The Zaporozhian Sich (, , ; also ) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...

that existed between the 16th to 18th centuries, for the latter part of that period as an autonomous stratocratic state within the

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...

. The lands of Zaporozhian Sich were centred around the Great Meadow region of

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 ...

, spanning the lower

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

river. In different periods the area came under the sovereignty of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, 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. ...

, and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The establishment of Zaporozhian Sich was an important factor in defense of

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

from Crimean-Nogai raids. In 1650, its total population consisted of 100,000. In 1657–1687, Zaporizhian Sich was practically independent, possessing its own administration and armed forces consisting of 12,000–20,000 Cossacks. It was reliant on population growth, mainly consisting of Ukrainian refugees from devastated lands. In 1775, shortly after Russia annexed the territories ceded to it by the

under the

Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (; ), formerly often written Kuchuk-Kainarji, was a peace treaty signed on , in Küçük Kaynarca (today Kaynardzha, Bulgaria and Cuiugiuc, Romania) between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, ending the R ...

(1774),

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

disbanded the Sich. She incorporated its territory into the Russian province of

Novorossiya Novorossiya rus, Новороссия, Novorossiya, p=nəvɐˈrosʲːɪjə, a=Ru-Новороссия.ogg; , ; ; ; "New Russia". is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later becom ...

. The term ''Zaporozhian Sich'' can also refer metonymically and informally to the whole military-administrative organisation of the Zaporozhian

Cossack host A Cossack host (; , ''kazachye voysko''), sometimes translated as Cossack army, was an administrative subdivision of Cossacks in the Russian Empire. Earlier the term ''voysko'' ( host, in a sense as a doublet of ''guest'') referred to Cossack o ...

Name

The name ''

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

'' refers to the military and political organization of the Cossacks and to the location of their autonomous territory 'beyond the rapids' (') of the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. The Dnieper rapids were a major portage on the north–south Dnieper trade route. The term '' sich'' is a noun related to the East Slavic verb ''sich'' ( сѣчь), meaning 'to chop' or 'cut'; it may have been associated with the usual wood sharp-spiked stockades around Cossack settlements. Zaporizhzhia was located in the region around the Great Meadow (''Velykyi Luh'') in today's south-eastern Ukraine, which was flooded by the Kakhovka Reservoir from the construction of the Kakhovka Dam in 1956 until its destruction in 2023. The area was also known under the historical term '' Wild Fields''.

History

A possible precursor of the Zaporozhian Sich was a fortification ('' sich'') built on the Tomakivka island () in the middle of the

in the present-day Zaporizhzhia region of

. However, there is no direct evidence about the exact time of the existence of Tomakivka Sich, whereas indirect data suggest that at the time of Tomakivka Sich there was no Zaporozhian Sich yet. The history of Zaporozhian Sich spans six time-periods: * the emergence of the Sich (construction of ) (1471–1583) * as part of the Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown by inclusion in the Kiev Voivodeship (1583–1657) * the struggle against the Rzeczpospolita (the Polish-Lithuanian state), the

, and the Crimea Khanate for the independence of the Ukrainian part of the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth) (1657–1686) * the struggle with

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, the Ottoman Empire, and the

for the unique identity of Cossacks (1686–1709) * the standoff with the Russian government during its attempts to cancel the self-governing of the Sich, and its fall (1734–1775) * the formation of the Danubian Sich outside the Russian Empire and finding ways to return home (1775–1828)

Formation

The Zaporozhian Sich emerged as a method of defence by Slavic colonists against the frequent and devastating raids of

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 ...

, who captured and enslaved hundreds of thousands of

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

and

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

to supply the Crimean slave trade in operations called "the harvesting of the steppe". The Ukrainians created a self-defence force, the

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

, to stop the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

, and built '' sichi'', fortified camps that were later united to form a central fortress, the Zaporozhian Sich. Prince Dmytro Vyshnevetsky established the first Zaporozhian Sich on the island of Small (Mala) Khortytsia in 1552, building a fortress at ''Niz Dnieprovsky'' (Lower

) and placing a Cossack garrison there; Tatar forces destroyed the fortress in 1558. The Tomakivka Sich was built on a now-inundated island to the south, near the modern city of Marhanets; the Tatars also razed that sich in 1593. A third sich soon followed, on Bazavluk Island, which survived until 1638, when it was destroyed by a Polish expeditionary force suppressing a Cossack uprising. These settlements, founded during the 16th century, were already complex enough to constitute an early proto-state.

