Early 17th century was marked by the strengthening of Polish oppression in Ukraine. This, in turn, caused discontent among the peasants of Ukraine, which resulted in a number of uprisings and unrest. At the same time, the Polish government often used Cossack detachments to repulse the troops of other states. Then the number of Cossack troops increased sharply. At the end of hostilities, the Polish magnates tried to immediately reduce the number of Cossacks, to limit the influence of the Zaporozhian Sich on the population of Ukraine.
So, at the end of the Khotyn war, the Cossacks put forward a number of requirements for the Polish king:
recognition for all participants in the war who were not included in the register, the rights to Cossack liberties,
the right to free residence, incl. the right to develop new lands,
increase the fee
transfer to the possession of the Cossacks the city of Boryspil,
prohibit the deployment of Polish troops on the territory of the Kyiv Voivodeship [1].
But the memory of the Polish lords was rather short. Already October 18/28, 1621, i.e. 2 weeks after the end of the war, the Polish government creates a commission to organize the registry.
It was supposed to reduce the register to 3 thousand people, to return the rest to the power of magnates, to limit the payment of the previously established 40 thousand zlotys per year. Denied the transfer of the city of Boryspil on the grounds that it is the property of the Polish magnate Zolkiewski. In Zaporozhye, there should be a permanent pledge from the registrars.
Knowing that all this would arouse the wrath of the Cossacks, the Polish commissars had to “communicate without publicity with Sagaidachny and the military foreman” and, promising them royal favor and “Special gifts from us”, ensure that at least for some time the said decision was kept secret [ 2].
But the Polish government could not comply with such a decision due to the lack of real military power in Ukraine.
April 10, 1622 Sagaidachny dies. The election of a new hetman took place in a difficult, tense atmosphere. The Polish commissars failed to promote their representative to hetman. Threats from the Cossacks forced the Poles to leave the council. Olifir Ospanovich Golub, who stood closer to the Cossack ranks, became the hetman. All this, together with the presence of a large Cossack army, created a serious danger for the Polish magnates of Ukraine.
That is why the Polish Sejm of 1623 offered the Cossacks an ultimatum to reduce their number to 5 thousand people, and the rest to return to their masters. At the same time, it was decided to send new units of the regular army to Ukraine – about 3.5 thousand in total [3].
Meanwhile, events unfolded as usual. Beginning of the 17th century marked by increased oppression of the Ukrainian people. The movement of the Ukrainian people against Polish national and social oppression grew. “Pokozachennya” covered more and more new regions. The number of Cossacks continuously increased. In the royal instruction of 1625, before the convocation of a new diet, it was indicated that the Cossacks in Ukraine … “Encroach on the lives and estates of innocent people (gentry). All Ukraine is subjugated by them, the gentry in his house is NOT free, in places and towns all control, all power belongs to the Cossacks, they appropriate themselves
power, establish laws”[4].
Resistance to church union and Catholicism grew. When the Kyiv voit Fyodor Khodyka sealed the Orthodox churches, the Cossacks went there, killed the headman, robbed the Catholic monastery, killed the priest, returned the lands that belonged to the church of St. Vasily and were judged in Kyiv in their own way [5].
In confirmation of the fact that the Cossacks are creating a “Separate State” for themselves in Ukraine, the instruction indicated that the Cossacks maintain relations with Moscow through their ambassadors, and also declare war and peace at their discretion [6].
By the summer of 1625, the Polish government managed to gather significant forces against the Cossacks. On September 15, the crown hetman Stanislav Konetspolsky led the crown army to Ukraine, to whom about 30 thousand people were subordinate [7].
Konetspolsky was joined with his troops by the Eastern Ukrainian magnates, Prince Konstantin Vyshnevetsky, Prince. Yuri Zaslavsky, S. Pototsky Adam Kalinovsky, F. Zamoysky, Yan Danilovich, Martyn Kazanovsky, Tyszkiewicz [8].
Around October 20, the Polish army crossed the Southern Bug and moved to Belaya Tserkov. The area of Belaya Tserkov, Kanev, Korsun, Cherkasy and Chigirin was the main place of concentration of the Cossacks. But at the time of the appearance of the Polish army, the forces of the Cossacks were not united. This was especially acute in Zaporozhye. Supporters of the agreement with the Polish lords were led by Colonel of the Registered Cossacks Mikhail Doroshenko, a former supporter of Sahaidachny. Opponents of such an agreement, ie. most of the Cossacks (Cossack lower classes) were represented by the Cossack Mark Zhmailo. In the course of the struggle between these two camps, first one side, then the other, took the upper hand, which was reflected in the frequent change of hetman: now Doroshenko, then Zhmailo. By the time the crown army appeared, M. Zhmailo became the hetman. Under his hand in Zaporizhia there were about 6 thousand Cossacks [9].
