Ukraine’s Story (Part 4): The Polish-Lithuanian Era

Intro

‘Welcome to the fourth episode of Ukraine’s Story, a series of episodes about the history of Ukraine. In this episode, I will be explaining the next era of Ukraine’s history, which was that of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.’

What was the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth?

‘The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a union between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Its foundations were brought about by the Union of Krewo, which was basically a marriage contract between Lithuanian Prince Jagiellia and 12-year-old Polish Queen Jadwiga. It was essentially a federation, where there was a common monarch who ruled as both the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the King of Poland. This is similar to the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, where the Emperor of Austria was at the same time, the King of Hungary.

‘The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, sometimes also referred to as the Republic of the Two Nations, was formally established in 1569 with the Treaty of Lublin, more accurately referred to as The Act of the Union of Lublin, which established the commonwealth of two equal states of Poland and Lithuania. The Lithuanians, who had been suffering from attacks from Muscovy and the Crimean Tatars, needed a strong ally, and knew that Poland’s powerful army would be able to provide protection and whose large financial resources would be able to provide financial stability for their princes and wealthy society.

‘At its height, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest (in terms of landmass), most populous and politically most powerful states in early modern Europe. The Commonwealth was in fact semi-democratic, with a two-chamber legislature, one of which elected the Polish-Lithuanian monarch. It was also somewhat religiously tolerant, being a multifaith nation with many different religions enclosed within its borders. I could talk endlessly about this fascinating early modern European state, but this episode is about Ukraine within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. I will perhaps do an episode at a later date in which I will go into more detail about the Union of Poland and Lithuania.

‘Due to Poland’s dominance within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but also for the sake of expediency, I will refer to the Polish-Lithuanian authorities as simply “Poles” or “Polish”.’

Which parts of Ukraine were part of the commonwealth?

‘Now, before expanding on this, it’s important to stress that the borders of the Commonwealth evolved over its just over two centuries in existence and the regions of Ukraine included in its territory chopped and changed in that time with invasions, war, treaties and so on. 

‘Now, vast swathes of Ukraine had actually been under the separate rule of Poland and Lithuania since the fourteenth century. However, with the formation of the Commonwealth in 1569, these two separate states became a constitutional union, which included the areas of Ukraine under the rule of each of these states. These included the regions of Galicia, Volhynia, Podolia, Kyiv, Bratslav and the Zaporozhian Host, or Zaporozhian Sich, which I discussed on the last episode of Ukraine’s Story, about the Cossacks, and was centred around the fortified islands on the Dnipro river.’

Religious Diversity and Conflicts

‘The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state. You had Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and other faiths being practised within its borders. This led to conflicts and clashes between Ukrainians and Polish officials, because Poland was Catholic and Ukraine was mostly Eastern Orthodox. There were deep-seated differences between the two religions, and this led to a lot of misunderstandings and conflict between Ukrainians and Polish officials.

‘Because most of the nobility in the Commonwealth was Catholic, this meant that Catholicism was often imposed on Ukrainians, from the princes down to lowly peasants, and people who refused to abandon Eastern Orthodoxy were discriminated against. This led to a build up of resentment against the Polish Catholic rulers amongst Ukrainians. This was exacerbated by the fact that these two churches both wielded significant political power, and that therefore the power struggles and rivalry between the Catholic Polish nobility and the Eastern Orthodox Ukrainian population led to increased tensions.

‘It should be noted that not all Ukrainian princes converted to the Catholic faith. One such prominent fighter for the Orthodox Church was Prince Kostiantin Ostrozky. He is also called the “uncrowned king of Rus”. It was Prince Ostrozky who financed the creation of the so-called Ostroh Bible, which was published in 1581 in a circulation of about 1500 copies (about 400 of them have survived to this day). This publication of the Church Slavonic translation of the Bible appeared first in Ostroh and then in Constantinople. This demonstrated the prominent role played by Ukraine in the Orthodox religion at the time. Subsequently, the Ostroh Bible was translated into Russian, which was spoken by most of the Ukrainian population. Kostiantyn Ostrozky also founded an Orthodox school for youth and teenagers.’

