Battle of Konotop
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Konotop or Battle of Sosnivka was fought between a coalition led by the Hetman of Ukrainian Cossacks Ivan Vyhovsky
and cavalry units of the Russian Tsardom, led by Semyon Pozharsky and Semyon Lvov, on June 29, 1659 near the town of Konotop
, Ukraine
, during the Polish-Russian War (1658-1667). Vyhovsky's coalition, in which the Crimean Tatars
played a major role defeated the Russians and forced the main Russian army to interrupt the siege of Konotop. However, the result of the battle only intensified political tensions in Ukraine and led to Vyhovsky's removal from power several months later.
that is generally referred to as the Ruin. This was the time after the death of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky
, during which many power struggles within the Cossack elite took place. Arguably, these power struggles were instigated by the Russian tsar, in an effort to undermine the authority of the Cossacks.
During his reign, Bohdan Khmelnytsky managed to wrestle Ukraine
out of Polish
domination, but was later forced to enter into a new and uneasy relation with Muscovy in 1654. His successor, General Chancellor and close adviser Ivan Vyhovsky
, was left to deal with Moscow
's growing interference in Ukraine's internal affairs and even overt instigation of a civil war by way of supporting Cossack factions opposing Vyhovsky.
In 1656 the Muscovy signed a peace accord in Vilno with Poland in violation of the Treaty of Pereyaslav
of 1654, and increased pressure on the Hetmanate
state. As a result Vyhovsky entered into negotiations with the Poles, and concluded the Treaty of Hadiach
on September 16, 1658. Under the planned new treaty three voyevodships of central Ukraine (Kiev, Bratslav and Podilya) were to become an equal constituent nation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
along with Poland and Lithuania under the name of Principality of Rus, forming the Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth
. However, the Sejm ratified the treaty in a very limited version, where the idea of an independent Ruthenian Principality was completely abandoned.
The news of a Cossack-Polish alliance alarmed Moscow and the Ukrainian cossacks opposing Vyhovsky (led by Ivan Bezpalyi) to the extent that an expeditionary force was dispatched to Ukraine in the autumn of 1658 headed by Prince Grigory Romodanovsky
. Moscow's military commander not only supported the election by Vyhovsky's opponents of a new rival hetman
, but started actively to occupy towns held by Vyhovsky's supporters. The latter were mercilessly exterminated along with widespread abuse and robbery of the civilian population.
The situation having escalated that far, open hostilities followed. Skirmishes and attacks occurred in different towns and regions throughout the country, the most prominent of which was the capture of Konotop
by Cossacks of the Nizhyn
and Chernihiv
Regiments headed by Hryhoriy Hulyanytsky
, a colonel of Nizhyn. In the spring of 1659 a Russian army of 28,600 men according documents of Razryadny prikaz or 100,000–150,000 according "The Сhronicle of the Witness" and Sergey Solovyov
was dispatched to Ukraine to assist Romodanovsky. The latter numbers are being criticized by western historians as exaggerated.
The army came to the Ukrainian border on January, 30, 1659 and stood 40 days till Trubetskoy negotiated with Vyhovsky since the Russian commander had instructions to persuade the Cossacks. Vyhovsky's rivals, the Cossack forces of commanders Bezpalyi, Voronko and the Zaporizhian Cossacks of Barabash joined the Russian troops. After the negotiations failed, hostilities began. The Russian army together with anti-Vyhovsky insurgents defeated Vyhovsky's troops in the battle of Romny and the battle of Lokhvytsya. After that, the supreme military commander Prince Aleksey Trubetskoy
decided to finish off the small 4,000 garrison of the Konotop castle held by Cossacks of Hulyanytsky before proceeding in his pursuit of Vyhovsky.
