A landmark event that reshaped Russian history happened 370 years ago. Zaporozhian Cossack Commander named Bogdan Khmelnitsky and people’s representatives from Little Russia (Rus’ Minor) pledged allegiance to Tsar Alexis of Russia as the Ukrainian lands rejoined the mainland Russian territory. The event can easily be extrapolated to the current developments.
One would be hard-pressed to comprehend the fundamental reasons behind Ukraine rejoining Russia in January 1654 without understanding the larger context of European and global processes of the 17th century. Khmelnitsky-led Cossack rebellion against the Catholic Polish king grew into Europe’s first large-scale war following the Peace of Westphalia. A unique set of circumstances enabled the old Russian lands once fallen under the Polish rule to get back under Moscow’s control.
17th-century geopolitics
The bloody Thirty Years’ War had just ended in Europe in 1648, causing unprecedented damage and loss of life. As a result, the leaders of the most powerful European states of the day were unable to quell a series of rebellions that erupted outside the war-torn territories.
Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III was busy restoring his lands. Philip IV of Spain could not bounce back from the French capture of Catalonia and the secession of Portugal. The French was also swirled in turmoil as King Louis XIV was still a small kid while the top feudal lords initiated the Fronde.
The civil war in the British Isles resulted in the beheading of King Charles I. It was an unheard-of event that prompted Russia to impose economic sanctions against the Brits, phrased the following way:
‘Inasmuch as the English Germans slew their king Charles, the Sovereign and Grand Prince of Moscow and All Russia injuncteth against those folk crossing into the Russian lands.’
Another monarch, this time in south-eastern Europe, was tried and executed as well. In 1648, Sultan Ibrahim I had slipped into the extent of insanity that allowed the Muslim jurists to issue a fatwa declaring him ‘a fool and a tyrant unfit to rule’ the Ottoman Empire. He proved to be unsuitable for the role so much so that his mother Kösem Sultan proposed that he be hung, and the Istanbul residents condone that difficult decision. But no one sanctioned the Ottoman Empire as the sultan’s son who ascended the throne was a legitimate ruler.
The other powers of that era could not care less about Europe. Safavid Persia and the Great Mongol Empire were busy sorting out their domestic issues, whereas the Manchurians toppled the Ming dynasty and helped Nurhaci establish his authority over China.
Amid the growing international rift, all hell broke loose on both banks of the Dnieper River. The Orthodox Christians rebelled against King John II Casimir Vasa who forcing ‘European values’ on them while stripping the local Cossacks of their rights.
The present-day Ukrainian territories were echoing the fate of the lands that had been buffeted by the Thirty Years’ War. The rebels’ leader, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, had repeatedly attempted a negotiation with Warsaw, but to no avail. He then launched a promising military campaign and had to look for allies elsewhere. The Cossack commander eventually found them in Moscow, home to the people of the same faith, speaking the dialects of the same language.
Describing the predicament Khmelnitsky had found himself in, Russian historian Vasily Klyuchevsky wrote: ‘Ever since Khmelnitsky had led his rebellion, the relations between Moscow and Little Russia were complicated. Bogdan’s success far surpassed what he had been looking for. He did not want to break ties with the Commonwealth of Poland. Instead, he only sought to intimidate the haughty nobility, but following his three victories, he suddenly realised that he now controlled almost the entire lands of Little Russia. Bogdan admitted that he had accomplished something he had never even conceived of doing. He was dizzy, especially over dinner.’
In a letter written to Tsar Alexis, he wrote: ‘Pray take us under your wing and protection along with the rest of Rus’ coalescing against the Poles by the Lord’s mercy.’
The Parliament’s tough call
Russian authorities were reluctant to meddle in the affairs of Little Russia, let alone fight against the Commonwealth of Poland. Some of the old-timers vividly remembered the Polish invasion of Russia in the early 17th century, the army of Commander Sagaydachny reaching Moscow’s Garden Ring and the defeat at Smolensk. Those misgivings aside, ever since Ivan the Terrible’s rule, the Russian monarchs had considered Kiev their historic cradle and sought to jump at the opportunity to reclaim it. But nobody knew when that opportunity would arise.
The same Klyuchevsky wrote: ‘Bogdan expected Moscow to break with Poland altogether and to strike it from the east, aiming to liberate Little Russia and take those lands under its control. In the meantime, the Moscow diplomats shrewdly waited for the Cossacks to defeat the Poles and make them flee the rebellious territories that would allow Little Russia to rejoin Greater Russia without breaching the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Russia and Poland.’