Struggle for independence

02 210 color Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops

The

became included in the Kiev Voivodeship from 1583 to 1657, which was part of the Lesser Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. They resented Polish rule, however. One of the reasons being religious differences, as the cossacks were Eastern Orthodox Christians whereas the

were mostly

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. They thus engaged in a long struggle for independence from surrounding powers, the

(''I Rzechpospolita''), the

, the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

, and the

, later the

. The Sich became the centre of Cossack life, governed by the '' Sich Rada'' alongside its Kish otaman (sometimes called a hetman from German ''Hauptmann''). In 1648,

Bohdan Khmelnytsky Zynoviy Bohdan Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky of the Abdank coat of arms (Ruthenian language, Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern , Polish language, Polish: ; 15956 August 1657) was a Ruthenian nobility, Ruthenian noble ...

captured a sich at Mykytyn Rih, near the current city of Nikopol, Ukraine. From there the

Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...

began against the I Rzechpospolita that led to the establishment of the

(1648–1764). After the Pereiaslav Agreement with the Tsar in 1654, the Zaporozhian Host was split into the Hetmanate, with its capital at Chyhyryn, and the more autonomous region of

, which continued to be centred on the Sich. During this period, the Sich changed location several times but was generally located in the Great Meadow. The Chortomlyk Sich was built at the mouth of the Chortomlyk River in 1652. In 1667 the Truce of Andrusovo made the Sich a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

ruled jointly by Russia and the

. During the reign of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, Cossacks were used to construct canals and fortification lines in northern Russia. An estimated 20–30 thousand were sent each year. Hard labour led to a high mortality rate among builders, and only an estimated 40% of Cossacks returned home. After the Battle of Poltava in 1709, the Chortomlyk Sich (sometimes referred to as the "Old Sich" (''Stara Sich'')) was destroyed and Baturyn, the capital of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, was razed. Another sich was built at the mouth of the Kamianka river but was destroyed in 1711 by the Russian government. The Cossacks then fled to the Crimean Khanate to avoid persecution and founded the Oleshky Sich in 1711 (today the city of Oleshky). In 1734, they were allowed to return to the Russian Empire. Suffering from discrimination in the Khanate, Cossacks accepted the offer to return and built another Sich close to the former Chortomlyk Sich, referred to as the Nova Sich. The population in the steppes numbered around 52,000 in the year 1768. Fear of the independence of the Sich resulted in the Russian administration abolishing the Hetmanate in 1764. The Cossack officer class was incorporated into the

Russian nobility The Russian nobility or ''dvoryanstvo'' () arose in the Middle Ages. In 1914, it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members, out of a total population of 138,200,000. Up until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian noble estates staffed ...

(''Dvoryanstvo''). However, rank and file Cossacks were reduced to peasant status, including a substantial portion of the old Zaporozhians. Tension rose after the

, when the need for a southern frontier ended after the annexation of the

. The Imperial colonisation of

(New Russia) with

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

and

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

created further conflict. After the end of the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire for possession of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and Crimean steppes, Russia no longer needed the Zaporozhian Cossacks for protection of the border region. Russia finally destroyed the Zaporozhian Sich through military force in 1775.

