Pavlo Polubotok
Encyclopedia
Pavlo Polubotok (born around 1660 died on December 29, 1724), was a Cossack
political and military leader and Acting Hetman
of the Left-bank Ukraine
between 1722 and 1724.
Pavlo Polubotok was born around 1660 in Borzna
(according to another version, at family khutor-farm Polubotivka, today part of Shramkivka
) in the rich Cossack family and as a young man served under his relative Hetman Ivan Samoylovych
.
In 1706 he became polkovnyk (colonel) of Chernihiv regiment and during the Great Northern War
remained loyal to the Russians and fought against Ivan Mazepa
. Pavel Polubotok was seen by many as a possible replacement of the disgraced Hetman, but Russian Tsar Peter the Great
distrusted Polubotok and supported Ivan Skoropadsky
, who became the next Hetman. Nonetheless, Polubotok's loyalty was rewarded when wealthy estates throughout Ukraine were given to him.
In 1722, after the death of Skoropadsky, Pavlo Polubotok was named as his temporary replacement. As Hetman, Polubotok supported greater autonomy for Cossack Hetmante within the Russian Empire
and defended old privileges of Cossack nobility. He wrote numerous petitions to Peter the Great asking him to re-instate the former way of electing the Hetman by the starshyna. In 1723 Alexander Rumyantsev
was sent to Ukraine to investigate Polubotok. Within several months Polubotok was arrested, implicated in secret dealing with Pylyp Orlyk
and accused of treason. The Hetman was incarcerated in the Petropavlovsk fortress
and died there less than a year later on December 29, 1724.
Polubotok was written about in the poem "Son" ("A Dream", 1844) by Taras Shevchenko
.
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
political and military leader and Acting Hetman
Acting Hetman
Acting Hetman was a title during the 17th, and 18th centuries, in the Cossack Hetmanate. The acting hetman was the governing authority in the Hetmanate temporarily substituted for the hetman. The acting hetman was appointed by the hetman himself, to perform the duties of the hetman when absent...
of the Left-bank Ukraine
Left-bank Ukraine
Left-bank Ukraine is a historic name of the part of Ukraine on the left bank of the Dnieper River, comprising the modern-day oblasts of Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy as well as the eastern parts of the Kiev and Cherkasy....
between 1722 and 1724.
Biography
Borzna
Borzna , is a historic town in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Borznyanskyi Raion in the Chernihiv Oblast. The estimated population of the town is around 10,640 .- Location :...
(according to another version, at family khutor-farm Polubotivka, today part of Shramkivka
Shramkivka
Shramkivka is an urban-type settlement in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. According to one of versions here in 1660 at khutor Polubotivka was born Ukrainian hetman Pavlo Polubotok)....
) in the rich Cossack family and as a young man served under his relative Hetman Ivan Samoylovych
Ivan Samoylovych
Ivan Samoylovych was the Hetman of Left-bank Ukraine from 1672 to 1687. His term in office was marked by further incorporation of the Cossack Hetmanate into the nascent Russian Empire and by attempts to win the Right-bank Ukraine from Poland-Lithuania....
.
In 1706 he became polkovnyk (colonel) of Chernihiv regiment and during the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
remained loyal to the Russians and fought against Ivan Mazepa
Ivan Mazepa
Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa , Cossack Hetman of the Hetmanate in Left-bank Ukraine, from 1687–1708. He was famous as a patron of the arts, and also played an important role in the Battle of Poltava where after learning of Peter I's intent to relieve him as acting Hetman of Ukraine and replace him...
. Pavel Polubotok was seen by many as a possible replacement of the disgraced Hetman, but Russian Tsar Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
distrusted Polubotok and supported Ivan Skoropadsky
Ivan Skoropadsky
Ivan Skoropadsky was a Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks, and the successor to the famous Hetman Ivan Mazepa.- Biography:...
, who became the next Hetman. Nonetheless, Polubotok's loyalty was rewarded when wealthy estates throughout Ukraine were given to him.
In 1722, after the death of Skoropadsky, Pavlo Polubotok was named as his temporary replacement. As Hetman, Polubotok supported greater autonomy for Cossack Hetmante within the Russian Empire
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 defended old privileges of Cossack nobility. He wrote numerous petitions to Peter the Great asking him to re-instate the former way of electing the Hetman by the starshyna. In 1723 Alexander Rumyantsev
Alexander Rumyantsev
Count Alexander Ivanovich Rumyantsev was an assistant of Peter the Great and father of Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky. He came from the Rumyantsev family which, though little known and documented in the 17th century, later claimed descent from a prominent 14th-century boyar.Alexander...
was sent to Ukraine to investigate Polubotok. Within several months Polubotok was arrested, implicated in secret dealing with Pylyp Orlyk
Pylyp Orlyk
Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk (born on October 11, 1672 in Kosuta, Ashmyany county, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (today in Vileyka Raion, Belarus), died on May 26, 1742 in Jassy, Principality of Moldavia (today Iaşi, Romania) was a Zaporozhian Cossack...
and accused of treason. The Hetman was incarcerated in the Petropavlovsk fortress
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740.-History:...
and died there less than a year later on December 29, 1724.
Legacy
Historians are divided on Polubotok's legacy. Soviet historians saw him as a greedy man who concentrated on overt class interests. Some modern Ukrainians consider him as a martyr and a hero of Ukrainian struggle for independence.Polubotok was written about in the poem "Son" ("A Dream", 1844) by Taras Shevchenko
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko -Life:Born into a serf family of Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko in the village of Moryntsi, of Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire Shevchenko was orphaned at the age of eleven...
.
See also
- Hetmans of Ukrainian CossacksHetmans of Ukrainian CossacksHetman of Ukrainian Cossacks as a title was not officially recognized internationally until the creation of the Ukrainian Hetmanate. With the creation of Registered Cossacks units their leaders were unofficially referred to as hetmans, however officially the title was known as the "Senior of His...
- List of Ukrainian rulers
- History of UkraineHistory of UkraineThe 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...
- Gold of PolubotokGold of PolubotokThe Gold of Polubotok is the story of a large amount of gold which Ukrainian Hetman Pavlo Polubotok supposedly deposited into an English bank in 1723, and which would have been returned upon the independence of Ukraine with an astronomical amount of interest....
External links
- Pavlo Polubotok - Kyiv-Mohyla Academy alumnus