bombs were dropped inside, and the army moved on to capture the city. At one point Trubetskoy's troops broke inside the city walls, but were repelled by the fierce resistance of the Cossacks inside. After the fiasco of the initial assault, Trubetskoy abandoned his plans of a quick assault and proceeded to shell the city and to fill the moat
with earth. The Cossacks stubbornly held on in spite of all the fire unleashed on the city: during the night the earth put to fill in the moat was used to strengthen the city walls, and the besieged even undertook several counterattacks on Trubetskoy's besieging army. These attacks forced Prince Trubetskoy to move his military camp 10 km away from the city and thereby split his forces between the main army at his HQ and the army besieging Konotop. Another attack on April 29 was also repelled and Russians lost close to 400 men and suffered around 3000 wounded. Instead of a quick campaign the siege dragged on for 70 days and gave Vyhovsky the much-needed time to prepare for the battle with the Russian army.
The hetman not only managed to organize his own troops, but secured support of his allies — the Crimean Tatars
and the Poles. By agreement with the Tatars, the Khan Mehmed IV Giray
, at the head of his 30,000-strong army, made his way towards Konotop in early summer of 1659, as did the 4000-man Polish detachment with the support of Serbian
, Moldavian
and German
mercenaries
.
Meanwhile, Vyhovsky left the command of his forces to the brother of Hryhoriy Hulyanytsky, Stepan Hulyanytsky, and at the head of a small Cossack detachment left for Konotop. Early morning of June 27, 1659, Vyhovsky's detachment attacked Trubetskoy's army near Konotop, and using this sudden and unexpected attack managed to capture a sizable number of the enemy's horses and drive them away and further into the steppe. The enemy counterattacked, and Vyhovsky retreated across the bridge to the other bank of the Sosnivka river in the direction of his camp. Having learned of the assault, Prince Trubetskoy dispatched a detachment of 4,000 men noble cavalry and 2,000 Bezpalyi Cossacks led by Prince Semen Pozharsky across the river to pursue Ivan Vyhovsky. Trubetskoy's forces were thus divided between this detachment, those besieging Konotop. Аccording to the Chronicle of the Eyewitness and Solovyov the detachment of Pozharsky consisted of 30,000 men.
On June 28, 1659 Prince Semen Pozharsky, in his pursuit of the Cossacks, crossed the river Sosnivka and made his camp on the southern bank of the river. During the night a small Cossack detachment led by Stepan Hulyanytsky, having padded the hoofs of their horses with cloth, stole under the cover of night behind the enemy lines and captured the bridge that Pozharsky used to cross the river. The bridge was dismantled and the river dammed, thus flooding the valley around it.
Early on the morning of June 29, 1659, Vyhovsky at the head of a small detachment attacked Prince Pozharsky's army. After a little skirmish, he started to retreat, feigning a disorganized flight in the direction of his main forces. The unsuspecting Pozharsky ordered his army to pursue the enemy. Once the enemy's army entered Sosnivka, the Cossacks fired three cannon shots to give the signal to the Tatars and counterattacked with all the forces stationed at Sosnivka. Having discovered the trap, Prince Semen Pozharsky ordered retreat; but his heavy cavalry got bogged down in the soggy ground created from the flooding the night before. At this moment the Tatars also advanced from the eastern flank, and the outright slaughter ensued. Almost all troops perished, with few of them captured alive. Among the captured were Prince Semen Romanovich Pozharsky himself, Prince Semen Petrovich Lvov, both Princes Buturlins, Prince Lyapunov
, Prince Skuratov, Prince Kurakin
and others. A relative of the Great Liberator of Moscow
from the Poles, Dmitry Pozharsky
, Prince Semen Romanovich Pozharsky was brought before the Khan of Crimea Mehmed IV Giray. Being forced to carry out acts of submissiveness Pozharsky insulted the Khan and spat in his face. For that he was promptly beheaded by the Tatars, and his severed head was dispatched with one of the captives to Prince Trubetskoy's camp.