The Cossacks called on the help of the Don Cossacks. In case of defeat, they intended to go to Russia [10]
During the hostilities, rumors spread among the Cossacks about a possible transition to the “sovereign” side. The main reason for this was the desire to receive military assistance from the Moscow Tsar to fight the government troops of the Commonwealth, “so that you, sovereign, grant them help to provide sovereign people to the Poles”[11].
On October 11, the crown army approached Kanev. There were only about 3 thousand Cossacks in the city. Not wanting to submit to the masters, they left the city and headed for Cherkassy, where detachments from other cities were gathering. From Cherkasy we moved further south in the direction of Zaporozhye. On the river Tsybulnik near the village. Taborishche Cossacks met with the Cossacks, led by Zhmailo. The Cossacks had artillery with them.
About with. Taborishche, not far (a mile) from the city of Krylov, the Cossacks camped.
In total, about 20 thousand Cossacks gathered here. The crown army hurried to Taborishche, devastating villages and towns, killing civilians [12].
On October 24, Konetspolsky approached Krylov with troops. He sent his commissars to the Cossacks with a demand to comply with the decision of the Sejm to reduce the register to 5 thousand people. and the return of the rest to the power of the magnates. In the evening, 13 Cossack foremen came to Konetspolsky. They announced that the Cossacks did not want to fulfill any of the proposed clauses of the conditions. In response, Konetspolsky detained the Cossack foremen in order to gain time, and in the morning to suddenly attack the Cossack camp [13].
At dawn on October 25, Koniecpolsky threw his forces against the Cossack camp. In the middle, the crown army of Konetspolsky and detachments under the command of Zbarazhsky moved. The right wing was commanded by the Kyiv governor Foma Zamoysky, the left wing was commanded by Galitsky Martin Kazanovsky [14].
Approaching the Cossack camp, the Polish army attacked the Cossacks with all their strength. Artillery opened fire on the Cossacks. But the Cossacks not only withstood the onslaught of the enemy, but also dealt him a blow. The Cossack cavalry, hidden nearby in a ravine, caused great damage to the Polish army. Turning around like lava, she suddenly attacked the right flank of the enemy.
A fierce battle unfolded on the left wing of the Polish army. Noticing that the corner of the Cossack camp was weakly fortified, Kazanovsky threw his units there. But it was not possible to break into the camp. The Cossacks repulsed each new attack with frequent volleys of guns.
The fight went on all day. With the onset of darkness, Koniecpolsky withdrew his troops to their former positions. Over the next day, the Poles put themselves in order, prepared for a new assault.
At night, a Polish soldier ran across to the Cossacks and reported on the preparation of the assault.
The place where the Cossack camp was located turned out to be inconvenient, and therefore Zhmailo decided to withdraw his troops to more advantageous positions – to Lake Kurukovsky.
That same night, the Cossacks quietly left the camp at Krylov and headed east, to Lake Rosokhovatoe. Having crossed this long and narrow lake in two places, the army stopped at the next, Kurukovsky lake, which was located in the Medvezhy Vine tract, not far from the Kryukov settlement, on the right bank of the Dnieper, opposite Kremenchug [15].
At the first crossing, for the purpose of covering, the Cossacks left a detachment of 1,500 people, and about the second, 2,000 people. horse and foot.
Having placed their carts on the shore of Kurukovsky Lake in the form of a crescent, the Cossacks began to look for a place to camp. The most profitable and convenient place was the space between the lake and the remains of the old settlement. A swamp covered with dense grass converged to this place.
It could serve as a trap for the enemy.
There was not enough time to fortify the camp. Konetspolsky on the same night, from October 30 to 31, having learned about the departure of the Cossacks from Krylov, he sent cavalry in pursuit of them under the leadership of Stanislav Pototsky. At the first crossing (through Rasokhovatoe) Pototsky stumbled upon an ambush. The Cossacks, having let the Polish cavalry at close range, met her with friendly volleys of rifles. Nevertheless, Pototsky managed to push back the Cossacks and seize the crossing.
At the second crossing, the Cossack infantry lay down in two rows. Pototsky was unable to dislodge them from their positions and began to wait for the approach of the main forces. When the latter approached the crossing, a new fierce assault on the Cossack positions began. Under pressure from superior forces of cavalry and infantry, the Cossacks were forced to abandon the crossing and retreat.
