Among the commanders who led in the middle of the XVII century the struggle of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks against Polish intervention, the most famous is Colonel Ivan Bogun. In this difficult time for his homeland, he proved himself not only as a true patriot, but also as a gifted military leader, capable of conducting military operations both in the field and in the defense of cities. Many of the operations he conducted were included in the annals of history and became a kind of training aids for future commanders.
Childhood and youth hidden in history
History has not preserved reliable information about his childhood and early life. Even the date of birth is known only approximately. It is believed that the future colonel was born in 1618 in Bratslav. Even his last name causes controversy among researchers. Some see it as just a nickname, since the word “Bohun” in Ukrainian means a pole for drying nets. Many believe that Ivan's youth passed in the Wild Field - the steppe region between the Dniester and the Don.
The beginning of service to the motherland
The earliest documentary information about Ivan Bogun indicates his participation in the rebellion of the Hetman against the gentry led by the head of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks Yakov Ostryanin. The famous episode of the struggle for national independence - the Azov Seat - is also associated with his name. For five years (1637 - 1642), the Cossacks, together with the Don Cossacks, opposed the Turkish troops of Sultan Ibrahim, who besieged the city of Azov. In this heroic defense, a Cossack detachment under the command of Bogun guarded a strategically important section from the enemies - the Borev crossing through Seversky Donets.
When an uprising broke out in 1648 under the leadership of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, caused by the strengthening of Polish feudal oppression and the reduction of Cossack privileges, Ivan Bogun was among his leaders. A year later, as a Vinnytsia colonel, he led a several-year-long defense against the Polish troops of Vinnitsa and Bratslav. Here, with extraordinary power, his military leadership talent manifested itself, which allowed him, with the support of the civilian population of the city, to win a brilliant victory.
The Berestetskaya battle and a campaign in Moldova
The next vivid episode of his military career was the battle between the troops of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks and the forces of the Commonwealth, which took place in early June 1651 in the village of Berestechko on the river Styr. In this battle, the Cossacks, betrayed by their Tatars allies, were defeated, but thanks to Bogun they managed to adequately get out of the encirclement and continue the struggle. Selected shortly before this by the hetman, he proved himself to be a wise and judicious commander.
In 1653, the Cossack army, under the command of Ivan Bogun and Timofei Khmelnitsky - the son of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, made a trip to Moldova. This operation ended in the death of the son of the hetman of the Zaporizhzhya army and the defeat of the Cossacks. Finding himself in an extremely difficult situation, Bogun was able to adequately withdraw his troops from the encirclement and take out the body of Timothy. Until the end of the following, 1654, he participated in numerous campaigns against the forces of the Commonwealth and the Tatar detachments that entered into an alliance with them. The main areas of his military operations at that time were Bratslavshchina and Umanshchina.
Supporter of Independence of the Zaporizhzhya Army
It is known that Ivan Bogun was a fierce opponent of any attempt to infringe on the rights of Cossack liberties. This was the reason for his extremely negative attitude towards the Belotserkovsky peace signed by Bogdan Khmelnitsky in September 1651. Concluding this agreement with the Poles, the Ukrainian hetman deprived the Cossacks of all the privileges they had gained during the armed uprising of 1648.
For the same reason, Bogun was an adversary and rapprochement with Moscow. When in 1654 in Pereyaslavl a decision was made popularly to unite the territory, which was owned by the Zaporizhzhya Army, with Russia, the Vinnitsa colonel was not present at the Rada and did not take the oath with the Russian Tsar together with everyone. When Bogdan Khmelnitsky died, Bogun strongly supported the hetmans Ivan Vygovsky and Yuri Khmelnitsky in their activities aimed at establishing the independence of the Cossacks in resolving issues of domestic and foreign policy. But at the same time, he condemned their attempts at rapprochement with the original enemies of the Cossacks - Poland and Turkey.
Campaign in Poland and the reason for failure
In 1656, a significant Cossack formation under the command of hetman Anton Zhdanovich made a months-long raid on the territory of Poland. His goal was to help the Wallachian and Swedish troops fighting against parts of the Polish king. Among other commanders was Ivan Bogun. Paving their way with fire and sword, the Cossacks reached Krakow, Brest and Warsaw. But then an unexpected thing happened: the Cossacks, learning that the campaign was made without the consent of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, to whom they swore, refused to continue the war. As a result, thousands of troops in the summer of 1657 returned to the Hetman.
Opponent of the Vygov agreement
Two years later, an event occurred that deeply offended the patriotic feelings of Ivan Bogun. In September 1658, an agreement was signed in the city of Gadyache between the hetman Ivan Vygovsky and Poland. According to this document, the entire territory of the Zaporizhzhya Army was to become part of the Commonwealth as the third member of the bilateral union of Poland and Lithuania. This shameful act was not destined to obtain legal force, since it was not ratified by the Polish Sejm.
However, he served as the cause of the uprising raised by Bogun and his supporters against Vygovsky. As a result, the traitor to national interests was defeated and was forced to flee to Poland. In the same way, the Vinnitsa colonel managed to resist Yuri Khmelnitsky, who signed the Slaboshchensky treatise in 1660, which infringed on the rights of the Cossacks.
Sunset military career
A year later, Bogun became a colonel of the principality of Lithuania, and in 1661, returning to his homeland, he participated with Yuri Khmelnitsky in battles against two Russian governors - Grigory Kosagov and Grigory Ramodanovsky. In these battles, military luck turns away from him. To top it all off, he will soon be arrested by the Poles.
After spending some time in prison, he was released by the king, but on condition that he would take part in their campaign on the Left Bank. The plans of Jan Casimir included fire and sword to conquer the entire local population from Kiev to Novgorod Seversky. With a heavy heart Ivan Bogun went on this campaign, but he had no choice.
Countering the Poles and the tragic death
History testifies that from the first days the Cossack colonel begins to harm the Poles and tries in every possible way to interfere with their plans. At the same time, he protects against the destruction of the city, captured by the units under his command. Since the army of Jan Casimir did not have sufficient forces to create garrisons in the occupied territories, the result of this was the uprising of the inhabitants of many settlements left behind the advancing regiments.
When the army of the Commonwealth besieged Glukhov, Ivan Bogun did his best to assist his inhabitants. Since he was a member of the military council of the Polish army, he knew all the details of the upcoming assault, which he passed on to the defenders of the city. In addition to important operational information, he managed to transport the besieged reserves of gunpowder and cores. His plans included even an unexpected attack by the Poles from the rear, when they go to attack the city.
But, unfortunately, the king became aware of this activity, and he ordered the immediate arrest of Bogun. Soon a meeting of the field military court was held, which sentenced the Cossack colonel and several of his supporters to be shot. The sentence was carried out immediately. It happened on February 17, 1664. So the hero of the army of Zaporizhzhya Ivan Bogun died, whose biography is inextricably linked with the struggle of the Hetman against the Polish invaders.
Ukraine has preserved the memory of its valiant son. After the revolution, the regiment commanded by Nikolai Schors was called Bogunovsky. The Kiev military lyceum was named after him. In a number of Ukrainian cities, streets were named after Ivan Bogun, and in 2007 the National Ukrainian Bank issued a coin with its image. The hero’s memory is also preserved in the folk song, popular in Ukraine, folded in his honor.