‘Now, the religious tensions between Ukrainians and the Poles were finally laid bare in 1596, when the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth signed the Union of Brest (named after the Belorussian city where it was signed). The Union was supposed to bring the Eastern Orthodox Church under the authority of the Pope in Rome, whilst still allowing them to retain their own liturgical practices. However, instead of calming tensions and unifying the churches, it led to a religious schism amongst Eastern Orthodox Christians. Whilst some of them accepted the Union, and became Greek Catholics (or Eastern Catholics), others remained faithful to the Eastern Orthodox faith. It was seen by many of this latter group as an attempt to “Polonise” the Orthodox population, which were of course mostly Ukrainians. The Union also led to tensions with the neighbouring Russian Empire, who saw it as a challenge to their growing influence in the region. This would have devastating consequences for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the coming years.’

Cultural Flourishing in Ukraine

‘Whilst the Polish-Lithuanian era in Ukraine was marked by significant political, religious and social challenges, Ukrainian culture flourished in many ways during this period. Ukrainian language and literature began to develop more distinctly with writers and scholars using the cyrillic script to write religious and secular text. You also had the emergence of notable Ukrainian writers and chroniclers who made significant contributions to Ukrainian literature and culture such as Ivan Vyshensky and Samiylo Velychko.

‘You also had the development of different art and architecture in Ukraine throughout this period. Due to the region’s rich diversity, Ukrainian art flourished through the creation of intricate religious icons, frescoes and ornate iconostases in Orthodox Churches, blending traditional Byzantine influences with Western Baroque and Renaissance elements. The period also saw the emergence of the Cossack Baroque style, characterised by its lavish and decorative architecture, which included the construction and adornment of churches, such as the St. Michael’s Golden Domed Monastery in Kyiv. An interesting fact is that Ukrainian artists were extremely talented, and even King Jagiello (Władysław II) invited them to paint the cathedral in Sandomierz and churches near Krakow, and even bedrooms in the royal palace.

‘During the Polish-Lithuanian era, cities like Lviv and Kyiv became important centres for cultural exchange, trade and intellectual activities, due to the fact that Ukraine lay on the crossroads of eastern and western Europe. This therefore meant that the development of Ukrainian culture was influenced by various other European cultures to Ukraine’s East and West.

‘Also during this time, the Cossacks, who emerged as a distinct social group, played a significant role in Ukrainian culture. They had their own traditions, songs and oral poetry, which contributed to the development of a unique Cossack culture.’

The Cossack Uprising of 1648

‘In the last episode, I talked about the Cossack people, a militarised and semi-nomadic people that lived on the steppes of Ukraine. These vast grasslands were claimed by various other states throughout the Cossacks existence, namely by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and then the Russian Empire. This led to numerous conflicts and clashes between the Cossacks and the states claiming dominion over their territory.

‘However, in the mid seventeenth century, whilst under the rule of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, what began as a typical Cossack uprising turned into a war between the people of Ukraine, namely the Cossacks and peasants, and the Polish nobility. It was triggered by rising discontent amongst the Cossacks and the general Ukrainian populace at the Commonwealth’s promotion of Catholicism over the Orthodox faith, social inequality, and a general resentment against Polish authority.’

‘The catalyst for the uprising came in 1648 when a farm belonging to a minor Ukrainian nobleman called Bohdan Khmelnytsky, who had served loyally in the Polish army, was pillaged whilst he was not at home and his son was beaten to death. Wanting to take revenge, Khmelnytsky led a small detachment to capture the Mykytyn Sich. Many Cossacks who were in the Sich supported Khmelnytsky and elected him hetman. This is despite the fact that he had actually not been born a Cossack, but was later registered as one and joined the Zaporizhian Sich. Many historians believe that it was Bohdan Khmelnytsky who first received the status and title of hetman, because the leaders of the Cossacks in the Sich were called koshovy otamans.

‘The Cossack-Polish war dragged on for several years, with successes and failures for both sides. This forced Khmelnytsky to look to foreign help to help tip the balance of the war in his favour. Khmelnytsky enlisted the support of the Crimean Tatars, but they often betrayed the hetman. Moreover, during the fighting, the Tatars fled and plundered villages, and captured Poles and even Ukrainians who sought to join the uprising. Bohdan Khmelnytsky also concluded certain agreements with the Ottoman Empire and even tried to woo his son to the daughter of a Moldovan ruler. The long war of liberation required the hetman to expand his diplomacy and search for new allies. Looking to foreign help also led him to Tsar Alexei I of the Tsardom of Russia. At first, Alexei had refused to support the Cossacks against the Poles, for fear that this would lead to war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Don’t forget, at this time, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dominant power in Europe, but the influence of the Tsardom of Russia, previously just the principality of Muscovy and what would then later become the Russian Empire, was growing rapidly. However, as the Polish started to gain the upper hand in the early 1650s, Alexei was persuaded to negotiate with the hetman in order to prevent Polish victory, which would threaten Russia’s growing influence in the region. 