Having learned about the defeat of Pozharsky's army, Trubetskoy ordered the siege of Konotop lifted and started his retreat from Ukraine. At that moment the Cossacks of Hulyanytsky inside the fortress emerged from behind the walls and attacked the retreating army. Trubetskoy lost, in addition, most of his artillery, his military banners and the treasury. The retreating army defended well and Vyhovsky and the Tatars abandoned their 3-day long pursuit near the Russian border.
As Trubetskoy's troops arrived in Putivl, the news of the battle reached Moscow
as well. A prominent Russian historian of the 19th century, Sergey Solovyov
, described it this way:
However, the Russian tsar did not have to worry; the Ukrainian civil war of the Ruin period accomplished what Trubetskoy and his troops could not. Had only hetman Vyhovsky and his allies been able to capture a few of Ukrainian towns held by his opponents, when the first bad news arrived: Cossacks of the Zaporozhian Host
led by Ivan Sirko
attacked Crimean outposts in the south, and Khan Giray was forced to leave him for his country. Several cities rebelled against Vyhovsky immediately: Lokhvytsia
, Hadyach, Poltava
, Romny
. It was only 2 months after the battle when the citizens of Nizhyn
gave a ceremonial welcome to Trubetskoy and swear an oath of allegiance to the Russian tsar. The same month the Ukrainian citizens and cossacks regiments in Kiev
, Pereyaslav, Chernihiv
swore an oath to the tsar as well.
Thus Vyhovsky was left to deal with the growing opposition to his rule. By the end of the year he was forced to resign and to flee to Poland where he was later executed by the Poles in 1664. His defeat is largely attributed to his alliance with the very unpopular Poles and his inability to seek support among all the strata of the Ukrainian population and not just among the rich Cossack elite, who were willing to betray him at every opportunity either to Moscow or Warsaw
. The civil war raged on and the victors of the Konotop battle were soon forgotten.
Together with a number of other battles between East Slavs
, such as Battle of Orsha
, the Konotop battle was with a few exceptions an abandoned topic in Russian Imperial
and in Soviet historiography
. This attitude towards this event is explained by the fact that it dispelled some Russian propaganda
positions about the unity of East Slavs, in particular the ones about "eternal friendship of Russian
and Ukrainian peoples
" and about "natural desire of Ukrainians for union with Russia". For all the skill and the bravery of the Cossacks — especially those defending Konotop — it still remains a bitter victory. A victory that did not have any significant impact on the course of Ukrainian history, where fratricidal war of the Ruin and personal ambitions of treacherous hetmans prevailed. As such, the Konotop battle remains a classic example of the battle won and a war lost.
, and P. Karpenko-Krynytsia.
Numerous historic songs about the battle have also entered the repertoire of the blind itinerant musicians known as kobzars.
Composer and bandurist
Hryhory Kytasty
in 1966 composed a monumental work based on Ukrainian Kozak folk songs for soloists, male chorus and orchestra to commemorate the battle. Recordings of this work have been released by the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
with the renowned Russian singer Michael Minsky
and also by the Kiev symphony.
Ivan Vyhovsky
Ivan Vyhovsky was a hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks during three years of the Russo-Polish War . He was the successor to the famous hetman and rebel leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky...
and cavalry units of the Russian Tsardom, led by Semyon Pozharsky and Semyon Lvov, on June 29, 1659 near the town of Konotop
Konotop
Konotop is a city in northern Ukraine within the Sumy Oblast. Konotop is the center of the Konotop Raion , and is located about 129 km from Sumy, the Oblast capital. It is host to Konotop air base.-History:...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, during the Polish-Russian War (1658-1667). Vyhovsky's coalition, in which the Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
played a major role defeated the Russians and forced the main Russian army to interrupt the siege of Konotop. However, the result of the battle only intensified political tensions in Ukraine and led to Vyhovsky's removal from power several months later.
