Yakym Somko ( Old Ukrainian: Іоаки^м Сомко, modern ) ( 1610s in Pereiaslav – September 28, 1664), was a Ukrainian Cossack military leader of the Pereiaslav regiment and was the Acting Hetman of

Left-bank Ukraine The Left-bank Ukraine is a historic name of the part of Ukraine on the left (east) bank of the Dnieper River, comprising the modern-day oblasts of Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy as well as the eastern parts of Kyiv and Cherkasy. Left-bank Ukrain ...

in 1660-1663, during

The Ruin "The Ruin of the Empire", or simply "The Ruin", is an elegy in Old English, written by an unknown author probably in the 8th or 9th century, and published in the 10th century in the '' Exeter Book'', a large collection of poems and riddles. The ...

. He was first appointed captain of the Pereiaslav regiment in 1654, and became the acting colonel in 1658. At the Pereiaslav Council of 1660, which concluded the Treaty of Slobodyshche, he was elected colonel of the Pereiaslav regiment and Acting Hetman of Left-Bank Ukraine. But he strongly opposed the treaty because it restored the union with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and annulled the Pereiaslav articles, which he favored more of a pro-Russian orientation. Which caused a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

between Right-bank Cossacks who favored a pro-Polish policies, and Left-bank Cossacks who favored pro-Russian policies. In 1661 he led a revolt against Yurii Khmelnytsky with left-bank regiments, and Zaporozhian otaman Ivan Briukhovetsky. During the Russo-Polish War he fought against the Poles, and the

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

, in order to re-unite all of the Cossack lands under his reign. At first he was a strong supporter of the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

, but initially withdrew his support because of disagreements, and a lack of help in restoring

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. But Russia started seeking aid from Somko's opponents, in particular Ivan Briukhovetsky who supported Russian rule, in turn started accusing Somko of secret negotiations with Khmelnytsky, and Pavlo Teteria, which caused a delay in the final decision of the Cossack starshyna council at Kozelets in 1662 to recognize his tenure as hetman. In order to decide on a new hetman, a Chorna rada took place on June 17–18, 1663 near

Nizhyn Nizhyn (, ; ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the capital city, administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It hosts the ...

, where a cossack council consisting of the starshyna, and a large number of common cossacks elected a new hetman for left-bank Ukraine. The officers proposed him and colonel Vasyl Zolotarenko of the

Nizhyn Regiment The Nizhyn Regiment () was one of ten territorial-administrative subdivisions of the Cossack Hetmanate. The regiment's capital was the city of Nizhyn, now in Chernihiv Oblast of central Ukraine. Other major cities of the regiment were Hlukhiv and ...

as candidates, but the majority and including the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

supported Briukhovetsky and elected him the new hetman. Both Somko, and Zolotarenko were imprisoned and then were handed over to Briukhovetsky, who had them executed in Borzna on September 28, 1664.

Legacy

Yakym Somko is the central character in the novel (1846) by Panteleimon Kulish.

References

Encyclopedia of Ukraine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somko, Yakym 1664 deaths People from Pereiaslav Acting Hetmans (Ukrainian Cossacks) Russian people of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) Zaporozhian Cossack military personnel of the Khmelnytsky Uprising 1610s births Colonels of the Cossack Hetmanate