‘In 1654, Russia and the Cossack Hetmanate signed the Treaty of Pereyaslav, in which Ukraine became an autonomous protectorate of the Tsardom of Russia. This brought Russia into the conflict against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which started the Russo-Polish War. Khmelnytsky died of natural causes on 6 August 1657, and his only surviving son, Yuriy Khmelnytsky, proved to be a weak leader who later became a puppet in the hands of the Cossacks and the Ottoman Empire, and this is largely thought of to have been the end of the Cossack-Polish War. But it had already been superseded by the Russo-Polish War, with the entry of Russia into the war on the side of the Cossacks, that were now under Russian protection. 

‘The Russo-Polish War ended in 1667, with the Treaty of Andrusovo, which divided the territory of Ukraine between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It simultaneously marked the rise of Russia as a dominant power in Europe, whilst also marking the beginning of the decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

‘The Cossack-Polish War, particularly during the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648-1654, and the subsequent Russo-Polish War were pivotal in shaping Ukraine’s identity as a distinct nation while subjecting it to the control of two different powers. The Khmelnytsky Uprising represented a struggle for independence and cultural identity by the Cossacks and Orthodox Christian population of Ukraine against Polish dominance. The uprising led to the establishment of a Cossack state, but after certain defeats, Khmelnytsky was forced to agree to autonomy within Russia. The involvement of Russia in the Russo-Polish War brought Ukraine further into the fold of Eastern Slavic identity. The subsequent division of Ukraine between Russia and Poland established Ukraine as a nation with a shared history and culture but divided between two major powers, laying the groundwork for centuries of complex geopolitical dynamics in the region.

‘During this period, Ukraine experienced significant social and political upheaval, which became known as the “Period of Ruin.” The division of Ukraine, constant clashes between the right-bank and left-bank hetmans, who were puppets in the hands of Poland and Russia, led to untold slaughter and devastation. A particularly painful blow was dealt when the Ottoman Empire attacked Poland in 1672. The prerequisite for the attack was the Ottoman Empire’s alliance with Hetman Petro Doroshenko, who briefly managed to escape from the rule of Russia and Poland and unite the separate lands of western and eastern Ukraine. This hetman was called the “Sun of Ruin”.’

Decline and Collapse of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

‘By the late eighteenth century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was suffering from internal political, social and economic problems, including a dysfunctional system of government characterised by the so-called “Golden Liberty” of its nobility, where all nobles were considered equal. This hindered effective decision making. You also had external pressures from neighbouring powers such as Russia, Prussia and Austria, who sought to expand their influence and territorial control in the region. After losing a war against Russia in 1772, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was partitioned for the first time, with territory ceded to Russia as well as Prussia and Austria.

‘After proposed constitutional reforms within the Commonwealth angered Russia, there was another conflict. The Commonwealth was then partitioned another two times: in 1793 and 1795. This meant that Ukraine was also divided amongst Russia, Prussia and Austria, with Russia taking over most of eastern Ukraine. Western Ukraine came under Austrian control, while parts of the region in the northwest fell under Prussian rule. The Third Partition of 1795 effectively wiped the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth off the map.’

Final Thoughts

‘The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth played a significant role in shaping Ukraine’s historical and cultural development, as Ukraine was part of the Commonwealth for several centuries. The Commonwealth introduced a degree of religious and cultural diversity and contributed to the emergence of a distinct Ukrainian identity. However, the eventual collapse of the Commonwealth and the partitions in the late 18th century, particularly the Russian takeover of eastern Ukraine, marked a pivotal moment in Ukraine’s history, leading to a long period of Russian rule and influence over the region. This era of Russian dominance had lasting effects on Ukraine’s political, cultural, and social landscape, setting the stage for complex relations between the two nations in the following centuries.’

Outro

‘Please do join me next time when I talk about the Russian Imperial era in Ukraine’s story. For now, thanks very much for listening, and see you next time. Slava Ukraini!’