Having crossed the Rasohovatoye Lake ford, Konetspolsky decided to attack the Cossacks on the move and prevent them from fortifying their camp. Under the cover of artillery, he personally led the army to attack the Cossacks. But near the camp itself, the infantry and cavalry of the enemy fell into a swamp bog. The Cossacks opened deadly fire on the enemy [16]. “From the Cossack self-propelled guns,” Pyasetsky wrote, “a lot of cavalry, especially foreign infantry, were killed.” The Polish commanders themselves Koniecpolsky, Zamoysky and Kazanovsky barely got out of the swamp. The Cossacks repulsed the attack. The enemy suffered heavy losses.
Snow fell on November 1st. Cold days have come. The approach of winter, heavy losses among the troops forced Konetspolsky and the commissars to enter into negotiations with the Cossacks. November 1
envoys were sent about the Cossack camp. Negotiations began.
The position of the Cossacks in the camp near Kurukovo Lake was also difficult. In addition, it was complicated by the splitting actions of the registered foreman, who sought peace and agreement with the Polish magnates.
On November 5, a coup took place in the Cossack camp: Zhmaila was removed from the mace, Mikhail Doroshenko, a representative of the Cossack elites, again became the hetman.
On November 6, Doroshenko and the foreman left for the location of Konetspolsky. The last negotiations of the Cossack delegation with Polish government officials took place.
In general, the negotiations between the Cossacks and the Poles were long and rather difficult. The first delegation was sent by Zhmail on October 11th. The meeting was fruitless. Cossack representatives visited the state of Konetspolsky on October 19 and 25. On October 26, representatives of Konetspolsky went to the Cossacks.
All these meetings and negotiations ended in vain. The Cossacks refused to accept the conditions of the Poles. These conditions were quite strict. Konetspolsky accused the Cossacks of:
they carried out sea campaigns that led to the war between Poland and Turkey;
they established relations with the Muscovite tsar, with whom Poland had not yet made peace;
they received Moscow and Greek rulers in Zaporozhye, gave shelter to various suspicious persons;
arbitrarily, without the consent of the Polish government, they appointed themselves a metropolitan and other church leaders;
subjects of the Polish gentry call themselves Cossacks, take land and belongings from the gentry, do not allow them to collect taxes;
the Cossacks repeatedly attacked starostvos, Roman Catholic monasteries, imposed their taxes on the cities, took away city property, and killed a voit in Kyiv.
In the same spirit, demands were made to the Cossacks on November 6th. The negotiations were difficult. The Cossack representatives tried in every possible way to soften the conditions, sought to be allowed to live in any locality, sue in their own court, go to the sea, fish, keep artillery, and also not to oppress the Orthodox Church.
Nevertheless, the Cossacks were forced to accept most of the demands, and on November 6 the treaty was signed. Due to the illiteracy of Mikhail Doroshenko, it was signed by the clerk Savvuy Burchevskaya.
According to the agreement, the registry increased to 6 thousand people, the payment for its maintenance increased slightly. Cossacks (registered) were allowed to engage in crafts, trade, fishing, but without causing damage to the eldership. It was forbidden to go to sea, as well as to attack neighboring states. All the seagulls that the Cossacks had were to be destroyed.
It was forbidden to build relations with other countries, to host representatives of other countries, as well as to independently appoint a metropolitan and other rulers, to arbitrarily go into the Cossacks, to rob noble people, and so on.
The Cossacks included in the register were supposed to remain in the Cossack land. Thus, the Poles tried to tear off the registered Cossacks from the mass of peasants, for which their rights were somewhat expanded, and the payment also increased. 6 thousand registered were supposed to be a privileged army, of which 1 thousand people. according to the appointment of the crown hetman, she was supposed to be behind the thresholds in turn and not allow enemies, the rest was in the volosts and, at the call of the crown hetman, should come to the latter on first demand.
It is strictly forbidden to go to the sea and break peace with Turkey and the Crimea, all Cossack seagulls were to be destroyed in the presence of the commissars of the Commonwealth. The Cossacks were forbidden to interfere in any matters that did not concern the troops, but were allowed to have their own court. The Cossacks who lived in the landowners’ estates were allowed to live in the same place where they lived, but that the Cossack obeyed the pan. The army will be under the authority of the hetman, chosen by the Cossacks and approved by the Crown Hetman.
