Who was Khmelnytsky?

Bohdan Khmelnytsky (ca. 1595-1657) is one of the most celebrated and at the same time one of the most controversial political figures to emerge from Ukraine's early-modern (Kozak) period. He was a brilliant military strategist, who assumed leadership of a typical Kozak uprising in 1648 against the Polish Commonwealth and turned it into a successful war of liberation for the Ukrainian populace.

His greatest achievement in this national revolution was the formation of a Kozak Hetman state, which was to endure for over a century (1648-1782). His leadership and talents were demonstrated in various areas of state-building - in administration, finance, economics and culture, as well as in the military sphere.

At the height of the Kozak-Polish War (1648-1657), Khmelnytsky concluded the fateful Treaty of Pereiaslav in 1654 with the tsar of Muscovy, as a result of which Ukraine became a Russian protectorate and fell under the sphere of influence of Muscovy.

Although the treaty was soon abrogated, it was used for centuries as a Russian (and later Soviet) pretext for the occupation of Ukraine. Some of Ukraine's most prominent intellectuals - including Taras Shevchenko bitterly criticized Khmelnytsky for his strategic error.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 8, 2006, No. 2, Vol. LXXIV

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