Hetman (ruler) of the Zaporizhian Host from 1657 to 1659
Ivan Vyhovsky
(
Ukrainian
:
?ван Виговський
;
Polish
:
Iwan Wyhowski / Jan Wyhowski
; date of birth unknown, died 1664), a Ukrainian military and political figure and statesman, served as
hetman
of the
Zaporizhian Host
and of the
Cossack Hetmanate
for three years (1657?1659) during the
Russo-Polish War (1654?1667)
. He succeeded the famous hetman and rebel leader
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
(see
Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks
). His time as hetman was characterized by his generally pro-
Polish
policies, which led to his defeat by pro-
Russian
elements among the Cossacks.
Vyhovsky belonged to the Orthodox noble family of the Vyhovsky coat of arms
Abdank
.
Origin and family
[
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]
Vyhovsky was born in his family estate of
Vyhiv
, near
Ovruch
in the
Kyiv Voivodeship
of the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
, a son of Ostap Vyhovsky, a
vicegerent
of the
Kyiv
fortress under
voivode
Adam Kisiel
and an
Orthodox
nobleman from the Kyiv region. There is also a possibility that the birth occurred at another family estate,
Hoholiv
, located near Kyiv (now
Brovary Raion
). Ostap Vyhovsky had 3 other sons and a daughter (all of them were exiled to
Siberia
after the downfall of Ivan Vyhovsky).
Education
[
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]
Vyhovsky studied at the Kyiv Brotherhood Collegium and excelled in languages (including Church Slavonic, Polish, Latin and Russian, in addition to Ukrainian) and
calligraphy
. He later was the main financial supporter of the Collegium.
Military service
[
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]
In Polish military service, Vyhovsky was captured by Khmelnystsky's rebel Cossack forces at the
Battle of Zhovti Vody
in May 1648, he was freed on account of his education and experience and rose to become secretary-general or chancellor (
Ukrainian
:
генеральний писар
,
romanized
:
heneralnyi pysar
) of the Cossacks and one of Khmelnytsky's closest advisors.
Elected hetman upon the death of Khmelnytsky, Vyhovsky sought to find a counterbalance to the pervasive Russian influence, which was in Ukraine after the 1654
Treaty of Pereiaslav
. While the Cossack elite and the ecclesiastical authorities supported his pro-Polish orientation, the masses and the Cossack rank-and-file remained deeply suspicious and resentful of the Poles by whom they had long been forced into
serfdom
. As a result, some Cossacks, led by
Yakiv Barabash
, put forward an alternative candidate for the hetmancy in
Martyn Pushkar
, the colonel of the
Poltava
regiment of Cossacks
. The rebellion against the hetman grew and came to a head when Vyhovsky's forces clashed with the pro-Russian Cossacks in June 1658. Vyhovsky's forces prevailed, killing Pushkar and forcing Barabash to flee (he would later be captured and executed). However, it had clearly been a fratricidal conflict, resulting in some 50,000 deaths.
After his consolidation of power within Ukraine, Vyhovsky attempted to reach an acceptable agreement with the Poles. Encouraged by his aristocratic friend
Yuri Nemyrych
, Vyhovsky entered negotiations with the Polish government, which resulted in the
Treaty of Hadiach
, signed on 16 September 1658. Under the conditions of the treaty, Ukraine as the
Grand Duchy of Ruthenia
, would become a third and autonomous component of the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
, under the ultimate sovereignty of the King of Poland, but with its own military, courts and treasury. Additionally, adherents of the
Orthodox
faith were to receive equal consideration as
Catholics
. As such, the treaty as signed would have assured the Cossacks of autonomy and dignity to an extent they had not known for centuries.
However, the Treaty of Hadiach was never implemented. After its signing came a massive Russian army (according to some sources up to 150,000 soldiers). About 100,000 of them were occupied by the siege of
Konotop
, the rest being massacred by Tatars when trying to follow after Vyhovsky's Cossacks, resulting in 20,000?30,000 lost among the Russians) led by the Muscovy
boyar
Aleksei Trubetskoi
crossed into Ukraine. In response, Vyhovsky led 60,000 Cossacks against the Russians alongside his Polish and 40,000
Tatar
allies. Near Konotop, the Russians were
defeated
. However, Vyhovsky was not able to capitalize on his victory, as the Russian garrisons in several Cossack towns continued to hold out, and his Tatar allies were forced to return to the
Crimea
after it was attacked by independent Cossacks. Furthermore, pro-Russia unrest, led by
Ivan Bohun
, broke out again among the Cossacks. In 1659, faced with a second rebellion against his rule and unable to master the dangerous and chaotic forces vying for power in Ukraine, Vyhovsky surrendered the office of hetman and retired to
Poland
. In 1660, he was appointed
Voivode of Kyiv
, a position that he kept until his death in 1664. Kyiv itself was held by the Russian troops after Voivodes
Vasily Sheremetev
and
Yury Baryatinsky
managed to repel two Vyhovsky's and one Polish assault on the city.
[1]
Unfortunately for Vyhovsky, his service on behalf of the Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth and his willing surrender of power did not protect him, and in 1664, another Cossack hetman,
Pavlo Teteria
, seeing in Vyhovsky a potential rival, accused him of treason and betrayal (reconciliation with Russia and Russian followers amongst the Cossacks) before the Polish authorities. Consequently, Vyhovsky was charged with treason, arrested and executed without trial by a Polish commander colonel,
Sebastian Machowski
, making him another victim of the fratricidal power struggles that devastated Ukrainian territory in the latter half of the 17th century.
Legacy
[
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]
Many Ukrainian cities like Kyiv have a street named after Vyhovsky.
See also
[
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]
Preceded by
|
Voivode of Kyiv
1660?1664
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
Hetman of Ukraine
1657?1659
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
post established
|
Chancellor General
1649?1657
|
Succeeded by
Ivan Hrusha
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Малов А. В. Русско-польская война 1654?1667 гг ? М.: Цейхгауз, 2006.
ISBN
5940381111
.
See also
[
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]
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Grand Duchy of Lithuania
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Lesser Poland Province
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International
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National
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Other
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