Many believe that the Zaporizhzhya Sich is the only fortification located in the area of the Khortitsa island, but this is a completely erroneous opinion. In fact, under this name, history has united a number of centers of the Dnieper Cossacks, which successively replaced each other. And they were in various places in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, south of the Dnieper rapids (hence the name "Zaporizhzhya").
The first Zaporizhzhya Sich is the Khortitsky Fortress (Khortitsky Sich), founded in 1552 by Prince Dmitry Vishnevetsky on the island of Malaya Khortitsa. It was destroyed by the Crimean-Turkish troops as early as 1557, but her idea - a well-fortified military camp - soon revived in the form of the following Sich associations.
In total, the history of the Zaporizhzhya Sich has eight Sichs, each of which existed from 5 to 40 years: Khortitskaya, Tomakovskaya, Bazavlutskaya, Nikitinskaya, Chertomlytskaya, Kamenskaya, Alyoshkovskaya and Podpolnenskaya.
What customs and practices reigned there? It is known, for example, that in order to be admitted to Sich, a man had to be free, unmarried, speak Ukrainian, profess Orthodoxy (or be baptized in the Orthodox faith). After admission to the Cossacks, he had to undergo military training, which lasted about seven years.
The only authority in the Sich was the Rada, which resolved all the most important issues. Rada took place on October 1, then January 1 and on the second or third day of Easter. Also, the Council could be convened at any time at the request of most Cossacks. Decisions adopted at the Rada were binding on everyone and everyone.
The community of all Cossacks of the Zaporizhzhya Sich was called Kosh. He divided into 38 smokers, which were independent military units. In each kuren, there were from several dozen to several hundred Cossacks. In addition, the word "chicken" had another meaning - the so-called residential building, in which the "military chicken" was located.
Despite the fact that all decisions were made in the Rada, the Zaporizhzhya Sich had a chapter, which was the chief ataman. In addition to his main powers, he had the right to sign the death sentences for the guilty Cossacks. The following were considered particularly serious crimes : the killing by a Cossack of another Cossack; any, even petty, theft; drunken brawl; desertion; robbery of the local population.
There were many legends about the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, their stamina, courage, non-standard methods of struggle . And the fact remains - they could successfully confront strong, numerous and well-armed opponents.
In 1775, the Russian Empress Catherine II signed a manifesto, according to which the Zaporizhzhya Sich was not only destroyed, but also officially ranked as a Novorossiysk province, which put an end to the independent Zaporizhzhya Cossacks. The reasons for this fateful decision were several events.
Firstly, Russia concluded an agreement with the Crimean Khanate, according to which it got access to the Black Sea, so the need to protect the southern borders has disappeared. And secondly, the Cossacks actively participated in the Pugachev uprising, so Catherine II was afraid that the uprising would spread to the Zaporizhzhya steppes.
June 5, 1775 began the notorious elimination of the Zaporizhzhya Sich. Russian troops, led by Lieutenant General Pyotr Tekeley, approached Zaporizhia at night. They picked up the day when the Cossacks celebrated green Christmas time and were not ready for battle. Following the results of the Tekeli ultimatum, the Zaporizhzhya Sich was surrendered without a fight. The treasury and archive were confiscated. After that, the Zaporizhzhya Sich was completely destroyed by artillery.
After the liquidation of their Sich, the Cossacks replenished the ranks of the troops of the Russian army, and the former foremen became nobles. Peter Kalnyshevsky, the last chieftain of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, was exiled to the Solovetsky Monastery, where he spent a difficult 28 years until his death. Part of the Cossacks went into Turkey, where they founded the Trans-Danube Sich, which could hold out until 1828. Transdanubian Cossacks fought on the side of Turkey, and also participated in the suppression of uprisings.