Prelude
The Battle of Konotop took place during the period of Ukrainian historyHistory of Ukraine
The territory of Ukraine was a key center of East Slavic culture in the Middle Ages, before being divided between a variety of powers. However, the history of Ukraine dates back many thousands of years. The territory has been settled continuously since at least 5000 BC, and is also a candidate site...
that is generally referred to as the Ruin. This was the time after the death of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
, during which many power struggles within the Cossack elite took place. Arguably, these power struggles were instigated by the Russian tsar, in an effort to undermine the authority of the Cossacks.
During his reign, Bohdan Khmelnytsky managed to wrestle Ukraine
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, was a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine between the years 1648–1657 which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland...
out of 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...
domination, but was later forced to enter into a new and uneasy relation with Muscovy in 1654. His successor, General Chancellor and close adviser Ivan Vyhovsky
Ivan Vyhovsky
Ivan Vyhovsky was a hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks during three years of the Russo-Polish War . He was the successor to the famous hetman and rebel leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky...
, was left to deal with Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
's growing interference in Ukraine's internal affairs and even overt instigation of a civil war by way of supporting Cossack factions opposing Vyhovsky.
In 1656 the Muscovy signed a peace accord in Vilno with Poland in violation of the Treaty of Pereyaslav
Treaty of Pereyaslav
The Treaty of Pereyaslav is known in history more as the Council of Pereiaslav.Council of Pereyalslav was a meeting between the representative of the Russian Tsar, Prince Vasili Baturlin who presented a royal decree, and Bohdan Khmelnytsky as the leader of Cossack Hetmanate. During the council...
of 1654, and increased pressure on the Hetmanate
Hetmanate
The Ukrainian State or The Hetmanate was a short-lived polity in Ukraine, installed by Ukrainian Cossacks and military organizations under the support of the Central Powers, after disbanding the Central Rada of the Ukrainian National Republic on 28 April 1918.-History:On April 29, 1918 the head...
state. As a result Vyhovsky entered into negotiations with the Poles, and concluded the Treaty of Hadiach
Treaty of Hadiach
The Treaty of Hadiach was a treaty signed on 16 September 1658 in Hadiach between representatives of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Cossacks...
on September 16, 1658. Under the planned new treaty three voyevodships of central Ukraine (Kiev, Bratslav and Podilya) were to become an equal constituent nation of 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...
along with Poland and Lithuania under the name of Principality of Rus, forming the Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth
Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth was a proposed European state in the 17th century that would replace contemporal Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The creation of a Duchy of Ruthenia was considered at various times, particularly during the 1648 Cossack insurrection against Polish rule in...
. However, the Sejm ratified the treaty in a very limited version, where the idea of an independent Ruthenian Principality was completely abandoned.
The news of a Cossack-Polish alliance alarmed Moscow and the Ukrainian cossacks opposing Vyhovsky (led by Ivan Bezpalyi) to the extent that an expeditionary force was dispatched to Ukraine in the autumn of 1658 headed by Prince Grigory Romodanovsky
Grigory Romodanovsky
Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Romodanovsky was a leading Russian general of Tsar Alexis's reign who promoted the Tsar's interests in Ukraine.Romodanovsky belonged to the Rurikid clan of Romodanovsky...
. Moscow's military commander not only supported the election by Vyhovsky's opponents of a new rival 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....
, but started actively to occupy towns held by Vyhovsky's supporters. The latter were mercilessly exterminated along with widespread abuse and robbery of the civilian population.
The situation having escalated that far, open hostilities followed. Skirmishes and attacks occurred in different towns and regions throughout the country, the most prominent of which was the capture of Konotop
Konotop
Konotop is a city in northern Ukraine within the Sumy Oblast. Konotop is the center of the Konotop Raion , and is located about 129 km from Sumy, the Oblast capital. It is host to Konotop air base.-History:...
by Cossacks of the Nizhyn
Nizhyn
Nizhyn is a city located in the Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine, along the Oster River, north-east of the nation's capital, Kiev. It is the administrative center of the Nizhynsky Raion, though the city itself is also designated as a district in the oblast...
and Chernihiv
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
Regiments headed by Hryhoriy Hulyanytsky
Hryhoriy Hulyanytsky
Hryhoriy Hulyanytsky was aUkrainian Cossack, polkovnyk, a skilled warrior and a shrewd politician.Hryhoriy Hulyanytsky was born to a family of small Ukrainian gentry in the town of Korsun,...
