The Siege and Fall of Chyhyryn in 1678

The years of the Ruin (1650s-1670s) marked a most devastating period in Ukrainian history. The frail shoot of our statehood was supplanted by complete social and political anarchy, morals shred to pieces, and a pitched struggle for power with the people reduced to a state of indescribable misery — such were the characteristics of this so-called glorious period.

It has long been noted that history remains the best playwright. By the laws of tragedy (the Ruin period is strongly reminiscent of Shakespeare, if only the great author could have used Ukrainian realities for his immortal plots, except that in the case of Ukraine people actually suffered and died), the worst happens in the last act, followed by catharsis. In Ukrainian history, the years of the Ruin had its own apocalyptic finale, the fall of the glorious Cossack capital of Chyhyryn, a place made famous throughout Europe by the reign of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. It happened in August 1678, almost 325 years ago.

The first act of the historic tragedy must have been Petro Doroshenko giving up the hetman’s mace. He cut a most spectacular, dynamic, and strong willed figure on the Ukrainian political arena of the period. On September 19, 1676, leading a Cossack troop of just 2,000 most dedicated men, Doroshenko surrendered his post of hetman, faced with the numerically superior force under Left Bank Hetman Ivan Samiylovych and Russian Voivode Romodanovsky. After that the Muscovite government felt sure it had every right to own the territories of what is now Cherkasy and Kyiv oblasts — but mostly they had wanted and now had control over the Ukrainian hetman’s capital, Chyhyryn.

The dramatic situation was made even worse by the fact that the Ukrainian territories were not only the battlefield of a pitched civil war, but also a ruthless power play among three powerful states: Muscovy, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Turkey. The two latter also laid claims to Chyhyryn, with Istanbul obviously getting the upper hand, forcing the Polish king to sign the humiliating Treaty of Zhuravne on October 1, 1676, whereby the lands of Kyiv, Pavoloch, and Bila Tserkva remained under Cossack control, provided they took every order from the Polish government. Chyhyryn and Zaporizhzhia went to the sultan. In other words, the troops of FСdor III Alekseyevich of Moscow and the Turkish ruler would inevitably meet in a decisive battle.

Dmytro Yavornytsky, the great Ukrainian Cossack historian, wrote, “Russia had never fought the Turks before. Its position was aggravated by the contemporary political situation; it was left alone by the Western European countries; neither Poland, Germany, nor other countries could or would lend Russia a helping hand in its imminent struggle against Turkey.” Needless to say, the Turkish sultan wanted to keep Right Bank Ukraine at all costs.

The events surrounding Chyhyryn, in 1677-78, would be incomplete without mentioning a notorious character: Yuri Khmelnytsky who turned traitor to Ukraine and sided with the sultan, seeking political power (see The Day, October 11, 2002). Oblivious to his actual status as a political puppet, he called on Cossacks to rally round him (meaning actually round the Turkish sultan). Those to whom the name Khmelnytsky still said a great deal obliged. Assuming that the [Ukrainian] political elite suffered an inglorious defeat at the time precisely because they always placed their own selfish interests above those of the nation, Yuri Khmelnytsky’s destiny can serve as a graphic example, for the cause he thought he served was utterly hopeless.

Without doubt, all those taking part in the hostilities realized how right Hetman Ivan Samiylovych was when he said, “Whoever holds Chyhyryn shall have the obedience of the Zaporozhzhian Cossacks and all of Ukraine on that side of the Dnipro.” The Turkish army led by Ibrahim Shaitan Pasha (with Yuri Khmelnytsky and his men draggling at the heels) first attempted to seize Chyhyryn in mid-August 1677. Together with their Wallachian and Crimean Tatar allies, the Turks crossed the Dnister and besieged the Cossack capital. The siege was short-lived. The aggressor suffered a defeat and retreated, while the city defenses were considerably reinforced. Now the garrison numbered 30,000 men, along with 24,000 Muscovite soldiers led by German generals. In addition, Ordered Hetman Korovchenko had brought 5,000 Cossacks. The Turkish army retreated westward, beyond the Velyky [Great] Inhul River.

Yet everybody — Hetman Samiylovych (who, quite frankly, was not very popular with the people, mostly relying on the Cossack starshyna officer corps), the Russians, Turks, Poles, even Zaporozhzhian Cossacks led by Koshovy Otaman Ivan Sirko realized that Chyhyryn would soon again be under siege. In the spring of 1678, the sultan himself quickly put together a large army. “All subjects aged 12 and onward were ordered to join the army,” notes Dmytro Yavornytsky. This time the army was under the command of none other than Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa.

The situation was aggravated by Tsar FСdor III’s government having doubts about defending Chyhyryn. Rather, they wanted to come to terms with the Turks under the circumstances, in order to make the territories of Cherkasy, Kyiv, and Podillia a neutral zone. The Turkish army, it should be remembered, was still to suffer its final defeat at Vienna (1683). It was still strong. Moscow diplomat Tiapkin tried to talk Samiylovych into surrendering Chyhyryn.

Ukraine’s outraged response was such that the issue was immediately removed from the diplomatic agenda. Archbishop Lazar Baranovsky urged all churches to conduct daily services, asking His help for victory, and imposed a special lent on Ukraine (reaffirmed by a universal decree from Hetman Samiylovych). Fresh troops arrived from Moscow, led by Voivode Rzhevsky. Engineering works to reinforce Chyhyryn were supervised by General Gordon, a Scot in Moscow’s service.

Chyhyryn was besieged in mid-July 1678. Kapudan Pasha’s artillery shelled the city, destroying it on a regular basis. Samiylovych and Romodanovsky came to the garrison’s rescue, but both acted very slowly, so much so that Romodanovsky was accused of treason. The Russian and Cossack forces crossed the Dnipro near the village of Shabelnyky only in mid-August 1678. On August 15, the Turks stormed Chyhyryn. The Cossack capital’s commanding Voevode Rzhevsky was killed. Romodanovsky and his men came close to Chyhyryn but extended no real help. Finally, on August 26, General Gordon ordered the defenders to evacuate. However, the Turks bursting into the city were greeted by an incredibly powerful explosion of the fortress’ powder magazines killing thousands of Ottoman subjects. Then fires broke out all over the place, leaving smoking debris in place of Chyhyryn in September. Samiylovych and Romodanovsky, sustaining heavy losses, reached the Left Bank on August 30. The Turks proclaimed Yuri Khmelnytsky Hetman of Right Bank Ukraine. People fled the territory en masse. Thus started the Great Outflow period of Ukrainian history.

Cossack chronicler Samiylo Velychko echoed Jeremiah, lamenting the death of Chyhyryn: “And the most proud Cossack Ukraine on that side stumbled and fell, as happened to the ancient and great city of Babel... and the Cossacks would suffer because of their discord, losing their battle...” There is hardly anything we can add to these words hundreds of years later, in 2002, except perhaps that where there is no freedom, the Ruin is sure to come. There is no third way.