Destruction and aftermath

Ilja Jefimowitsch Repin - Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks - Yorck

In May 1775, Russian General Peter Tekeli received orders to occupy and destroy the Zaporozhian Sich from

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

, who had been formally admitted into Cossackdom a few years earlier. Potemkin was given direct orders from

. On 5 June 1775, Tekeli surrounded the Sich with artillery and infantry. He postponed the assault and even allowed visits while the head of the Host, Petro Kalnyshevsky, decided how to react to the Russian ultimatum. The Zaporozhians chose to surrender. The Sich was officially disbanded by the 3 August 1775 manifesto of Catherine, "On the Liquidation of Zaporozhian Sich and Annexation thereof to

Novorossiya Governorate Novorossiya Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, which existed in 1764–1783 and again in 1796–1802. It was created and governed according to the "Plan for the Colonization of New Russia ...

", and the Sich was razed to the ground. Some of the Cossack officer class, the '' starshyna'', became hereditary Russian nobility and obtained huge lands despite their previous attempts to relocate the Sich to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Under the guidance of a ''starshyna'' named Lyakh, a conspiracy was formed among a group of fifty Cossacks to pretend to go fishing on the Inhul next to the Southern Buh in the Ottoman provinces and to obtain fifty passports for the expedition. The pretext was enough to allow about 5000 Zaporozhians to flee, some travelling to the

Danube Delta The Danube Delta (, ; , ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube, Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania ...

, where they formed a new Danubian Sich as a protectorate of the Ottoman Empire. Others moved to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

to form a Sich there as a protectorate of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. According to folklore, some moved to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, because Kosh otamans and other senior members of the starshyna considered themselves a kind of Maltese chivalry. The leader of the Zaporozhian Host, Petro Kalnyshevsky, was arrested and exiled to the Solovetsky Islands (where he lived to the age of 112 in the

Solovetsky Monastery The Solovetsky Monastery (, ) is a fortified monastery located on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea in northern Russia. It was one of the largest Christian citadels in northern Russia before it was converted into a Soviet Union, Soviet pris ...

). Four high-level ''starshynas'' were repressed and exiled, later dying in Siberian monasteries. Lower level ''starshynas'' who remained and went over to the Russian side were given army ranks and all the privileges that accompanied them, and allowed to join

Hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

and

Dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

regiments. Most of the ordinary Cossacks were made peasants and even serfs. In 1780, after disbanding the Zaporozhian Cossack Host, Potemkin attempted to gather and reorganize the Cossacks voluntarily, and they helped to defend Ukraine from the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). He gathered almost 12,000 Cossacks and called them the Black Sea Cossacks. After the conflict was over, rather than allowing the Cossacks to settle across Southern Ukraine, the Russian government began to resettle them on the

Kuban River The Kuban is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Caucasus and drains into the Sea of Azov. The Kuban runs mostly through Krasnodar Krai for , but also in the Karachay–Cherkess Republic, Stavropol Krai and the Republic of Adygea. ...

. In 1860, they changed their name to the

Kuban Cossacks Kuban Cossacks (; ), or Kubanians (, ''kubantsy''; , ''kubantsi''), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of different major groups of Cossacks who were re-settled to the western Norther ...

. Ukrainian writer Adrian Kashchenko (1858–1921) and historian Olena ApanovychOlena Apanovich, "Ne propala ihnya slava", "Vitchizna" Magazine, N 9, 1990 note that the abolition of the Zaporozhian Sich had a strong symbolic effect. Memories of the event remained for a long time in local folklore.

Organization and government

The Zaporozhian Host was led by the Sich Rada that elected a Kish otaman as the host's leader. He was aided by a head secretary (''pysar''), head judge, and head archivist. During military operations the Otaman carried unlimited power supported by his staff as the military collegiate. He decided with an agreement from the Rada whether to support a certain Hetman (such as

) or other leaders of state. Some sources refer to the Zaporozhian Sich as a "Cossack republic", because the highest power in it belonged to the assembly of all its members, and its leaders (''starshyna'') were elected. The Cossacks formed a society (

hromada In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine, Government of Uk ...

) that consisted of " kurins" (each with several hundred Cossacks). A Cossack military court severely punished violence and stealing among compatriots, the bringing of women to the Sich, the consumption of alcohol in periods of conflict, and other offenses. The administration of the Sich provided Orthodox churches and schools for the religious and secular education of children. The population of the Sich had a cosmopolitan component, including

, Moldavians,

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

and many other ethnicities. The social structure was complex, consisting of destitute gentry and

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russian nobility, Russia), Boyars of Moldavia and Wallach ...