, a colonel of Nizhyn. In the spring of 1659 a Russian army of 28,600 men according documents of Razryadny prikaz or 100,000–150,000 according "The Сhronicle of the Witness" and Sergey Solovyov
Sergey Solovyov
Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov was one of the greatest Russian historians whose influence on the next generation of Russian historians was paramount. His son Vladimir Solovyov was one of the most influential Russian philosophers...
was dispatched to Ukraine to assist Romodanovsky. The latter numbers are being criticized by western historians as exaggerated.
The army came to the Ukrainian border on January, 30, 1659 and stood 40 days till Trubetskoy negotiated with Vyhovsky since the Russian commander had instructions to persuade the Cossacks. Vyhovsky's rivals, the Cossack forces of commanders Bezpalyi, Voronko and the Zaporizhian Cossacks of Barabash joined the Russian troops. After the negotiations failed, hostilities began. The Russian army together with anti-Vyhovsky insurgents defeated Vyhovsky's troops in the battle of Romny and the battle of Lokhvytsya. After that, the supreme military commander Prince Aleksey Trubetskoy
Aleksey Trubetskoy
Aleksey Nikitich Trubetskoy was the last Prince of Trubetsk 1634–1645, and 17 March 1660 – June 1672, the godfather of Peter I of Russia.Under Tsar Michael's rule Aleksey...
decided to finish off the small 4,000 garrison of the Konotop castle held by Cossacks of Hulyanytsky before proceeding in his pursuit of Vyhovsky.
Siege of Konotop
Prince Trubetskoy's hopes for quick resolution of the Konotop stand-off were dimmed when Hulyanytsky and his Cossacks refused to betray hetman Vyhovsky and mounted a fierce and protracted defence of Konotop. According to a historian Markevych, on April 21, 1659, after a morning prayer, Trubetskoy ordered an all-out assault on the fortress's fortifications. The city was shelled, a few incendiaryIncendiary ammunition
-World War I:One of the first uses of incendiary ammunition occurred in World War I. At the time, phosphorus—the primary ingredient in the incendiary charge—ignited upon firing, leaving a trail of blue smoke. They were also known as 'smoke tracer' for this reason. The effective range of...
bombs were dropped inside, and the army moved on to capture the city. At one point Trubetskoy's troops broke inside the city walls, but were repelled by the fierce resistance of the Cossacks inside. After the fiasco of the initial assault, Trubetskoy abandoned his plans of a quick assault and proceeded to shell the city and to fill the moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
with earth. The Cossacks stubbornly held on in spite of all the fire unleashed on the city: during the night the earth put to fill in the moat was used to strengthen the city walls, and the besieged even undertook several counterattacks on Trubetskoy's besieging army. These attacks forced Prince Trubetskoy to move his military camp 10 km away from the city and thereby split his forces between the main army at his HQ and the army besieging Konotop. Another attack on April 29 was also repelled and Russians lost close to 400 men and suffered around 3000 wounded. Instead of a quick campaign the siege dragged on for 70 days and gave Vyhovsky the much-needed time to prepare for the battle with the Russian army.
The hetman not only managed to organize his own troops, but secured support of his allies — the Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
and the Poles. By agreement with the Tatars, the Khan Mehmed IV Giray
Mehmed IV Giray
Mehmed IV Giray Sufi — a khan of the Crimean Khanate in 1641 –1644 and 1654–1656. Supporter of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. His nickname Sofu means Sufi in Crimean Tatar. Mehmed IV is a famous poet, he wrote his poems mainly on philosophic and religious topics under penname...
, at the head of his 30,000-strong army, made his way towards Konotop in early summer of 1659, as did the 4000-man Polish detachment with the support of Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, Moldavian
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
and German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
.
