Ivan Vygovsky - A famous historical figure of the times of the independent Cossack state. Possessing the art of diplomacy and warfare, this man, having become a hetman after the death of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, tried with all his might to maintain the independence of Ukraine, to tear his country out of the custody of Moscow. What was the hetman's policy? Why did the Cossack foreman remove him from his post and thereby prevent Ukraine from becoming an independent country? We will try to find the answers in this article.
Vygovsky: see you with Bogdan Khmelnitsky
The Vygovskys clan originates from the Ukrainian Orthodox gentry. Vygovsky’s birth year is unknown, history has not preserved any data on his parents.
However, it is known that Ivan Vygovsky was a very highly educated person for his time. After graduating from the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, he was fluent in several languages.
He began to comprehend military service in the Polish army. And when in 1648 the Poles were defeated under the Yellow Waters, he was captured by the Tatars.
Vygovsky tried to escape from captivity 3 times, all 3 attempts were unsuccessful, he was returned back. Ivan Vygovsky was sentenced to death by the Horde for escapes, but here an incident intervened in his fate.
Ivan Vygovsky was noticed by
Bogdan Khmelnitsky, whose troops were allies with the Tatars, and he bought from captivity the Cossack he liked.
Service in the Cossack army
Khmelnitsky immediately liked Ivan Vygovsky, he quickly gained his confidence, and in speed became the general military clerk.
Having occupied a new post in 1648, the clerk set about arranging the hetman's diplomatic and administrative headquarters. On his initiative, the Ministry of the Interior was organized, in other words, the General Military Chancellery. It was Vygovsky who compiled the Cossack registry in 1649, and he also co-authored many letters of Khmelnitsky and generalists.
Ivan Evstafievich Vygovskii headed the military chancellery until the death of the famous hetman. The compatriots noted that the trust between Vygovsky and Khmelnytsky was so great that only the clerk knew all the innermost secrets of the hetman.
The death of Khmelnitsky
When Bogdan Khmelnitsky was still alive, the council of the Cossack foreman decided after his death to hand over the mace to his son Yuri, who was only 16 years old.
However, after the death of the hetman, the decisive mood of the Cossacks changed. The fact is that, giving power to the hands of the hetman’s son, the Cossacks thereby adopted a law on the continuity of power, in other words, a monarchical form of government would be established in Ukraine.
Therefore, on August 23-26, 1657, at a council held in the city of Chigirin, a decision was made to elect Vygovsky as hetman. As amended, until the age of majority of Khmelnitsky’s son.
Hetman of Ukraine
Vygovsky became a hetman in a very difficult time for Ukraine. He spent only 2 years in this position and during this time he exerted all his strength to ensure that Ukraine became autonomous. During this period, everything was in his life: large-scale wars, the signing of new treaties, diplomatic maneuvering between Moscow and Warsaw.
The foreign policy of Ivan Vygovsky fully continued that begun by Bogdan Khmelnitsky. He sought to strengthen the international authority of his country and achieve independence.
In October 1657, the hetman drew up an agreement with Sweden, which ensured the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
At the same time, Vygovsky did his best to avoid all sorts of complications with Moscow.
Relations with Russia
In Russia, Vygovsky was not recognized for a long time as hetman and demanded certain concessions from him. Moscow wanted to limit Ukraine’s independence by securing some major cities along with voivodships.
During the transfer of Nezhin, Chernigov and Pereyaslav, Moscow demanded the holding of new hetman elections, where representatives of the tsar would be involved.
Hoping to resolve the conflict, Vygovsky agreed to these demands and was recognized as hetman.
Domestic policy
First of all, the hetman of Ukraine tried to enlist the support of the elite elite, so he supported her interests, gave gifts in the form of land allotments and new privileges. Such actions entailed the discontent of the poor Cossacks.
A conflict was brewing inside the country. Martyn Pushkar, a colonel from Poltava, and Yakov Barabash, the chieftain of Zaporozhye, skillfully took advantage of this.
Vygovsky was forced to oppose the rebels. The hetman's army defeated the rebels: Pushkar was killed, and Barabash was captured.
Moscow during this period intervened in the internal affairs of the country, supporting the rebels financially.
Vygovsky against Moscow
Moscow’s dishonest actions led the hetman to search for other allies. So, in September 1658, he signed the Gadyachsky treaty, in which Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland constituted a federation of three independent states. The new union was united only by the jointly elected king.
The goal of Russia is to become the most powerful country in eastern Europe, the goal of Ukraine is to gain independence. These conflicting goals led to the outbreak of war between Moscow and Ukraine in 1658-1659.
The decisive battle took place on June 28, 1659 near Konotop. In this battle, Vygovsky won.
The end of hetmanism
Ivan Vygovsky, biography which received a new round, could not fully enjoy the victory. The strife in Ukraine did not stop; Ukrainians themselves were not united regarding the future fate of their country. Each defended his own interests.
This led to the fact that a new uprising broke out in the country - the anti-government. At the head of this rebellion was the son of Khmelnitsky - Yuri.
Some Cossacks opposed the Gadyachsky treaty adopted by Vygovsky, while others were afraid of a war with Moscow.
At the Cossack Council, which took place in September 1659, the Cossacks expressed distrust of their hetman.
Vygovsky, in order to avoid the Civil War, renounced hetmanism and left for Volyn, which at that time was under the rule of the Polish king. The son of Khmelnitsky became the hetman of Ukraine.