult to overestimate. Peter Sagaidachny as a commander proved to be excellent, because success depended on cunning. At the exit from the Dnieper in the sea, the Cossacks stumbled upon a group of Turkish border galleys with which they had to engage. The Cossacks defeated and tricked the Turks: some of the gulls (and there were 150 in all) returned to Sich, and the rest hid near Ochakov. The Turks thought that the Cossacks had left. There were no further obstacles for the Cossacks. The victory in the Cafe gave an opportunity to return to their families a large number of Orthodox slaves.

Petr Konashevich-Sagaidachny. The historical portrait of the hetman in cultural policy

Sahaidachny was one of the most educated people of that time in Ukraine. Realizing that the Cossacks were in fact the military elite of the society, but far from each of them had at least some education, he decided to join all the Cossacks in the Kyiv Brotherhood. The goal: the revitalization of cultural life in Ukraine and the raising of the cultural level of the Cossacks.

In addition, Petr Konashevich-Sagaidachny (a short biography is given in the article) organized the restoration of the Orthodox Department in Kiev. After the proclamation of the Brest Union of 1586, virtually all churches and cathedrals became the property of the Greek Catholic Church. On the way from Moscow to Jerusalem in Kiev, stopped the main Orthodox hierarch, Theophilus, with whom the hetman met. He explained to the patriarch the situation that had occurred with the Ukrainian Orthodoxy. According to the decision of Theophilus, adopted under the influence of the hetman's request, in 1615 the Kyiv Metropolis was restored; The Orthodox Church has regained many of its possessions. Metropolitan of Kiev and six bishops were elected, who headed the chairs on the ground.

Participation of the Cossacks in the campaign against Moscow

In 1618 the Poles fought against the Moscow principality. Realizing that they really need military assistance from Zaporozhye, the country's leadership turned to Sagaidachnoy. He, realizing the complexity of the position of the Polish state, put forward serious political demands (we will consider them below) that were adopted. Only after agreeing on the possibility of fulfilling the requirements that the Cossack detachments marched out. Moved Cossacks into the internal territory of Muscovy quite quickly. During the campaign, 20 Russian cities were captured, some of them Cossacks burned. The Zaporozhye army here also used cunning, constantly changing the crossing points across the Oka River and not storming those fortresses, the capture of which could cause problems. Petro Sagaidachny (biography of the hetman is very interesting) decided to simply bypass cities such as Kolomna and Zaraysk. Before the storming of Moscow, a message was received that a peace treaty had been concluded between the Poles and the Muscovites.

Political success of Sagaidach

As a diplomat, this man also achieved a lot for Ukraine. The Commonwealth was forced to make concessions and fulfill the demands of the Ukrainian side. In 1618, before the Moscow campaign, the top of the Cossacks put forward such conditions:

• The abolition of Polish supervision of the Cossacks;
• Legitimacy of the hetman's authority over the whole territory of Ukraine;
• Increase in the rights of Cossacks;
• Independence of the judiciary from the Poles;
• Freedom of religion of the population.

The last requirement was aimed at strengthening the position of Orthodoxy on the lands of Ukraine, because the Uniate priests conducted very active propaganda.

Short life of the commander

The war between Poland and Turkey began almost immediately after the end of the military conflict with Muscovy. Poles could not do without Cossacks - the most serious military force in the kingdom. Destructive for the end of the hetman's life, the battle took place near Khotin (now Khmelnytsky region of Ukraine), in which he was badly wounded.

The historical 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 gave his hereditary not just to his wife, but bequeathed to the needs of churches, monasteries and the Kyiv Brotherhood.

On April 22, 1622, the great Hetman of the Zaporozhye Army died of wounds received by Khotin.

Of course, history does not know the subjunctive mood, but, analyzing the course of events of 1618-1621, it is possible to assume with great certainty that during the life of Sagaidachny, without that ill-fated wound, Ukraine could gain independence or very wide autonomy. It is likely that Peter Sagaidachny would have achieved this, a brief biography of which is unlikely to show the fullness and importance of his life for the country.