The story of the UkraineManning, Clarence Augustus
History
The story of the Ukraine
Manning, Clarence Augustus
Kievan Rus -- History; Ukraine -- History
To cite but a few cases. Shortly after the death of Khmelnitsky, his
secretary, Ivan Vyhovsky, almost unified the Host as a new hetman
succeeding the weak Yury Khmelnitsky. Vyhovsky and his friends realized
that with a weakened Poland, it might be possible for the Kozaks to
force upon the King a recognition of their rights. He drew up the
Union of Hadiach in 1658 and this more than fulfilled the dreams
of Khmelnitsky, for it made the Kozak Host and Rus’ a third member
of the Polish state along with Poland and Lithuania. It again gave
the Orthodox Metropolitan the right to sit in the Polish Senate and
conferred upon the Academy of Kiev the same rights that were given
to the Polish Universities of Krakow and Wilno. It was all in vain.
The blind hate of the Polish clergy and aristocratic landowners and
Muscovite intrigues destroyed the plans of Vyhovsky and the Poles
speedily withdrew their promises.
Ten years later Peter Doroshenko, more hostile to the Poles,
manipulated his power so skilfully that he was able to win complete
independence from Poland and became the master of the right bank.
Through an alliance with Mnohohrishny, the hetman of the left bank, he
bade fair to unite again the whole of Ukraine with the hope of securing
a definite autonomy from the Tsar. It was of no use. The officers
overthrew Mnohohrishny because he was the son of a peasant and then
they appealed to Moscow against Doroshenko. Of course the Tsar heard
them for he welcomed the opportunity to deprive the Host of its rights
to deal with foreign policy, and executed Mnohohrishny. Doroshenko
tried in vain to secure Turkish help but this was not forthcoming and
the hatred of the Kozaks for Islam brought about his downfall. When he
had to surrender to Moscow, he received a long term in Siberia.
Then came the turn of Ivan Samoylovich, who was as sympathetic and
obedient to Moscow as the others had been critical and independent.
He won a certain amount for the Host at the price of taking part in
Muscovite plans against Turkey. Yet when an expedition under Prince
Golitsyn met with failure against the Crimea, because of disregard of
his advice, the other officers accused him to the Tsar of betraying
the Russians. Samoylovich was deposed and imprisoned and his son was
executed.
Thus while the Host was relapsing into discord, it gave both Tsar and
King the power to do with the Ukrainian lands as they would. In 1667,
by the Treaty of Andrusivo, the two divided Ukraine at the Dnyeper,
with Poland holding the right bank and Moscow the left and the city
of Kiev on the right bank. This last was nominally for two years, but
Moscow never returned the prize and used the occupation for still
greater demands.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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