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Ivan Bohun - Colonel of the Army of Zaporozhye. History of Ukraine

Among the commanders who led the struggle of the Zaporozhye Cossacks in the middle of the 17th century against the Polish intervention, Colonel Ivan Bohun is most famous. In this difficult time for his homeland, he proved himself not only as a true patriot, but also as a gifted military commander capable of conducting military operations both in the field and in the defense of cities. Many of his operations were included in the annals of history and became original training aids for future commanders.

Childhood and youth hidden in history

History has not preserved reliable information about his childhood and early life. Even the date of birth is known only approximately. It is believed that the future Colonel was born in 1618 in Bratslav. Even his name provokes controversy among researchers. Some see it as only a nickname, since the word "Bogun" in Ukrainian means a pole for drying the nets. Many believe that Ivan's youth passed in the Wild Field - a steppe area between the Dniester and the Don.

The beginning of service to the Motherland

The earliest documentary information about Ivan Bogun indicates his participation in the uprising of the Hetmanate against the szlachta led by the head of the Zaporozhye Cossacks Yakov Ostryanin. With his name is also linked and the famous episode of the struggle for national independence - the Azov seat. Within five years (1637 - 1642) the Cossacks together with the Don Cossacks confronted the Turkish troops of Sultan Ibrahim, who besieged the city of Azov. In this heroic defense, the Cossack detachment under the command of Bohun was guarding from the enemy a strategically important sector - the Borevsky crossing across the Seversky Donets.

When in 1648 an uprising broke out under the leadership of Bogdan Khmelnytsky, caused by the intensification of Polish feudal oppression and the reduction of Cossack privileges, Ivan Bohun was among his leaders. A year later, as a Vinnytsia colonel, he headed the defense that lasted several years from the Polish troops of Vinnitsa and Bratslav. His generic talent was manifested with extraordinary force, which enabled him, with the support of the civilian population of the city, to achieve a brilliant victory.

Berestetskoye battle and a campaign in Moldova

The next vivid episode of his battle path was a battle between the troops of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks and the forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which occurred in early June 1651 in the town of Berestechko on the Styr River. In this battle, the Cossacks, betrayed by their Tartar allies, were defeated, but thanks to Bohun they were able to adequately leave the encirclement and continue the struggle. Selected shortly before the hetman, he showed himself as a wise and judicious commander.

In 1653 the Cossack army under the command of Ivan Bohun and Timofei Khmelnitsky, the son of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, made a campaign to Moldova. This operation resulted in the death of the son of the Hetman of the Zaporozhye army and the defeat of the Cossacks. Finding himself in a very difficult situation, Bohun managed to bring his troops out of the environment with dignity and take out Timofei's body. Until the end of the next, in 1654, he participated in numerous campaigns against the troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tatar detachments that joined them with them. The main areas of his military operations at that time were Bratslavshchina and Umanshchina.

A supporter of the independence of the Zaporozhye Army

It is known that Ivan Bohun was a fierce opponent of any attempts to infringe the rights of Cossack liberties. This was the reason for his extremely negative attitude towards the peace of Belotserkovsky signed by Bogdan Khmelnitsky in September 1651. Concluding the treaty with the Poles, the Ukrainian hetman deprived the Cossacks of all the privileges they had gained during the armed uprising of 1648.

For the same reason, Bohun was an adversary and a rapprochement with Moscow. When in 1654 in Pereyaslavl the decision to unify the territory, which the Zaporizhzhya Army owned, with Russia, was made public, the Vinnytsia colonel did not attend the Rada and did not take the oath of allegiance to the Russian Tsar. When Bogdan Khmelnytsky died, Bohun strongly supported the hetmans Ivan Vygovsky and Yuri Khmelnytsky in their activities aimed at establishing the independence of the Cossacks in solving issues of domestic and foreign policy. But at the same time he condemned their attempts to get closer to the native enemies of the Cossacks - Poland and Turkey.

Going to Poland and the cause of failure

In 1656, a significant Cossack formation under the command of Hetman Anton Zhdanovich committed a multi-month raid across Poland. His goal was to help the Wallachian and Swedish troops, which conduct military operations against parts of the Polish king. Among the other commanders was Ivan Bohun. Paving their way with fire and sword, the Cossacks reached Krakow, Brest and Warsaw. But then the unexpected happened: the Cossacks, having learned that the campaign was being carried out without the consent of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, whom they swore, refused to continue the war. As a result, many thousands of troops in the summer of 1657 returned to the Hetmanate.

The opponent of the Vygovsky agreement

Two years later, an event took place that profoundly offended the patriotic feelings of Ivan Bohun. In September 1658, an agreement was signed in Hadiach between Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky and Poland. According to this document, the entire territory of the Zaporizhzhian Army was to join the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as a third member of the bilateral union of Poland and Lithuania. This shameful act was not destined to get legal force, as it was not ratified by the Polish Sejm.

However, he served as the reason for the rebellion raised by Bohun and his supporters against Vygovsky. As a result, the traitor of national interests was defeated and was forced to flee to Poland. Similarly, the Vinnitsa colonel managed to resist and Yuri Khmelnitsky, who signed in 1660 Slaboshchensky tract, infringing the rights of the Cossacks.

Sunset military career

A year later Bohun becomes a colonel of the principality of Lithuania, and in 1661, returning to his homeland, participates with Yuri Khmelnytsky in battles against two Russian voivods - Grigory Kosagov and Grigory Ramodanovsky. In these fights, military fortune turns from him. To top it all off, the Poles will soon arrest him.

After spending some time in custody, he was released by the king, but on condition that he take part in their campaign on the Left Bank. In the plans of Jan Kazimier included fire and sword to conquer all the local population from Kiev to Novgorod Seversky. With a heavy heart Ivan Bohun went to this campaign, but he had no choice.

The opposition to the Poles and the tragic death

History testifies that from the first days the Cossack colonel begins to harm the Poles and tries in every way to hinder their plans. At the same time, it protects cities from destruction, captured by the units under its command. Since the army of Jan Kazimir did not have enough forces to create garrisons in the occupied territories, a consequence of this was the uprising of the inhabitants of many settlements left behind by the advancing regiments.

When the army of the Commonwealth precipitated Glukhov, Ivan Bohun made every effort to help his inhabitants. Since he was a member of the military council of the Polish army, he was aware of all the details of the upcoming assault, which he passed to the defenders of the city. In addition to important operational information, he managed to transport the deposited stocks of gunpowder and cores. His plans included even an unexpected attack by the Poles from the rear when they went to attack the city.

But, unfortunately, the King became aware of this activity, and he ordered the immediate arrest of Bohun. Soon there was a meeting of the field military court, who sentenced the Cossack colonel and several of his supporters to be shot. The verdict was carried out immediately. It happened on February 17, 1664. So the hero of the army of Zaporozhye Ivan Bohun died, whose biography is inextricably linked with the struggle of the Hetmanate against the Polish invaders.

Ukraine has kept the memory of her valiant son. After the revolution, the regiment commanded by Nikolai Shchors was named Bogunovsky. His name is the Kiev Military Lyceum. In a number of Ukrainian cities, Ivan Bohun named streets, and in 2007 the National Ukrainian Bank issued a coin with its image. The memory of the hero was preserved in the folk song, which was popular in Ukraine, built in his honor.

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