Home > Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynovii Mykhailovych Khmel'nyts'kyi (Богдан Зиновій Михайлович Хмельницький in Ukrainian, commonly transliterated as Khmelnytsky; known in Polish as Bohdan Zenobi Chmielnicki; in Russian as Bogdan Khmelnitsky) (c. 1595 – August 6, 1657) was a Polish (arguably) noble, leader of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, hetman of Ukraine, noted for his revolt against Poland ( 1648 – 1654) and the Treaty of Pereyaslavl which eventually led to the annexation of Ukraine by the Russian Empire.Khmelnytsky was born probably in Chigirin , in Ukraine; it is unclear whether to a family of Ruthenian nobility or to PolishThe Poles are a western Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with Poland and the Polish language. There are around 38 million Poles in Poland as well as autochthonous Polish minorities in the surrounding countries such as Germany, Ukraine, Romania, et nobility who had immigrated to Ukraine from MasoviaMasovia ( Polish: Mazowsze is a geographical and historical region situated in central Poland with its capital in Warsaw. History Masovia was conquered probably by Mieszko I, duke of Polans and first historical ruler of Poland in the 10th century. During. Khmelnytsky was educated by the Jesuits. Unlike many of their other pupils, he did not embrace Roman CatholicismThe Roman Catholic Church (often called simply the Catholic Church, but see Catholicism for other meanings of the term "Catholic Church") is a worldwide body of Christians in full communion with the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, and subscribing to the beliefs but early in life became indifferent to the faith. Later he seemed to belong to the Greek Orthodox faith, to which most of the Cossacks and the RuthenianRuthenian may refer to: Ruthenia, a name applied to various parts of Eastern Europe Ruthenians, the peoples of Ruthenia Ruthenian language, a name applied to several Slavic languages. peasants belonged. He was deprived of his estate of Subotovo by Daniel Czaplinski , the bailiff of Czehryn. At this time he was still in the subordinate position of a "sotski" (an officer over a sotnia, or hundred cavalrymen) of the Registered Cossacks , subject to the Polish magnate Stanislaw Koniecpolski. Czaplinski availed himself of Khmelnytsky's absence to raid the estate, during which Khmelnytsky's young son received injuries from which he ultimately died, and Khmelnytsky's second wife was carried off.
For centuries after the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the people of Ruthenia had felt oppressed by the nobles and Jewish traders. Although Ruthenian nobility enjoyed full rights, they were quickly polonize d and therefore were alienated from the common people; the advent of the Counter-Reformation worsened the relationship between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Unwilling to attend to the details of administration themselves, Polish magnates made Jewish traders their go-betweens in transactions with the peasants of Ukraine. The magnates sold and leased certain privileges to the Jews for a lump sum and, while enjoying themselves at their courts, left it to the Jewish leaseholders and collectors to become objects of hatred to the oppressed and long-suffering peasants. Although Khmelnytsky's personal resentment influenced his decision to rid Ukraine of Polish and Ruthenian magnates and Jews, it seems that his ambition to become the ruler of Ukraine was the main motive that led him to instigate an uprising of the Ruthenian people against them, known after him as the Chmielnicki Uprising.
" Bohdan Chmielnicki with Tuhaj-Bej at Lwów", oil on canvas by Jan Matejko, 1885, National Museum in Warsaw. Chmielnicki Uprising 1648-1654.
Khmelnytsky told the people that the Poles had sold them as slaves "into the hands of the accursed Jews." With this as their battle-cry, the Cossacks killed a huge number of Jews during the years 1648–1649. The precise number of dead may never be known, but estimates range from a minimum 10,000 to well over 100,000 Jews killed.
These events also initiated a series of campaigns (which began the period in Polish history known as The Deluge) that temporarily freed Ukraine from Polish domination but in time subjected it to Russian domination. Successes at Zhovti Vody , Korsun' and Pilavtsi (respectively, in Polish, Zólte Wody, Korsun, and Pilawce) against Hetman Mikolaj Potocki led to Khmelnytsky being paid off by the Polish king and gaining numerous privileges for the Cossacks under the Treaty of Zborov . When hostilities resumed, however, Khmelnytsky's forces were betrayed by their former allies the Tatars, suffered a massive defeat in 1651 at the Battle of Beresteczko, and were forced at Bila Tserkva (Biala Cerkiew) to accept a loser's treaty. A year later, the Cossacks had their revenge at the Battle of Batoh . Ukraine was still perilously weak, and in 1654 Khmelnytsky persuaded the Cossacks to ally with the Russian tsar in the Treaty of Pereyaslavl, which eventually led to the subjugation of Left-bank Ukraine by Russia.