Battle
By June 24, 1659 Vyhovsky and his allies approached the area and defeated a small reconnaissance detachment of the invader's army near the village of Shapovalivka, several kilometers south-west of Konotop. According to the plan made that evening, the 30,000 Tatars were left in an ambush south-east of the river Sosnivka, and Vyhovsky's forces with Poles and mercenaries were positioned at the village of Sosnivka, south of the river with the same name.On June 28, 1659 Prince Semen Pozharsky, in his pursuit of the Cossacks, crossed the river Sosnivka and made his camp on the southern bank of the river. During the night a small Cossack detachment led by Stepan Hulyanytsky, having padded the hoofs of their horses with cloth, stole under the cover of night behind the enemy lines and captured the bridge that Pozharsky used to cross the river. The bridge was dismantled and the river dammed, thus flooding the valley around it.
Lyapunov
Lyapunov may refer to:* Prokopy Lyapunov , Russian statesman* Zakhary Lyapunov , Russian statesman, Prokopy Lyapunov's brother* Mikhail Lyapunov , Russian astronomer...
, Prince Skuratov, Prince Kurakin
Kurakin
Kurakin was a Gediminid Russian princely family and may refer to:*Alexander Kurakin , a Russian diplomat and senator*Alexander Borisovich Kurakin , a Russian statesman and diplomat...
and others. A relative of the Great Liberator of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
from the Poles, Dmitry Pozharsky
Dmitry Pozharsky
For the ship of the same name, see Sverdlov class cruiserDmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky was a Rurikid prince, who led Russia's struggle for independence against Polish-Lithuanian invasion known as the Time of Troubles...
, Prince Semen Romanovich Pozharsky was brought before the Khan of Crimea Mehmed IV Giray. Being forced to carry out acts of submissiveness Pozharsky insulted the Khan and spat in his face. For that he was promptly beheaded by the Tatars, and his severed head was dispatched with one of the captives to Prince Trubetskoy's camp.
Having learned about the defeat of Pozharsky's army, Trubetskoy ordered the siege of Konotop lifted and started his retreat from Ukraine. At that moment the Cossacks of Hulyanytsky inside the fortress emerged from behind the walls and attacked the retreating army. Trubetskoy lost, in addition, most of his artillery, his military banners and the treasury. The retreating army defended well and Vyhovsky and the Tatars abandoned their 3-day long pursuit near the Russian border.
Aftermath and significance
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
as well. A prominent Russian historian of the 19th century, Sergey Solovyov
Sergey Solovyov
Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov was one of the greatest Russian historians whose influence on the next generation of Russian historians was paramount. His son Vladimir Solovyov was one of the most influential Russian philosophers...
, described it this way:
-
- The bloom of Moscow's cavalry, troops that happily accomplished campaigns of year 54 and 55 have perished in one day — the victors got only about 5000 captive. The unfortunate were led onto an open space and slaughtered like lambs — that was the agreement between the Crimean KhanCrimean KhanateCrimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
and the hetmanHetmanHetman 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....
of the Zaporozhian CossacksZaporozhian HostThe Zaporozhian Cossacks or simply Zaporozhians were Ukrainian Cossacks who lived beyond the rapids of the Dnieper river, the land also known as the Great Meadow in Central Ukraine...
! Never again was the tsarTsarTsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
of Moscow able to master an army that strong. In mourning clothes showed himself Alexei MikhailovichAlexis I of RussiaAleksey Mikhailovich Romanov was the Tsar of Russia during some of the most eventful decades of the mid-17th century...
to the people and the terror seized Moscow. The blow was so hard because it was unexpected, and it followed such illustrious successes! It was only recently that Dolgoruki brought to Moscow a captured Lithuanian hetman, only recently was everyone talking about successes of Khovansky — and now Trubetskoy, for whom everyone had hopes higher than for others, and who was "a man devout and graceful, in military affairs skilled and a fright for a foe" — has ruined such a huge army! After capture of so many towns, after capture of the Lithuanian capital the royal city trembled for its own security: in August by tsar's decree people of all ranks hurried to build fortifications around Moscow. Often the tsar and the boyars were present themselves during the construction; people from outlying areas, their families with meagre belongings filled Moscow, and a rumour spread that the tsar was leaving to beyond the Volga and YaroslavlYaroslavlYaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
.
