Ukrainian State in the 18th century: the nobility project

The events took place in the Ukrainian Hetman State in September-December 1763 were significant for Ukrainian statehood in the 18th century, marking the boldest self-assertion efforts on the part of the Ukrainian elite (after Ivan Mazepa’s time). Among these events was a universal (decree) signed by Hetman Kyrylo Rozumovsky on Dec. 1, 1763. This historical evidence makes it possible to answer the questions, What was the mid-18th century Ukrainian state like? How did the local politicians view its prospects?

At the time, the Ukrainian Hetman State was constantly linked to Central and Eastern European countries, and this made Ukraine dependent on the political life of these countries. In the mid-18th century, Ukraine was mostly influenced by the Russian empire and the Polish kingdom of Rzeczpospolita. Ukraine was part of the Russian empire and depended on it in terms of politics and religion. The Hetman State depended on the Rzeczpospolita in terms of political culture.

Sociopolitical concepts that dominated Central and Eastern Europe in the 18th century were clustered around centralism and decentralism. The centralist states included Russia ruled by the Romanov dynasty; the Ottoman Empire; the Hapsburg empire; and the Swedish kingdom ruled by the Vasa dynasty. The ideas and concepts of decentralism, and hence the decentralized political order, were widespread in the Rzeczpospolita, Moldova, Hungary, Livonia, and Ukraine.

In other words, political life in the Russian empire existed as a state hierarchical pyramid whose members had certain responsibilities that brought them certain material and social benefits. The Rzeczpospolita and the states that came under its influence had deeply ingrained notions of political power as the rule of the nobility. In the Rzeczpospolita the perception originated in the early 16th century. Later these concepts were adopted by the boyars of Moldova, the German barons in Livonia, and the Cossack starshyna(officers) in Ukraine.

It is important to note that even the onslaught of absolutist regimes in Central Europe in the 18th century was carried out under the slogans of preserving the rights and liberties of the Polish, Ukrainian, Livonian, Moldovan, and Hungarian elites. In­te­restingly, aristocratic sociopolitical concepts extended to Russia: e.g., the decentralist political ideas under the rule of tsarina Sofia, the 1730 draft constitution, the 1762 Manifesto Freeing Nobles from Obligatory Service, and other historical facts are proof that there were decentralist trends and ideas in Muscovy and the Russian empire.

THE SZLACHTA PROJECT

During the short rule of Peter III of Russia (1761-62) Kyrylo Rozumovsky had the Ukrainian Hetman State under practically unlimited control. However, the spectacular career of another Ukrainian, Andrii Hudovych, who was the Russian emperor’s favorite, prompted the hetman to join a conspiracy plot. After Catherine II’s coup (June 28, 1762) Rozumovsky reached the peak of his glory and power. As befitted one of Russia’s most influential political figure, Rozumovsky joined one of the two parties in the royal court-the one led by Nikita Panin. In 1763 this party was weakened for a while and this lessened the Ukrainian hetman’s weight in Russia’s political life. The ambitious hetman then switched from court intrigues to reforms in the Hetman State.

Rozumovsky’s close ties with the Russian royal dynasty and imperial elite were among the reasons behind the Ukrainian elite’s bold stand in the early 1860s. In 1760, Rozumovsky gave an impetus to the General Military Court, paving the way for an extremely important judicial reform that would make Ukraine judicially independent of Russia.

In September 1763 he called a General Council of Officers in Hlukhiv to solve the issues of the reform. Cossack regiments were represented by two officers and two captains each and the Notable Military Fellows, an institution of the Ukrainian elite, delegated 56 fellows of the standard and 38 fellows of the banner.

The Council resolved to launch wide-ranging reforms and submitted the plan to Catherine II of Russia. The judicial reform became the council’s main decision that was translated into life. The new judicial system set up in accordance with the hetman’s decree of Nov. 19, 1763 envisaged provincial land courts, the pidkomorskyi court, and hrodskyi court.

On Dec. 1, 1763, Hetman Rozumovsky of Ukraine signed a decree making judges of the district, provincial, and city courts members of the Cossack starshyna, in accordance with the Lithuanian Statute. From now on the provincial land court had jurisdiction over civil suits; the pidkomoskyi court considered land borders disputes, and the city hrodskyi court handled criminal cases. All appeals had to be forwarded to the General Military Court.

Interestingly, these amendments were actually the revived and reintroduced Polish-Lithuanian judicial procedures. This made it possible to follow the Lithuanian Statute (then prevalent in the Rzeczpospolita) and have separate procedure for civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution. The trial and appeal procedure were simplified, and the Cossack community was subjected to uniform juridical norms.

Apart from the judicial issues, the Hlukhiv Council dealt with political and economic problems addressing Ukraine’s autonomy. The key aspect was that it viewed the Hetman State as an entity separate from Russia. Even though Little Russia was tied to the Russian empire through the same monarch, it had its national borders, government, and economic policy.

The local nobility proposed transforming the Council into a nobility diet, like in the Rzeczpospolita, making Ukrainian and Russian posts equal in status, confirming titles to land, and restricting peasants’ right to abandon the landlord. What came to pass in September-December 1763, particularly the hetman’s decree of Dec. 1, 1763 was proof of a project to form a Ukrainian state that the nobility of the Hetman State tried to implement. The worldview of the Ukrainian elite was based on the Central European concepts of liberties, rights, and freedoms. That is why Ukrainians were striving to build a state following the Central European pattern.