The Sich Rada (, ''Sichova Rada'') was the highest branch of government of the

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...

, and based at their center, the

Zaporizhian Sich The Zaporozhian Sich ( ua, Запорозька Січ, ; also uk, Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового, ; Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of C ...

. It was also called Viyskova Rada (Military Council). The

Rada The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the S ...

, a type of governing

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

but with

participation Participation or Participant may refer to: Politics *Participation (decision making), mechanisms for people to participate in social decisions *Civic participation, engagement by the citizens in government *e-participation, citizen participation ...

from the cossack members, was involved in legislative, executive and judicial matters.Magocsi, P. (1996) ''A history of Ukraine'', University of Toronto Press
,

Functions

As an institution, the Sich Rada was a form of

direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are repres ...

where rights of individual

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 ...

were preserved through participation in the Rada. It was able to decide when to go to war and when to conclude a peace treaty. It elected the officer staff ( starshyna), with the

Kosh otaman Kish otaman ( uk, Кошовий отаман, ; russian: Кошевой атаман, ; pl, Ataman koszowy; also known as of the Zaporizhian Host) was a chief officer of the ''Kish'' (central body of government) of the Zaporozhian Host in the 1 ...

at its head. It received foreign

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

s and determined the course of

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

. The Sich Rada also fulfilled certain economic functions, such as the distribution of the communal agricultural and fishing districts among the

kurin Kurin ( uk, курінь, translit=Kurin') has two definitions: a military and administrative unit of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, Black Sea Cossack Host, and others; and of a type of housing (see below). In the administrative definition, a kurin us ...

s of the Sich.'Sich Council (Sichova Rada)' in ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'', vol. 4 (1993)
/ref>

Notes and references

Cossack Rada Zaporizhian Sich {{Ukraine-hist-stub