- The bloom of Moscow's cavalry, troops that happily accomplished campaigns of year 54 and 55 have perished in one day — the victors got only about 5000 captive. The unfortunate were led onto an open space and slaughtered like lambs — that was the agreement between the Crimean Khan
However, the Russian tsar did not have to worry; the Ukrainian civil war of the Ruin period accomplished what Trubetskoy and his troops could not. Had only hetman Vyhovsky and his allies been able to capture a few of Ukrainian towns held by his opponents, when the first bad news arrived: Cossacks of the Zaporozhian Host
Zaporozhian Host
The Zaporozhian Cossacks or simply Zaporozhians were Ukrainian Cossacks who lived beyond the rapids of the Dnieper river, the land also known as the Great Meadow in Central Ukraine...
led by Ivan Sirko
Ivan Sirko
Ivan Sirko was a Cossack military leader, Koshovyi Otaman of the Zaporozhian Host and putative co-author of the famous semi-legendary Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks that inspired a major painting by the 19th-century artist Ilya Repin.- Biography :...
attacked Crimean outposts in the south, and Khan Giray was forced to leave him for his country. Several cities rebelled against Vyhovsky immediately: Lokhvytsia
Lokhvytsia
Lokhvytsia is a city in the Poltava Oblast of central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Lokhvytskyi Raion , and is located on the banks of Lokhvytsia River.The current estimated population is around 21,400 ....
, Hadyach, Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
, Romny
Romny
Romny is a city in the northern Ukrainian Oblast of Sumy. It is located on the Romen River and is the administrative center of the Romny Raion...
. It was only 2 months after the battle when the citizens of Nizhyn
Nizhyn
Nizhyn is a city located in the Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine, along the Oster River, north-east of the nation's capital, Kiev. It is the administrative center of the Nizhynsky Raion, though the city itself is also designated as a district in the oblast...
gave a ceremonial welcome to Trubetskoy and swear an oath of allegiance to the Russian tsar. The same month the Ukrainian citizens and cossacks regiments in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Pereyaslav, Chernihiv
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
swore an oath to the tsar as well.
Thus Vyhovsky was left to deal with the growing opposition to his rule. By the end of the year he was forced to resign and to flee to Poland where he was later executed by the Poles in 1664. His defeat is largely attributed to his alliance with the very unpopular Poles and his inability to seek support among all the strata of the Ukrainian population and not just among the rich Cossack elite, who were willing to betray him at every opportunity either to Moscow or Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. The civil war raged on and the victors of the Konotop battle were soon forgotten.
Together with a number of other battles between East Slavs
East Slavs
The East Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, by the seventeenth century they evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian peoples.-Sources:...
, such as Battle of Orsha
Battle of Orsha
The Battle of Orsha was fought on 8 September 1514, between the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski, and the army of Grand Duchy of Moscow under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Golitsin...
, the Konotop battle was with a few exceptions an abandoned topic in Russian Imperial
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and in Soviet historiography
Soviet historiography
Soviet historiography is the methodology of history studies by historians in the Soviet Union . In the USSR, the study of history was marked by alternating periods of freedom allowed and restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , and also by the struggle of historians to...
. This attitude towards this event is explained by the fact that it dispelled some Russian propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
positions about the unity of East Slavs, in particular the ones about "eternal friendship of Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
and Ukrainian peoples
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
" and about "natural desire of Ukrainians for union with Russia". For all the skill and the bravery of the Cossacks — especially those defending Konotop — it still remains a bitter victory. A victory that did not have any significant impact on the course of Ukrainian history, where fratricidal war of the Ruin and personal ambitions of treacherous hetmans prevailed. As such, the Konotop battle remains a classic example of the battle won and a war lost.
