Danilo Apostol - a vivid political figure, a representative of a well-known Cossack family, was born in the Poltava region in the village of Great Sorochintsy. In 1683, he inherited from his father, the hereditary Cossack Pavel Okhrimovich, the high rank of Mirgorod colonel, in which he served unchanged like no other before reaching the hetman's mace.
Military connoisseur
Hetman Danilo the Apostle, whose biography mainly consists of his military achievements, was a brilliant diplomat and expert on military affairs. In 1689, as part of the 40-thousandth Cossack army, he took part in the campaign against Perekop Crimean Tatars, in 1693 and 1696 he opposed the Crimean Khanate. In 1697 he distinguished himself in the Russian war against the Turks, from 1700 to 1706 he fought against the Swedes, having carried out a number of successful events with his Cossack army: the defeat of General Schlippenbach's army and the liberation of Warsaw from the enemy.
Ukraine is independent and free
Danilo the Apostle, being a great patriot of Ukraine and like-minded Ivan Mazepa, ardently supported the policy of the latter, openly going over to his side in 1708 with his Mirgorod regiment. True, not for long ... The apostle dreamed of freeing Ukraine from Moscow dependence and creating an alliance with Sweden. With these thoughts, he turned to Ivan Mazepa, but, making sure of the impossibility of implementing his plan, turned his back on him, began to work closely with the Moscow authorities and act on their side in military operations. In 1711, Danilo took part in the Prut campaign of Peter I as a punishable hetman of Ukrainian ratification, and in 1722 he led the Cossack units of 10,000 people in the Russian army in a campaign against Persia.
Later, Danilo the Apostle concurred in his ideological ideas with Pavel Polubotkov, the punishable foreman, and together with him sought the abolition of the restrictive state rights of Ukraine established by the Little Russian Collegium. He continued his opposition activities against Russian politics towards Ukraine even after the arrest of his associates.
Danilo the Apostle: biography. Hetman election
In 1727, at the Great Council, the Apostle was elected hetman. Despite the 70-year-old age, the newly elected hetman enthusiastically set to work on the spiritual and political improvement of the atmosphere that reigned in the country after the activities of the Little Russian Collegium. Although Moscow adviser Naumov was present in Ukraine, and the son of Daniil Apostol was in Russia as a safety net against Moscow’s possible betrayal by his father, Danilo Apostol (you can see his photo in this article) purposefully visited St. Petersburg in 1728.
The change of sovereign (the death of Peter I, accession to the throne of Peter II) did not stop Daniil the Apostle in his patriotic plans, and on the day of accession to the throne of Peter II, he applied for the return of old liberties and rights to Ukraine under the terms of the agreement of 1654 concluded between the king and Bogdan Khmelnitsky. The result of this visit was the permission of the king:
- on an independent choice of hetman;
- the transfer of the Hetman from the department of the imperial Senate to the authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- a decrease in the number of Russian troops in Ukraine;
- writing off taxes calculated by the Little Russian Collegium.
The tsar also abolished coercion to trade relations exclusively with Russia and the export of products only through Russian ports.
Decisive Points for Ukraine
Thus, the partial return of its freedoms and rights by the tsar to Ukraine was a kind of tactical retreat and a kind of reaction to a change in the political situation. At the same time, as the emperor’s response to such a bold step of Daniel the Apostle, the so-called Decisive Points were established, which, having become a kind of legislative basis for the Hetman, significantly reduced the political autonomy and hetmanism of the Left-Bank Ukraine. According to them, the hetman did not have the right to conduct diplomatic negotiations and approve the general foreman and colonels. This was exclusively the responsibility of the Russian Tsar. To control hetman finance, the posts of two treasurers were introduced, one of which was the representative of the Russian side, the second - the Ukrainian. Taxes for goods imported into Ukraine should have been transferred to the imperial treasury. That is, the strategic attack on Ukraine continued.
Hetman's measures to improve life in Ukraine
Realizing the hopelessness of any attempts to restore the former prerogatives of the Hetmanate, Danilo Apostol (his portrait is presented below) concentrated on reforming the socio-economic conditions of life in Ukraine.
In judicial reform, the hetman an important point outlined the need to save “old cases”, which guaranteed transparency in decision-making by judges elected by the people. To this end, in 1731, an Instruction on the Courts was issued, providing for the number of assessors in the General Court (6 people: three Ukrainians and Russians each), and the hetman himself was the president of the court.
Throughout the work of Daniel the Apostle in the hetman's position, forethought is clearly traced, combined with extensive life experience. The famous commander, the hetman at the same time was a good business executive - organizer, industrialist, entrepreneur and merchant who knew how to count money.
The role of the hetman in the restoration of the economy
As a careful owner, hetman Danilo the Apostle paid special attention to restoring the economy of Ukraine, but his achievements in this area were modest. Industry with large enterprises and manufactories was for the most part in the hands of the Russian authorities.
Danilo Apostol defended the interests of Ukrainian trade, insisting on the abolition of the discriminatory system introduced by Peter I. Therefore, in 1728, he gathered envoys from the merchant guild in Glukhov and asked the Russian government to lift the ban on the export of Ukrainian goods - grain, yarn, wax, leather and other things.
Since the fund of common and rank lands was thoroughly depleted during the period 1729-1731, Danila Apostol initiated a general investigation, a thorough audit of the estates was carried out, and most of the unaccounted territories were restored. The investigation was based on preserved documents and testimonies of people during whose lifetime these lands were illegally given into private ownership.
The number of Russians in the hetman administration was significantly reduced. They were forbidden to buy land in Ukraine, and their desire to leave the country was encouraged and financially supported. The number of Russian regiments in Ukraine was limited to six.
Under the rule of the hetman, the Cossacks were returned, forced from 1708 to live in the Crimean Khanate. Also in 1734 they were allowed to form the New Sich on the Podpolnaya River.
Hetman Danilo Apostol also proceeded to resolve the financial problems of Ukraine, approving its budget in the amount of 144,000 rubles annually. The main revenue side was established a tax on the export of raw materials from Ukraine, and the costs were divided between the administration, regular and hired armed forces.
Danilo Apostol: role in the history of Ukraine
The reign of Daniel the Apostle lasted six and a half years, the last year he actually fell ill. But this, despite constant obstacles from the Russian government, did not prevent him from waging an intense struggle for the autonomy of Ukraine and the restoration of the rights of the Ukrainian people all the time. Under Danil the Apostle, life, although partially, was improved: the outflow of rural residents to the Dnieper decreased and the number of refugees returning to the Left Bank increased.
The hetman Danilo the Apostle died on January 17, 1734 from a stroke and was buried in the village of Sorochintsy (now the Great Sorochintsy of the Mirgorod district of the Poltava region) in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord erected at his expense.
Finally
The hetmanism of this man, who did not stain himself with a lie, became a clear ray in the dark sky of Ukrainian life; he tried in every possible way to protect the state rights of the Ukrainian people from outside influence, and he partially managed to restrain the process of full integration of the Hetmanism into the structure of the Russian Empire.