In historical tradition, the hetman is a military leader who led a specific group of forces or an entire army. For the first time in the sources the word "hetman" is mentioned in connection with the Hussite uprising in the Czech Republic. In Poland, the term has been used since 1503, it was the commander of the royal armed forces.
Getmans as Political Leaders
With the majority of Ukrainian hetmans, such a concept as the "national liberation struggle of the Ukrainian people" against the Commonwealth is associated. The history of the assignment of this title in Ukraine is very interesting. Despite the deep-rooted historical association that the hetman is the purely ruler of the Cossacks and the state of Hetmanism, the first title was officially received by Bogdan Khmelnitsky in 1648.
After the Union of Lublin in 1596, a reform of local government took place in Poland, according to which a governor appeared in each of the regions of the monarchy, who was called the hetman. This is the story of the appearance of the title "Ukrainian hetmans."
Military successes Zaporizhzhya troops
It’s not worth talking about some useful activities of official hetmans set by the Polish king for Ukraine. Among the famous political, military or cultural figures of the 16-17th centuries there is not a single official hetman. Cossack hetmans personified that part of the intelligentsia, which considered themselves to be people free from the Commonwealth. Cossacks set themselves several tasks:
- the struggle against the Polish gentry, on which the peasants were economically dependent (panchina, quitrents, etc.);
- fight against external enemies (Crimean Khanate and Ottoman Empire).
The most famous Cossack hetmans of the late 16th and first half of the 17th century were Krishtof Kosinsky, Severin Nalyvayko and Petr Konashevich-Sagaidachny. These people saw in the development of the Cossacks a real chance to embody the desire of the Ukrainian people to gain independence and, accordingly, their own state. At the same time, they clearly understood the complexity of this process. The main methods of struggle were military campaigns and uprisings. The most massive uprising was 1591-1596. At that time, Cossack corrals were very courageous, but still not equipped with weapons, so they suffered several defeats in major battles. Along with this, they were able to inflict significant harm to the gentry. It was after these uprisings that the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth reformed the local government system by introducing the official post of hetman. Of the external campaigns of the Cossacks it is worth noting Moscow in 1602, as well as several serious attacks against the Turks, which showed the Ukrainians as very strong opponents.
Getman Khmelnitsky
Bogdan-Zinoviy Khmelnitsky was born in 1596. He received a good education at the Kiev fraternal school. The Khmelnitsky family estate is located in Subotov, not far from the city of Chigirin (modern Cherkasy region of Ukraine). He served in the camp of the registered Cossacks, took part in the war with Spain, took the fortress of Dunkirk in France. But Khmelnitsky carried out his main mission in life from 1648 to 1654 during the national liberation war against the Commonwealth. It was during these years that the hetman was the military and political leader of the forces that fought against the Commonwealth. The war against the Polish state was held with varying success. Successful battles were in the spring of 1648 under the Yellow Waters and Korsun.
It became clear to Polish leaders that they were dealing with a strong adversary. During the summer of 1648, Ukrainian troops smashed Polish estates. The number of soldiers in the Khmelnitsky army has grown to 30,000. In the spring of 1648 there was a winning battle near Pilyavtsy. In subsequent years, there were battles near Zbarazh and Berestechko. The main result of the activities of Bohdan Khmelnitsky was the accession of Ukrainian lands to Russia in 1654 in Pereyaslav.
Ivan Mazepa - Hetman of Ukraine
The period of Mazepa’s reign from 1687 to 1709 can be divided into 2 parts. Before the start of the Northern War, the hetman had a very good relationship with Peter the Great. The main activity of Mazepa in this period, aimed at the benefit of the people, was manifested in the development of culture and spirituality (the construction of churches). The second period (from 1700 to 1709) showed that Mazepa is a hetman who thinks about the country's independence. The apogee of such sentiments was the agreement of the Ukrainian hetman with the Swedish king Charles XII. A manifestation of this alliance was the participation of the allied forces of the hetman Mazepa and Sweden in the Battle of Poltava against the troops of Peter.
Ukrainian hetmans, of course, could not solve the issue of the complete independence of the country, but there was unity with kindred peoples - Russians and Belarusians. Hetman is a person who embodies the national aspirations of the Ukrainian people. It was with the advent of the hetmans that the national liberation movement in modern Ukraine became more active.