, ''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

'' (Polish nobility), merchants, peasants, outlaws of every sort, runaway slaves from Turkish

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

s, and runaway

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

s (as the Zaporozhian polkovnyk Pivtorakozhukha). Some of those who were not accepted to the host formed gangs of their own, and also claimed to be Cossacks. However, after the

these formations largely disappeared and were integrated mainly into Hetmanate society.

Army and warfare

The Cossacks developed a large fleet of fast, light vessels. Their campaigns were targeted at rich settlements on the

shores of the

, and several times took them as far as

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

(formerly Trebizond).

Zaporozhian Sich centers and locations

* Khortytsia Sich (1556–1557) ** Khortytsia Island (today part of

) * Tomakivka Sich (1564–1593) ** Great Meadow, formerly submerged (located near today's Marhanets) * Bazavluk Sich, (1593–1638) ** Great Meadow, formerly submerged (located near today's village of Kapulivka, Nikopol Raion) * Mykytyn Sich (1639–1652) ** Nikopol * Chortomlyk Sich (1652–1709) ** Great Meadow, formerly submerged (located near today's village of Kapulivka, Nikopol Raion) * Kamianka Sich (1709–1711) ** near village of Respublikanets, Beryslav Raion * Oleshky Sich (1711–1734) ** eastern outskirts of the city of Oleshky * Nova Pidpilnenska Sich (1734–1775) ** Great Meadow, formerly submerged near the village of Pokrovske, Nikopol Raion (about same location of Chortomlyk and Bazavluk)

Zaporozhian Siches and their leaders

As Kish Otamans also known as "Hetmans": * Khortytsia Sich (1556–1557) ** Wężyk Chmielnicki (1534–1569) * Tomakivka Sich (1564–1593) ** Wężyk Chmielnicki (1534–1569) **

Michał Wiśniowiecki (1529–1584) Michał Wiśniowiecki or Mykhailo Vyshnevetsky (1529–1584) was a Ruthenian noble (szlachcic) of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was a prince at Wiśniowiec, magnate, Senior of Registered Cossacks, Hetman of Zaporozhian Cossacks, castell ...

(1569–1570) ** Iwan Swiergowski (1574) ** Samiylo Kishka (1574–1575) ** Bohdan Ruzhynski (1575–1576) ** Jacub Szach (1576–1578) ** Ivan Pidkova (1577–1578) ** Lukyan Chornynsky (1578) ** Jan Oryszowski (1581) ** Samuel Zborowski (1581–1584) ** Bohdan Mokoshynsky (1584) ** Mykhailo Ruzhynski (1585) ** Zakhar Kulaha (1585) ** Bohdan Mokoshynsky (1586) ** Lukyan Chornynsky (1586) ** Demyan Skalozub (1585–1589) **

Krzysztof Kosiński Krzysztof Kosiński, also known as Kryshtof Kosynsky
''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'', vol ...

(−1593) * Bazavluk Sich (1593–1638) ** Hryhoriy Loboda (1593–1596) ** Bohdan Mokoshynsky (1594) ** Jan Oryszowski (1596) **

Severyn Nalyvaiko Severyn (Semerii) Nalyvaiko (, , in older historiography also ''Semen Nalewajko'', died 21 April 1597) was a leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks who became a hero of Ukrainian folklore. He led the failed Nalyvaiko Uprising against the Polish– ...

(1596) ** Khrystofor Netkovsky (1596–1597) ** Hnat Vasylevych (1596–1597) **

Tykhin Baybuza Tykhin Baybuza () was a Registered Cossacks Senior (1597–1598). He was born in Cherkasy to Ukrainian boyar Mykhaylo Baybuza-Hrybunovych and grandson of Ografena Gliński coat of arms, Glinsky. During the Nalyvaiko Uprising, Cossack rebellion o ...

