The haydamaks, also haidamakas or haidamaky or haidamaks ( ''haidamaka''; ''haidamaky'', from and ) were soldiers of
Ukrainian Cossack paramilitary outfits composed of commoners (peasants, craftsmen), and impoverished noblemen in the eastern part of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. They were formed in reaction to the Commonwealth's actions that were directed to reconstitute its orders on territory of
right-bank Ukraine
The Right-bank Ukraine is a historical and territorial name for a part of modern Ukraine on the right (west) bank of the Dnieper River, corresponding to the modern-day oblasts of Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, as well as the western parts o ...
, which was secured following ratification of the
Treaty of Perpetual Peace
The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was signed by James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England in 1502. It agreed to end the intermittent warfare between Scotland and England which had been waged over the previous two hundred years, and, although it ...
with the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721.
...
in 1710.
Etymology and terminology
Etymology
The word ''haydamak'' has two related meanings: either 'Ukrainian insurgent against the Poles in the 18th century', or '
brigand
Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first record ...
'.
[ The role played by haydamaks in the anti-Polish Ukrainian revolts of the 18th-century led by ]Maksym Zalizniak
Maksym Zalizniak (), (born early 1740s in Medvedivka near Chyhyryn - date and place of death unknown, after 1768) was a Ukrainian Cossack and leader of the Koliivshchyna rebellion.
History
Zalizniak was born in a poor peasant family of Ort ...
and Ivan Honta led to the first meaning.
The word has been adopted into Ukrainian from the Crimea
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
and the neighbouring region, where it has been used in some Kipchak, Oghuz and Slavic languages
The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...
.[ The origin is the Turkic word 'haydamak', 'to drive, to drive away', the etymological vehicle being the ]Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...
.[ The verb (h)ayda was probably derived from the ]onomatopoeic
Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...
stem
Stem or STEM most commonly refers to:
* Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant
* Stem group
* Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
Stem or STEM can also refer to:
Language and writing
* Word stem, part of a word respon ...
used to spur someone on: 'hayda!'.[ Depending on the local context, it was understood to mean 'driving someone or something away', and later 'to chase, to pursue'.][ In the ]infinitive
Infinitive ( abbreviated ) is a linguistics term for certain verb forms existing in many languages, most often used as non-finite verbs that do not show a tense. As with many linguistic concepts, there is not a single definition applicable to all ...
Turkish verbs have the ending -mak or -mek. The ending -ak(a) however also exists in Ukrainian, in words with meanings somewhat related to each other, such as ''huljáka'', 'crouser' (crouse = brisk, livelyl, confident), ''pyjak(a)'', 'drunkard', ''rozbyšaka'', 'brigand', and that might have led to the initial meaning of 'to chase, to pursue' evolving to mean 'chaser, pursuer', and finally 'insurgent'.[ In different other languages the meaning of 'brigand' given to hajdamak(a) took shape in accordance to the way their enemies saw the ''hajdamaks''.][
In Ottoman Turkish, haydamak used to mean "a cattle-lifter, marauder",][ and in modern Turkish it means "to attack, raid, drive cattle".][
]
Older Ukrainian terms
Other more ancient exonym
An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...
s of the same haidamaks include ''levenetz'' and ''deineka''. Equivalents of ''haidamaka'' include '' opryshok'' in Ukrainian Galicia.
In other languages
The Romanian word ''haidamac'' means 'strong, sometimes no-good man'.
The words ''hajduk
A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...
'' used in Central Europe
Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
and the Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
has a similar meaning.[
]
Historical connotations
Because of the massacres of Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, Uniate
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
s, and Polish nobility, the Polish language
Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...
term ''Hajdamactwo'' became a pejorative label for Ukrainians as a whole. However, Ukrainian folklore and literature generally (with some notable exceptions) treat the actions of the haidamaks positively. ''Haidamaky
The haydamaks, also haidamakas or haidamaky or haidamaks ( ''haidamaka''; ''haidamaky'', from and ) were soldiers of Ukrainian Cossacks, Ukrainian Cossack paramilitary outfits composed of commoners (peasants, craftsmen), and impoverished nob ...
'' (1841), an epic poem
In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...
by Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
, treats its subjects both sympathetically and critically.
History
The haidamak movement consisted mostly of local free Cossack
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
s (not members of any host
A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it.
Host may also refer to:
Places
* Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
* Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica
People
* ...
) and peasantry (''kozaky'' and ''holota''), and rebels.