Until 1653, for all their military wins, the Russian government had not taken the Zaporozhian Cossack Host emissaries seriously. They sympathised with their fellow Orthodox Christians and allowed them to move to the vacant Wild Fields that were Russian-controlled since 1503 and were turning into Sloboda Ukraine. According to researcher Izmail Sreznevsky, by that time, three waves of emigration had been completed. The third one that occurred in 1651 led to the foundation of the cities of Kharkov and Sumy.
The parliamentary assembly faced a tough challenge and convened to decide how to handle the Cossack rebels. Tsar Alexis, 24, wanted the most respected individuals to weigh in on the subject. The monarch had already resolved to take action but sought counsel and more rationale for his further moves. The assembly involved representatives from Moscow and other cities as well as people from different social classes. Both the deliberation and the resulting decision were recorded. The assembly ruled: Russia shall begin a war against the Polish king and accept Bogdan Khmelnitsky with his army and Zaporozhian lands. Negotiations with King John II Casimir Vasa were off the table.
Pereyaslav Allegiance
Before embarking on a military campaign, Russia had to swear in the new subjects. On 18 January 1654, the Cossacks and commoners of the Chernigov, Kiev and Bratslav regions descended on the ancient city of Pereyaslav. The regions of Podolia, Volhynia and Galicia did not join in. The tsar was represented by a boyar named Vasily Buturlin.
Following a secret meeting, Khmelnitsky stepped onto the square at 11 am and addressed the assembly:
‘Dear colonels, officers and other soldiers of the Zaporozhian Host, God let us escape the enemies of Orthodox Christianity who wanted to eradicate us in our lands down to the last man. But we can no longer live without a sovereign. ‘We have assembled this public meeting today so that you can elect a sovereign out of the four rulers. The first one is the sultan who has offered us his protection many times. The second one is the Crimean khan. The third is the king of Poland. The fourth is the eastern Orthodox Tsar of Greater Rus’.’
After the unsavoury characterisation of the first three options, Khmelnitsky offered the following description of the fourth candidate: ‘The eastern Orthodox Christian tsar shares our Greek religious creed. We and the Orthodox Greater Rus’ form the body of the Church headed by Jesus Christ. This great Christian tsar has taken pity on the repression suffered by the Orthodox Church in Little Russia and attended to our six years’ worth of pleas. He has shown his royal mercy to us and sent us his confidantes purveying his royal mercy. Let us give him our utmost love!’ (Cited from historian Sergei Solovyov’s book, The History of Russia Since Ancient Times, Vol. 10.)
Bogdan’s speech was followed by exclamations: ‘Let us pledge to the eastern tsar! We had better die in our pure faith rather than succumb to Christ’s vile foe.’
Then the colonel asked the Cossacks:
‘Do all of you agree?’
‘All of us!’
‘God help us! God give us strength to be reunited forever!’
They perused the draft agreement and were sworn in as the new subjects of Tsar Alexis.
In March, they would find out the regulations for the newly added territories. This would be followed by the deadly war where the Cossacks would be aided in their struggle against the Polish troops. But then the course of events would be interfered by a black swan as the bellicose King Charles X Gustav would ascend the Swedish throne. But this is beyond the point.
At the time no one fully comprehended the implications of the Pereyaslav Agreement. Some thought it was a temporary accord that could be terminated by a better offer from a different neighbour. They had to pay a heavy price for their short-sightedness.
Others like the then-foreign minister Afanasiy Ordin-Nashchokin were disappointed about the new subjects. As he contemplated the feud in Little Russia following the passing of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, he remarked: ‘If the Cossacks are capable of betrayal, are they even worth supporting?’
Afterwards, historians offered their interpretations of the events. Some viewed them as short-lived. Others approached it as the unification of Ukraine and Russia as equals. Importantly, there was no mention of a unified Ukraine either in those records or in the 17th-century speeches pronounced by the parties. The Cossacks referred to themselves as ‘Russians’ and ‘Zaporozhians’.
Today Russia has inherited the challenges once tackled by the young Tsar Alexis and his predecessor Tsar Ivan III. It was on the latter’s watch that the present-day Kharkov and Sumy regions became part of Russia. And just like it was in 1654, there is no turning back for Russia now.