In art and music
Numerous poems and odes have been written about he battle by Ukrainian poets Yar Slavutych, Olena TelihaOlena Teliha
Olena Ivanivna Teliha was a Ukrainian poet and Ukrainian activist of Ukrainian and Belarusian ethnicity.-Biography:Olena Teliha was born Elena Ivanovna Shovgeneva in the village of Ilyinskoe, near Moscow in Russia where her parents spent summer vacations. There are a several villages by this name...
, and P. Karpenko-Krynytsia.
Numerous historic songs about the battle have also entered the repertoire of the blind itinerant musicians known as kobzars.
Composer and 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...
Hryhory Kytasty
Hryhory Kytasty
Hryhoriy Trokhymovych Kytasty was a Ukrainian émigré composer and conductor. In 2008 he was honored with the Hero of Ukraine state decoration.- Early years :Hryhory Kytasty was born in the town of Kobeliaky, Poltava oblast...
in 1966 composed a monumental work based on Ukrainian Kozak folk songs for soloists, male chorus and orchestra to commemorate the battle. Recordings of this work have been released by the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus is a semi-professional male choir which accompanies itself with the multi-stringed Ukrainian folk instrument known as the bandura...
with the renowned Russian singer Michael Minsky
Michael Minsky
Michael Minsky, born Michael Spirin , also known as Mino Minzer and between Ukrainians as Myhailo Minsky) was a baritone singer, one of the finest interpreters of Russian and Ukrainian songs, and a conductor of the Don Cossack Choir Serge Jaroff.-Russian years...
and also by the Kiev symphony.
Sources
- Bulvinsky A. Konotopska bytva 1659 //Ukrainskyi istorychnyi zhurnal - 1998 #3 p. 76-83, #4 p. 33-42
- Davies Brian L. Warfare, state and society on the Black Sea steppe, 1500-1700. Routledge, UK. ISBN 978-0-415-23986-8.
- Mackenzie D., Michael W. Curran. A History of Russia, the Soviet Union, and Beyond. Fourth Edition. Belmont, California. p. 200, 1993. ISBN 0-534-17970-3.
- Makhun S. Battle of Konotop. Reittarr. No. 23.
- Mytsyk Y. Battle of Konotop 1659// Vijsko Ukrainy - 1996 #5-6, p. 30-33
- Mytsyk Y. Battle of Konotop 1659 // Materially naukovoyi konforentsiyi Konotops'ka bytva 1659 r. i yiyi znachennia v natsional'nomu postupi Ukrainy. - Kiev, 1996.
- Mytsyk Y. Polkovodtsi Vijska Zaporoz'koho - Kn. 1, Kiev 1998.
- Mytsyk Y. Battle of Konotop 1659 // Ukrainske kozatstvo - Mala entsykolpedia, Kiev, 2006. pp. 297–298
- Smirnov N., «As under Konotop decline was made...»(myths and reality)
- Sokolov C. M. Continuation of reign of Alexi Mikhailovich. Chapter 1.
- Subtelny O. Ukraine. A history. University of Toronto press, 1994. ISBN 0-8020-0591-0.
- Babulin I.B. "Wild dances" on field of Konotop, Reittarr. No. 23.
External links
- The Reign of Tsar Alexi Mikhailovich. (Solovyov S. М.) (Rus.)
- History of Konotop (Ukr.)
- Historical Encyclopedia (Ukr.)
- The Konotop Tragedy. 1659. (Rus.)
- The Battle of Konotop (Rus.)
- History of Little Russia (N. Маrkevich) (Rus.)
- The Konotop Battle. S. Makhun. (Rus.)
- The Konotop battle: The victory that could have been avoided but should be remembered. (Ukr.)