Ostrzanin Uprising
Encyclopedia
The Ostrzanin Uprising was a 1638 Cossack
uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
. It was sparked by an act of the Sejm
(legislature) passed the same year that declared that non-Registered Cossacks
were equal to ordinary peasants in their rights, and hence were subjected to enserfment
. The uprising was initially led by Cossack Hetman
Yakiv Ostranin but was eventually crushed.
Ostranin also called on the people of Ukraine to join the insurgency and to beware of the Registered Cossacks. His leaflets were spread across Ukraine, reaching as far as Pokuttia. His appeal was carried and distributed by the Cossack elders, bandurist
s, youth, and according to Ostranin, even Orthodox monks. People began to prepare for an uprising, some going to Zaporozhye, while others sent food, money, and gunpowder.
The rebels left Zaporozhye and divided themselves into three detachments. The first, moving down the left bank of the Dnieper
, was led by Ostranin himself. His force took Kremenchug and moved onto Khorol
and Omel'nyk. The second body of troops, consisting of a flotilla
led by Guney, took the river crossings in Kremenchug, Maksimovka, Buzhin and Chigirin. The third force occupied the right bank of the Dnieper.
. However, soon the uprising was quelled by Polish-Lithuanian forces led by Jeremi Wiśniowiecki
and Mikołaj Potocki. After a series of further skirmishes the Cossacks capitulated at the Starzec river. Hunia and some other Cossacks managed to flee to Russia
.
, a well-known Polish
historian, theologian, and specialist in heraldry
. He witnessed and directly participated in the uprisings, and his field diaries became valuable information source for historians and novelists.
The uprising forms part of the plot of the romanticized
historical novel Taras Bulba
, written in 1834 by Nikolai Gogol
, a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist. The book tells the story of an old Zaporozhian Cossack, Taras Bulba, and his two sons, Andriy and Ostap. The three men set out on an epic journey to join other Cossacks and participate in the Zaporozhia Cossack uprisings
including the Ostrzanin Uprising.
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. It was sparked by an act of the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
(legislature) passed the same year that declared that non-Registered Cossacks
Registered Cossacks
Registered Cossacks is the term used for Cossacks formations of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth armies.-Establishing:The registered cossacks were created on the King's edict of Sigismund II Augustus on June 5, 1572 confirming the orders of the Crown Hetman Jerzy Jazłowiecki. The first senior ...
were equal to ordinary peasants in their rights, and hence were subjected to enserfment
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
. The uprising was initially led by Cossack Hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Yakiv Ostranin but was eventually crushed.
Course
According to a chronicle of 1864 written by Samuil Velichko, Ostranin, who had just been elected Hetman, issued an address to the Little Russian people on the eve of the campaign in March 1638. He declared that he would "go with his army to the Ukraine in order to liberate the Orthodox people from the yoke of oppression and torment of the Polish tyranny and claim vengeance for grievances, ruin and torturous abuse... suffered by the entire Russian populace, living on both sides of the Dnieper."Ostranin also called on the people of Ukraine to join the insurgency and to beware of the Registered Cossacks. His leaflets were spread across Ukraine, reaching as far as Pokuttia. His appeal was carried and distributed by the Cossack elders, bandurist
Bandurist
A bandurist is a person who plays the Ukrainian plucked string instrument known as the bandura.-Types of performers:There are a number of different types of bandurist who differ in their paricular choice of instrument, the specific repertoire they play and manner in which they approach their...
s, youth, and according to Ostranin, even Orthodox monks. People began to prepare for an uprising, some going to Zaporozhye, while others sent food, money, and gunpowder.
The rebels left Zaporozhye and divided themselves into three detachments. The first, moving down the left bank of the Dnieper
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
, was led by Ostranin himself. His force took Kremenchug and moved onto Khorol
Khorol
Khorol is a city in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. Population is 14,753 . Notable natives of Khorol include Ben-Zion Dinur and Aryeh Dvoretzky....
and Omel'nyk. The second body of troops, consisting of a flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
led by Guney, took the river crossings in Kremenchug, Maksimovka, Buzhin and Chigirin. The third force occupied the right bank of the Dnieper.
Defeat
Ostranin's force was defeated at the Battle of Żownin, near Żownin in the Kiev Voivodeship. Subsequently the Cossacks elected a new Hetman in the person of Dmytro HuniaDmytro Hunia
Dmytro Hunia was elected hetman of the Zaporozhian Host in 1638. He was one of the leaders of the Ostrzanin Uprising, a 1638 Cossack uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The rebellion was sparked by the Sejm act of the same year that declared that non-Registered Cossacks are equal...
. However, soon the uprising was quelled by Polish-Lithuanian forces led by Jeremi Wiśniowiecki
Jeremi Wisniowiecki
Jeremi Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki was a notable member of the aristocracy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Prince at Wiśniowiec, Łubnie and Chorol and a father of future Polish king Michał I...
and Mikołaj Potocki. After a series of further skirmishes the Cossacks capitulated at the Starzec river. Hunia and some other Cossacks managed to flee to Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
.
In literature
The uprising was described in detail by Szymon OkolskiSzymon Okolski
Szymon Okolski , also known as Simon Okolski, was a well-known Polish-Lithuanian historian, theologian, and specialist in heraldry. His own clan and coat of arms were that of Rawicz. Born in Kamieniec Podolski, died in Lviv. He headed chairs of theology in Lviv and Bologna...
, a well-known Polish
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
historian, theologian, and specialist in heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
. He witnessed and directly participated in the uprisings, and his field diaries became valuable information source for historians and novelists.
The uprising forms part of the plot of the romanticized
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
historical novel Taras Bulba
Taras Bulba
Taras Bulba is a romanticized historical novel by Nikolai Gogol. It tells the story of an old Zaporozhian Cossack, Taras Bulba, and his two sons, Andriy and Ostap. Taras’ sons studied at the Kiev Academy and return home...
, written in 1834 by Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
, a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist. The book tells the story of an old Zaporozhian Cossack, Taras Bulba, and his two sons, Andriy and Ostap. The three men set out on an epic journey to join other Cossacks and participate in the Zaporozhia Cossack uprisings
Zaporozhia Cossack uprisings
The Cossack uprisings were a series of military conflicts between the cossacks and the states claiming dominion over the territories the Cossacks lived in, namely the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russian Empire during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Both states tried to exert control...
including the Ostrzanin Uprising.
External links
- "Dyaryusz transactiey wojennej między wojskiem koronnem i zaporoskiem w r. 1637 miesiąca Grudnia przez Mikołaja Potockiego zaczętej i dokończonej», (Zamość, 1638) - field diary concerning the 1637 Cossack rebellion;
- Kontynuacya dyaryusza wojennego etc. (Kraków, 1639) - continuation of Okolski's field notes of the Cossacks neutralization. In 1738 both diaries were translated to Russian by historian Stephan Lukomski.