Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bogdan Khmelnitsky was a Ukrainian military andstatesman. He was born in 1595. Talking about Khmelnytsky, historians always emphasize his status as hetman, rarely mentioning that after the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, he received from the Russian Emperor Alexei Mikhailovich, in addition to all the other honors and awards, the rank of the boyar of Moscow.
Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Biography
His father, Michael, was a Ukrainian nobleman. Bogdan received his education in Kiev, Lviv and Yaroslavl-Galitsky, in the Jesuit colleges. Together with this, the future hetman of Ukraine preserved the Orthodox faith.
Together with his father Bogdan Khmelnytsky participated in thethe war of 1620-21 between the Poles and the Turks. During the battle, his father was killed. Bogdan, after the defeat of the Poles, was captured by the Turks for two years. Out of bondage, the Cossacks bought it out. After returning home Bogdan Khmelnitsky became a military clerk.
In 1637-38 the future hetman took part in thepopular uprising. In 1638 Khmelnitsky became a centurion of the Chigirinsky regiment. Becoming famous in the courtyard of the King of Poland, he goes to France to negotiate the participation of Zaporozhye Cossacks in the battles against the Habsburgs - a large dynasty of rulers in Europe.
In 1646 during the stay of Khmelnitsky inWarsaw with King Wladyslaw 4 Vaze, Daniel Chaplinsky (Polish nobleman) by force annexed the Sabbath farm (the family estate of Khmelnytsky), hammering his youngest son to death. This conflict later developed into a large-scale liberation struggle.
Khmelnitsky tried to achieve justice oncourt with the king. But all his aspirations provoked a conflict with Konetspolski (the Polish tycoon), who supported Chaplinsky. As a result, the search for truth led Bogdan Khmelnitsky in 1647 to be arrested.
Having freed himself from prison, he and several associates arrived in Zaporizhzhya Sich. Soon Bohdan Khmelnytsky achieved the support of the Cossacks, and in 1848, in January, he began an uprising against the Poles.
After the expulsion of the Poles from the Sich the Cossacks join theunion with the Crimean Khan. Soon the uprising grew into a war of liberation. In history it is called Khmelnitchina. During the military operations Khmelnytsky proved to be an excellent diplomat, commander, organizer of statehood in Ukraine.
According to historians, it is thanks toHetman's activities the Ukrainian state has achieved the strengthening of its forces and many military successes. Under his leadership, the Cossack army won many victories. In fact, Ukraine has become an independent state.
However, the country arose and developed betweenlarge and very powerful powers: the Ottoman Empire, Russia and the Commonwealth. Despite all the diplomatic skills, Khmelnitsky never succeeded in obtaining recognition of Ukraine's independence from these countries.
Meanwhile, the Poles, without giving up the idea of owningUkrainian state, were preparing for the campaign. Khmelnytsky understood that he needed support in a protracted struggle. As the practice of military operations showed, the Crimean Tatars were an unreliable ally. As a result, Bogdan had no choice but to ask for help from Russia.
Alexei Mikhailovich did not hurry to take underpatronage of Cossack Ukraine and took an observant position. In 1652 Khmelnitsky was defeated, as a result of which the Belotserkovsky Treaty was signed, under which Ukrainian rights were infringed quite significantly.
In the course of a persistent and prolonged war of forcethe opponents were exhausted. At this moment, the Russian emperor decides to grant the request of the hetman. In 1653, Little Russia (Ukraine) was annexed to Russia. As a result, Khmelnitsky was provided with military assistance, and Russia itself entered into a long Russian-Polish war. The first stage of the battle ended in 1656 with a truce.
Meanwhile, Khmelnitsky truce did not suit,and he secretly begins negotiations with Sweden on the continuation of the war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, he is forced to recall his ambassadors - Muscovites learned about the negotiations.
Khmelnitsky died in 1657. After his death in Ukraine began a twenty-year period of internecine strife.
In 1943, on October 10, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky was established at the suggestion of the famous film director Dovzhenko.