(1597–1598) ** Fedir Polous (1598) ** Semen Skalozub (1599) ** Samiylo Kishka (1600–1602) ** Havrylo Krutnevych (1602–1603) ** Ivan Kutskovych (1602–1603) ** Ivan Kosyi (1603) ** Kaletnyk Andriyevych (1609–1610) ** Olifer Holub (1622–1623) ** Mykhailo Doroshenko (1623–1625) ** Kaletnyk Andriyevych (1624–1625) ** Marko Zhmailo (1625) ** Mykhailo Doroshenko (1625–1628) ** Hryhoriy Chorny (1628–1630) ** Ivan Sulyma (1628–1629) ** Lev Ivanovych (1629–1630) ** Taras Triasylo (1630) ** Timothy Orendarenko (1630–1631) ** Semen Perevyazka (1632) ** Timothy Orendarenko (1632–1633) ** Ivan Petrizhitsky-Kulaga (1632) ** Andriy Didenko (1633) ** Dorothy Doroshenko (1633) ** Ivan Sulyma (1633–1635) ** Sava Kononovych (1637) ** Pavlo Pavliuk-But (1637) ** Illyash Karayimovych (1638) ** Yakiv Ostryanyn (1638) ** Dmytro Hunia (1638) * Mykytyn Sich (1639–1652) ** Karpo Pivtora-Kozhukha (1639–1642) ** Maksym Hulak (1642–1646) ** Fedir Lutay (1647-1648) As Kish Otamans formally subject to the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host: * Mykytyn Sich (1639–1652) ** Hutskyi (1650) * Chortomlyk Sich (1652–1709) ** Fedir Lutay (1652) ** Pavlo Homin (1654-1657) ** Yakiv Barabash (1657-1658) ** Pavlo Homin (1658-1659) ** Ivan Briukhovetsky (1659) ** Petro Sukhoviy (1660) ** Ivan Briukhovetsky (1661) ** Ivan Velychko-Bosovskyi (1662) ** Sashko Turovets (1663) ** Ivan Sirko (1663) ** Sashko Turovets (1664) ** Ivan Sirko (1664) ** Ivan Shcherbyna (1664-1665) ** Levko Shkura (1665) ** Ivan Kurylo (1665) ** Ivan Velychko-Bosovskyi (1665) ** Levko Shkura (1665-1666) ** Ivan Zhdan-Rih (1666-1667) ** Ostap Vasiutenko-Chemerys (1667) ** Ivan Zhdan-Rih (1667) ** Ivan Bilkovskyi (1668) ** Lukash Martynovych (1669) ** Mykhailo Khanenko (1669-1670) ** Hryhoriy Pelekh (1670) ** Lukash Martynovych (1671) ** Yevseviy Shashol (1672) ** Stepan Vdovychenko (1672) ** Lukyan Andriyiv (1672-1673) ** Ivan Sirko (1673-1680) ** Ivan Stiahaylo (1680-1681) ** Trokhym Voloshanyn (1681-1682) ** Vasyl Oleksiyenko (1682) ** Hryhoriy Yeremeyev (1682-1684) ** Hryhoriy Sahaidachnyi (1686) ** Fedir Ivanyk (1686) ** Filon Lykhopiy (1687) ** Hryhoriy Sahaidachnyi (1687) ** Filon Lykhopiy (1688) ** Ivan Husak (1688-1689) ** Fedko Husak (1689) ** Ivan Husak (1690-1692) ** Vasyl Kuzmenko (1692-1693) ** Ivan Husak (1693) ** Semen Ruban (1693-1694) ** Ivan Sharpylo (1694) ** Petro Pryma (1694-1695) ** Maksym Samiylenko (1695) ** Ivan Husak (1695) ** Yakiv Moroz (1696-1697) ** Hryhoriy Yakovenko (1697-1698) ** Martyn Stukalo (1698-1699) ** Petro Pryma (1699-1700) ** Herasym Krysa (1701) ** Petro Sorochynskyi (1701-1702) **

Kost Hordiyenko Kost Hordiienko (; unknown – 15 May 1733) was a Zaporozhian Cossack Kish otaman. After 1709 he allied with Ivan Mazepa, and co-authored the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk. Hordiienko was born in the Poltava Oblast, Poltava region, Cossack Hetmanat ...

