Koliyivshchyna

Koliyivshchyna 1768-1769 (Ukrainian: Коліївщина, from Ukr. "impaling") was a Ukrainian Cossack and peasant rebellion against Poland, which was responsible for the murder of noblemen (szlachta), Jews, Uniates, and Catholic priests across the part of the country west of the Dnieper river. While this rebellion may have begun with the aim of stopping social, national, and religious oppression of Ukrainians; it rapidly became a full-fledged campaign of ethnic cleansing aimed against Poles, Jews, and non-Orthodox Ukrainians. It was simultaneous to the Confederation of Bar and a de facto civil war in Poland (Poland had during the rule of king Augustus III an internal policy of imposition of Catholicism on non-Catholic population. When the king Stanisław August Poniatowski, under the pressure of the Russian Crown, signed the document in which Orthodox was equated in rights with Catholicism, szlachta rebelled). It is unclear whether the hostilities were started by the Catholic or Orthodox paramilitary units. Some historians have stated that Russia may have had a role in fomenting the rebellion and the fact that Ukrainian Uniates were among its victims adds credence to this interpretation. The rebellion was fueled by the circulation of letter ostensibly written by the Empress Katherine of Russia, in which she promised military help if Ukrainians rise against the Poles.

The peasant rebellion quickly gained momentum and spread over the territory from the right bank of the Dnieper River to the river Syan. At Uman it led to a massacre of legendary proportions. Poles, Jews and Uniates were herded into their churches and synagogues and killed in cold blood. In three weeks of unbridled violence the rebels slaughtered over 2,000 people. The leaders of the uprising were Cossacks Maksym Zalizniak and Ivan Gonta. The latter was a Registered Cossack who changed sides and joined Zalizniak at Uman while being sent by Polish Count Franciszek Salezy Potocki to protect it. Gonta was in fact а sotnyk (i.e. a commander of a unit of 100 sabers) of the Uman Regiment.

The rebellion was suppressed by the joint forces of Polish and Russian armies.

More recent evidence suggests that the actual number victims may have been 2,000, rather than the previously claimed 30,000.^[1]

The rebellion was followed by reprisals by both Polish and Russian forces, with numerous hangings, decapitations, quarterings and impalings.

Koliyivshchyna in popular culture

Taras Shevchenko's epic poem Haidamaky (The Haidamakas) chronicles the events of the Koliyivshchnyna.

Ukrainian Black Metal band Drudkh have a song titled Glare of 1768 on their album The Swan Road (Ukrainian Лебединий Шлях, Lebedynyy Shlyakh) in reference to the events of the Koliyivshchnyna beginning in said year. The lyrics in this song are taken from Taras Shevchenko's Haidamaky.

References

1. ^ Robert Paul Magocsi "A History of Ukraine", p.300

• Magocsi, Paul Robert (1996). A History of Ukraine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-0830-5.