Ryna Khmelnychenko - Blog Posts

THE CHILDREN YEARN FOR THE FANART OF UKRAINE

pov: You’re Poland; its 1620s and those "free armed folk" to the East, some of whom occasionally take part in wars on your side, have been more and more rebellious lately. You ride up to check what’s the deal — and as you pass one of the Cossacks, as they call themselves, the guy looks suspiciously similar to Ukraine herself…

***

1569. Lithuania had never been fond of Unia Lubelska that would unite the lands of the Grand Duchy with the Polish Republic. Yet Poland suddenly annexed Ruthenian – Ukrainian parts of the Duchy, using this move to pressure Lithuania back to negotiation tables.

Thus the era of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began.

For mainly Orthodox Christian Ruthenians, it only meant more tension with Catholics and szlachta nobles who realised they now acquired more serfs up for grabs.

There is no wonder then, that Ruthenians quite rapidly "cossack’ed" (покозачились) in such conditions. Many joined either free warrior communities or the rejestrowe wojsko zaporoskie under the polish crown’s service, but still able to do a fair deal of whatever the hell they wanted. Including uprisings against Poland, 1591-3 and 1594-6; allying with the Poles to almost(😭) burn Moscow to the ground in 1618; and occasionally raid Turks and Crimean Tatars.

But more importantly, paving the way for a powerful warrior state, autonomous from the Polish Republic by 1649, – Cossack Hetmanate (aka Hetman’schyna, Ruthenia, or simply Ukraine – all those + more names used at the time) – which famously takes its origins in Ukraine being pissed off.

The initial headcanon was that Ukraine ran away from the Commonwealth sometime after Lublin and pretended to be a guy to live amongst Cossacks and lead her raids and battles. Now, having read up some info on female Cossack leaders, I am thinking that whilst that might have been the case initially, by 1648 everyone knows she’s a woman and just chills about it ig

LOOK, LIETUKR HOLDING HANDS!!

Now that I have your attention, here’s a really cool historical event🫶🏼

Battle of Ula happened as a part of broader Livonian war that started when Muscovy (later: Russia) under Ivan the Terrible attacked the weakening state of Livonian Order. One small problem – that gradually dragged all its neighbours in. Initially, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia suffered losses, notably the city of Polatsk.

Then enter 1564. Muscovy’s army of ≈24 000 is rapidly advancing. So those ≈12 000 of Lithuanians and Ruthenians (self-identification term for Ukrainians and Belaruthians back then) figured that (early) modern problems require (early) modern solutions.

The battle destroyed all stereotyped ideas about military art of the early modern era. It happened not in a warm season, but in winter. It started neither in the morning nor in the afternoon, but in the evening, that is, it happened in the dark hours of the day. And it ended up a crushing defeat for Muscovy, partly due to sheer well cooperation between Lithuanians and Ruthenians, and overall their tactics, like a surprise attack of both army flanks on the forested Ula river.

Also even though they won, they didn’t manage to re-take Polatsk and some other vital terrirories to the East of the Grand Duchy from Muscovy YET (hence Belarus is not there). And this became one of the reasons the Grand Duchy completely united with Poland in 1569 (Unia Lubelska).