(1702) ** Herasym Krysa (1703) ** Kost Hordiyenko (1703-1706) ** Lukash Tymofiyenko (1706-1707) ** Petro Sorochynskyi (1707) ** Tymofiy Fenenko (1708) ** Kost Hordiyenko (1708-1709) * Kamianka Sich (1709–1711) ** Petro Sorochynskyi (1709-1710) ** Yakym Bohush (1710) ** Yosyp Kyrylenko (1710) * Oleshky Sich (1711–1734) ** Kost Hordiyenko (1711-1714) ** Ivan Malashevych (1714-1720) ** Kost Hordiyenko (1720-1728) ** Ivan Bilytskyi (1733) * Nova Sich (1734–1775) ** Ivan Malashevych (1734-1735) ** Ivan Bilytskyi (1735, 1738) ** Kost Pokotylo (1739) ** Yakiv Turkalo (1739-1740) ** Ivan Cherevko (1740) ** Stepan Umanskyi (1740) ** Stepan Hladkyi (1741) ** Semen Yeremiyevych (1742) ** Yakym Ihnatovych (1744) ** Vasyl Sych (1745-1747) ** Pavlo Kozeletskyi (1747) ** Marko Kazhan (1748) ** Yakym Ihnatovych (1748-1749) ** Oleksiy Kozeletskyi (1749-1750) ** Ivan Kazhan (1750) ** Vasyl Sych (1751) ** Yakiv Ihnatovych (1752) ** Pavlo Kozeletskyi (1752-1753) ** Semen Yeremiyevych (1753) ** Danylo Hladkyi (1753) ** Yakym Ihnatovych (1754) ** Hryhoriy Lantukh (1755-1756) ** Fedir Shkura (1756) ** Danylo Hladkyi (1757) ** Hryhoriy Lantukh (1757-1758) ** Oleksiy Bilytskyi (1759-1760) ** Hryhoriy Lantukh (1761) ** Stepan Rud (1762) ** Petro Kalnyshevskyi (1762) ** Hryhoriy Lantukh (1763) ** Pylyp Fedoriv (1764) ** Ivan Bilytskyi (1765) ** Petro Kalnyshevskyi (1765-1775) * Danubian Sich (1775–1828) ** Andriy Liakh (1775-1778) ** Abdula (1778) ** Hardovyi (1778-1791) ** Trokhym Pomelo (1791-1794) ** Hnat Koval (1805-1809) ** Samiylo Kalnybolotskyi (1809-1813) ** Semen Moroz (1813-1815) ** Vasyl Smyk (1815-1816) ** Kindrat Riasnyi (1816-1817) ** Ivan Taran (1817-1818) ** Mykhailo Huba (1818-1819) ** Vasyl Cherniha (1819-1820) ** Vasyl Lytvyn (1820-1821) ** Nykyfor Biluha (1821-1822) ** Hrytsko Huba (1822-1823) ** Semen Moroz (1823-1825) ** Mykhailo Huba (1825-1826) ** Vasyl Cherniha (1826) ** Vasyl Nezamayivskyi (1826-1827) ** Yosyp Hladkyi (1827-1828) ** Mykhailo Chayka (1853-1870) - proclaimed Cossack otaman under Turkish command during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

References

Works cited

* * *

External links

Zaporozhian Sich
– Encyclopedia of Ukraine {{authority control Fiefdoms of Poland Early modern history of Ukraine History of the Cossacks in Ukraine States and territories established in 1552 States and territories disestablished in 1775 Zaporozhian Cossacks Zaporozhian Host

Name

History

Formation

Struggle for independence

Destruction and aftermath

Organization and government

Army and warfare

Zaporozhian Sich centers and locations

Zaporozhian Siches and their leaders

See also

References

Works cited

External links