![Coat_of_arms_of_the_January_Uprising](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Coat_of_arms_of_the_January_Uprising.svg)
The Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth ( pl, Rzeczpospolita Trojga Narodów, Republic of Three Nations) was a proposed European state in the 17th century that would have replaced the existing
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
although it was never actually formed.
The establishment of the
Grand Duchy of Ruthenia was considered at various times, particularly during the 1648
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
insurrection, against
Polish rule in the primarily-ethnically
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
territories (see
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising,; in Ukraine known as Khmelʹnychchyna or uk, повстання Богдана Хмельницького; lt, Chmelnickio sukilimas; Belarusian language, Belarusian: Паўстанне Багдана Хмяльніц ...
). Such a
Ruthenian duchy, as proposed in the 1658
Treaty of Hadiach
The Treaty of Hadiach ( pl, ugoda hadziacka; uk, гадяцький договір) was a treaty signed on 16 September 1658 in Hadiach (Hadziacz, Hadiacz, Гадяч) between representatives of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ( representin ...
, would have been a full-fledged member of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
, which would thereby have become a tripartite Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth. In May 1659, the Polish Diet (
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
) ratified the treaty with an emended text. This plan, as envisioned by
Yuri Nemyrych Jerzy Niemirycz or Yuriy Nemyrych ( uk, Юрій Стефанович Немирич 1612–1659) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-Lithuanian magnate and politician of Ruthenian stock (gente Ruthenus natione Polonus) and Cossack Hetman ...
, would have ennobled a portion of the Cossacks, which would then run the
Grand Principality of Rus' (1658)
Grand Principality of Rus' (Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Руське, Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Ruskie), also known in historiography as Grand Principality of Ruthenia, was the project of the state as a member of the Polish–L ...
. However, Hadiach was a Republican compromise, but the Cossack revolution was Democratic. Hetman
Ivan Vyhovsky
Ivan Vyhovsky ( uk, Іван Виговський; pl, Iwan Wyhowski / Jan Wyhowski; date of birth unknown, died 1664), a Ukrainian military and political figure and statesman, served as hetman of the Zaporizhian Host and of the Cossack Hetma ...
could not get enough Cossacks agree to keeping the
Uniate Church
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...
, which the Catholic church refused to liquidate, but many Cossacks were extremely against.
The idea of a Ruthenian Duchy within the Commonwealth was completely abandoned. The Canadian historian
Paul Robert Magosci
Paul Robert Magocsi (born January 26, 1945 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980, and became a F ...
believes that happened by the divisions among the
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
and to the
Russian invasion,
[
]Paul Robert Magocsi
Paul Robert Magocsi (born January 26, 1945 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980, and became a Fe ...
(1996). ''A History of Ukraine''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp.221-225.
but both events had occurred much earlier than the signing of the Treaty of Hadiach. The Russian historian Tairova-Yakovleva regards the resistance of Polish society and papal pressure as the reasons for the ratification remaining incomplete.
The idea of a Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth revived during the
January Uprising
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
when a patriotic demonstration took place at
Horodło
Horodło () is a village in Hrubieszów County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Horodło. It lies approximately north-east of Hrubieszów ...
in 1861. The so-called Second
Union of Horodło
The Union of Horodło or Pact of Horodło was a set of three acts signed in the town of Horodło on 2 October 1413. The first act was signed by Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland, and Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. The second and thir ...
was announced there by the
szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
of
Congress Poland
Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
of the former
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...
of
Volhynia
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...
and of
Podolia
Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
. The New Commonwealth, based on the Second Union of Horodło, was to be based on the three nations, and its proposed
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
included the
Polish eagle
The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background.
In Poland, the coat of arms as a whole is referred to as ''godło'' both in official documents and colloquial speech, despite the fact that ...
, the Lithuanian
Pahonia
The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is als ...
, and the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of Ruthenia, the
Archangel Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
.
See also
*
Międzymorze (Intermarium)
*
Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth
*
Ruthenian Voivodeship
The Ruthenian Voivodeship (Latin: ''Palatinatus russiae'', Polish: ''Województwo ruskie'', Ukrainian: ''Руське воєводство'', romanized: ''Ruske voievodstvo''), also called Rus’ voivodeship, was a voivodeship of the Crown of ...
*
Lublin Triangle
The Lublin Triangle ( lt, Liublino trikampis; pl, Trójkąt Lubelski; uk, Люблінський трикутник, Liublinskyi trykutnyk) is a regional alliance of three European countriesLithuania, Poland, and Ukrainefor the purposes of str ...
*
British–Polish–Ukrainian trilateral pact
References
External links
Rzeczpospolita Trojga NarodówCommonwealth of Diverse Cultures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth
1658 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
17th century in Ukraine
Ruthenians in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Proposed countries
Intermarium