Thus, an agreement was drawn up between the Cossacks and the Polish commissars on November 6, 1625 in the Medvezhy Vine tract near Kurukovo Lake. The compilation of the register was to be completed no later than December 18, 1625.
The compilation of the register was necessary in order for the Polish authorities to be able to “.. encourage the more deserving to the successful service of the Commonwealth” [17]. To avoid complications, the selection of Cossacks for the register was supposed to be carried out not on the spot, but only after they had gone home. The salary of the registry was set as follows:
foreman of the registry – PLN 500,
military judge – 100,
convoy – 100,
six colonels – 50 each,
sixty hundred – 50 each,
ordinary Cossacks 60 thousand zlotys or 10 zlotys per year per Cossack ….
For the foremen, so that they better fulfill their duties in the service of His Royal Grace and the Commonwealth, the payment increased sharply compared to the Cossacks. The foremen were obliged not to contribute to “pokazachenny”, not to allow meetings and not to convene people discharged from the register, and immediately suppress any self-will and disobedience [18].
Registrants living on private estates were required to leave within 12 weeks. They could stay there only under the condition of obedience to the owners with their consent.
Amnesty was announced to all participants in the uprising.
The remaining clauses of the agreement concerned Zaporozhye. The registry officers were obliged to keep a pledge of 1,000 or more people in Zaporozhye, depending on the circumstances. The duty to oversee the service of the outpost was assigned to the senior registry. The foreman was supposed to burn the boats in Zaporozhye and not allow any communication along the Dnieper between the volosts and Zaporozhye.
Kurukovskaya treaty, although not the result of a military victory over the Cossacks, but thanks to the conciliatory policy of the foreman was directed against the bulk of the population of Ukraine. The Polish lords well understood the significance of the Zaporizhzhya Sich for the liberation movement of the Ukrainian people, and therefore tried to isolate Zaporozhye from the rest of the Ukrainian regions, in order to then defeat the grassroots Cossacks.
To ensure the compilation of the register in the amount established by the agreement, Konetspolsky left a 15,000-strong army on the Dnieper under the command of Kazanovsky. It was located in Kyiv, Vasilkov, Tripoli, Rzhishchev, Fastov and others.
Soon after Kurukovy, the foremen began compiling the register. Together with the Polish commissioners, they traveled around the cities and villages, conducting a selection for the register. Only the “best people” got into it, i.e. those who had certain property necessary for the proper performance of service.
The compilation of the register took place in a tense atmosphere. The bulk of the Cossacks, who had no chance of getting into the register, turned their eyes to Russia. The envoy of the Kyiv Metropolitan Job Boretsky, priest Philip, at the end of 1625 said to the tsar’s governors: “Which where … people of the Cossacks are set aside, and then the Cossacks all think of senders to beat you, sovereign … So that you, sovereign, grant them, order them to help create … And where are they, the Cossacks, will serve you, sovereign … “[19]. The register was drawn up within the period established by the agreement and transferred by the Polish commissioner to Kyiv. Around this
At the same time, 6 registered regiments arose in Ukraine – Kyiv, Pereyaslavsky, Belotserkovsky, Korsunsky, Kanevsky, Cherkassky, regiments were divided into hundreds. All this became a prototype of the future statehood of Ukraine. Artillery registry with its servants, as well as military music was in Kyiv [21]. In the spring of 1626, Hetman M. Doroshenko, with registered Cossacks taken from different regiments, moved to Zaporozhye. In the presence of representatives of the crown hetman, he had to fulfill the conditions of the Kurukovsky agreement. In Zaporizhzhia, the registered boats were able to burn only a part of the boats, mainly fishing boats.
The registered Cossacks, driven back by the Cossacks, retreated to Khortitsa, where they left a garrison of 1000 people. with Colonel Ivan Kulaga, the rest with Doroshenko went to the parish [20].
After the conclusion of the Kurukovsky Treaty, the situation in Ukraine became even more aggravated. The Cossacks were finally divided into urban, registered Cossacks, which consisted mainly of wealthy elements, who often pursued a servile policy, and non-registered – “scribes” [21]. Most of the Cossacks were converted into serfs, their lands were taken away by the Polish gentry. Social and national oppression was supplemented by the atrocities of Polish soldiers stationed in the settlements of Eastern Ukraine, which in the near future led to new uprisings and finally to the liberation war of 1648-1654, before the reunification of Ukraine with Russia.
Author: Berezhko Leonid Fedorovich – Researcher of the Kremenchug Museum of Local Lore.
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