Haidamaks waged war mainly against the Polish nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
and collaborationists in right-bank Ukraine
The Right-bank Ukraine is a historical and territorial name for a part of modern Ukraine on the right (west) bank of the Dnieper River, corresponding to the modern-day oblasts of Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, as well as the western parts o ...
, though the movement was not limited to the right bank only, and they participated in Zaporozhian raids on the Cossack szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...
in left-bank Ukraine as well. The latter raids occasionally deteriorated to common robbery and murder, for example in the so-called Matsapura case in the Left Bank in 1734.
Opposition to the szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...
and to Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
led to the haidamaka rebellions (''haidamachchyna''). Three major uprisings took place, in 1734, 1750, and the largest – usually referred to as Koliyivschyna
The Koliivshchyna (; ) was a major haidamaky rebellion that broke out in Right-bank Ukraine in June 1768, caused by the dissatisfaction of peasants with the treatment of Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christians by the Bar Confederation and serfd ...
in 1768.
The first uprising came during the war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
for control of the Polish Kingdom in 1734 after the death of Frederick Augustus II in 1733. Russian troops, brought in to remove King Stanisław I (Leszczyński), were initially seen as liberators from the Poles, and an insurrection developed in Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, spreading to Podolia
Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria).
Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...
and Volhynia
Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...
. After Augustus III gained the throne of Poland-Lithuania in 1734, the Russian military suppressed the insurrection. Small raids by haidamakas against Polish nobility continued in the following years under the leadership of Hnat Holy.Holy, Hnat
/ref>
In 1750 another uprising occurred as the haidamakas continued to receive popular sympathy. Based in the lands of the Zaporozhian Cossacks
The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...
, they moved into the south of the Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
Palatinate, generating a near-complete rebellion by Right-Bank Ukraine. Although they captured a number of towns and areas, they were eventually crushed due to lack of organization.
In 1768, led by Zaporozhian Cossack
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
Maksym Zalizniak
Maksym Zalizniak (), (born early 1740s in Medvedivka near Chyhyryn - date and place of death unknown, after 1768) was a Ukrainian Cossack and leader of the Koliivshchyna rebellion.
History
Zalizniak was born in a poor peasant family of Ort ...
and leader of the Uman
Uman (, , ) is a city in Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. It is located to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the east of the historical region of Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River. Uman serves as the administrative c ...
Cossack paramilitary group Ivan Gonta
Ivan Gonta (; 1768) was one of the leaders of the Koliivshchyna, an armed rebellion of peasants and Ukrainian Cossacks against Bar confederation in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Born in Rożyszki (modern Rozsishky) near Uman' in Br ...
, the peasants were initially successful in conquering much of the Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
and Bracław Voivodeship
The Bracław Voivodeship (; ; , ''Braclavśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Created in 1566 as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it was passed to the Crown of the Kingdom of Pola ...
s, as well as large chunks of Volhynia
Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...
and Podolia
Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria).
Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...
. In captured territories the nobility, Ukrainian Catholics, Jesuits and above all the Jews, were murdered ''en masse'' (see Massacre of Uman), which led to a quick response by the Polish army. By July of the same year the Poles – with Russian military assistance – had suppressed the revolt, though bloody repression against the Cossacks lasted for several years. See Koliyivschyna
The Koliivshchyna (; ) was a major haidamaky rebellion that broke out in Right-bank Ukraine in June 1768, caused by the dissatisfaction of peasants with the treatment of Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christians by the Bar Confederation and serfd ...
article for more details.
The last flare-up of the Haydamak violence occurred in 1830s, during the Ustym Karmaliuk rebellion. This final chapter of Haydamaka history was unique in large part due to the support the rebellion enjoyed not only among the peasantry, but also among the Poles and the Jews marginalized and rendered destitute by the Russian Empire.
Cultural depictions of haidamaky
* Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
published poem ''Haidamaky
The haydamaks, also haidamakas or haidamaky or haidamaks ( ''haidamaka''; ''haidamaky'', from and ) were soldiers of Ukrainian Cossacks, Ukrainian Cossack paramilitary outfits composed of commoners (peasants, craftsmen), and impoverished nob ...
'' (1841).
See also
* Hajduk
A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...
* Ustym Karmaliuk (1787–1835), Ukrainian outlaw, the "Ukrainian Robin Hood" or "the last haydamak"
* Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...
1649–1657
References
External links
Articles in th
''Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine''
of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies:
Haidamaka
{{Authority control
18th century in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Military history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
18th century in the Zaporozhian Host
Koliivshchyna
History of the Cossacks in Ukraine