Ivan Vyhovsky (; ; date of birth unknown, died 1664), a Ukrainian military and political figure and statesman, served as

hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

of the

Zaporizhian Host The Zaporozhian Host (), or Zaporozhian Sich () is a term for a military force inhabiting or originating from Zaporizhzhia, the territory in what is Southern and Central Ukraine today, beyond the rapids of the Dnieper River, from the 15th to the ...

and of the

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...

for three years (1657–1659) during the

Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) Armed conflicts between Poland (including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland) and Russia (including the Soviet Union, the Russian Empire, the Tsardom of Russia and the Principality of Moscow) include: : : ...

. He succeeded the famous hetman and rebel leader

Bohdan Khmelnytsky Zynoviy Bohdan Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky of the Abdank coat of arms (Ruthenian language, Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern , Polish language, Polish: ; 15956 August 1657) was a Ruthenian nobility, Ruthenian noble ...

(see

Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks A Hetman of Zaporizhian Cossacks is a historical term that has multiple meanings. Officially the post was known as Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host ().Mytsyk, Yu. Hetman (ГЕТЬМАН)'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. Hetman of Zaporizhia ...

). His time as hetman was characterized by his generally pro- Polish policies, which led to his defeat by pro-

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

elements among the Cossacks. Vyhovsky belonged to the Orthodox noble family of the Vyhovsky coat of arms Abdank.

Origin and family

Vyhovsky was born in his family estate of Vyhiv, near

Ovruch Ovruch (, ) is a city in Korosten Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine, first mentioned as Vruchiy in 977. It was the capital city of the Drevlians in the 900s, later conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century, then later part of the Grand D ...

in the

Kyiv Voivodeship The Kiev Voivodeship (; ; ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1471 until 1569 and of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 until 1793, as part of Lesser Poland Province of ...

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 ...

, a son of Ostap Vyhovsky, a

vicegerent Vicegerent is the official administrative deputy of a ruler or head of state: ''vice'' (Latin for "in place of") and ''gerere'' (Latin for "to carry on, conduct"). In Oxford colleges, a vicegerent is often someone appointed by the Master of a ...

of the

Kyiv 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, ...

fortress under

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Adam Kisiel and an Orthodox nobleman from the Kyiv region. There is also a possibility that the birth occurred at another family estate, Hoholiv, located near Kyiv (now

Brovary Raion Brovary Raion () is a raion (district) in Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine. Its capital (political), administrative center is the town of Brovary. Its population is History In 1923, Brovary Raion was established with its center in Brovary. In 1930, the ra ...

). Ostap Vyhovsky had 3 other sons and a daughter (all of them were exiled to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

after the downfall of Ivan Vyhovsky).

Education

Vyhovsky studied at the Kyiv Brotherhood Collegium and excelled in languages (including Church Slavonic, Polish, Latin and Russian, in addition to Ukrainian) and

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

. He later was the main financial supporter of the Collegium.

Military service

In Polish military service, Vyhovsky was captured by Khmelnystsky's rebel Cossack forces at the

Battle of Zhovti Vody The Battle of Zhovti Vody (; ; 29 April — 16 May, 1648) was the first significant battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Near the site of the present-day city of Zhovti Vody on the Zhovta River in Ukraine, the forces of the Zaporozhian Host and ...

in May 1648, he was freed on account of his education and experience and rose to become secretary-general or chancellor () of the Cossacks and one of Khmelnytsky's closest advisors. Elected hetman upon the death of Khmelnytsky, Vyhovsky sought to find a counterbalance to the pervasive Russian influence, which Moscow exerted over Ukraine following the 1654 Treaty of Pereiaslav. While the Cossack elite and the ecclesiastical authorities supported his pro-Polish orientation, the masses and the Cossack rank-and-file remained deeply suspicious and resentful of the Poles by whom they had long been forced into

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

. As a result, some Cossacks, led by Yakiv Barabash, put forward an alternative candidate for the hetmancy in Martyn Pushkar, the colonel of the

Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...

regiment of Cossacks. The rebellion against the hetman grew and came to a head when Vyhovsky's forces clashed with the pro-Russian Cossacks in June 1658. Vyhovsky's forces prevailed, killing Pushkar and forcing Barabash to flee (he would later be captured and executed). However, it had clearly been a fratricidal conflict, resulting in some 50,000 deaths. After his consolidation of power within Ukraine, Vyhovsky attempted to reach an acceptable agreement with the Poles. Encouraged by his aristocratic friend Yuri Nemyrych, Vyhovsky entered negotiations with the Polish government, which resulted in the

Treaty of Hadiach The Treaty of Hadiach (; ) was a treaty signed on 16 September 1658 in Hadiach (present-day Ukraine) between representatives of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ( representing Poland and representing Lithuania) and Zaporozhian Cossacks (repr ...

, signed on 16 September 1658. Under the conditions of the treaty, Ukraine as the Grand Duchy of Ruthenia, would become a third and autonomous component of the

, under the ultimate sovereignty of the King of Poland, but with its own military, courts and treasury. Additionally, adherents of the Orthodox faith were to receive equal consideration as

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 ...

. As such, the signed treaty would have assured the Cossacks of autonomy and dignity to an extent they had not known previously. However, the Treaty of Hadiach was never implemented. After its signing came a massive Russian army (according to some sources up to 150,000 soldiers). About 100,000 of them were occupied by the siege of Konotop, the rest being massacred by Tatars when trying to follow after Vyhovsky's Cossacks, resulting in 20,000–30,000 lost among the Russians) led by the Muscovy

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

Aleksei Trubetskoi crossed into Ukraine. In response, Vyhovsky led 60,000 Cossacks against the Russians alongside his Polish and 40,000 Tatar allies. Near Konotop, the Russians were defeated. However, Vyhovsky was not able to capitalize on his victory, as the Russian garrisons in several Cossack towns continued to hold out, and his Tatar allies were forced to return to

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 ...

after it was attacked by independent Cossacks. Furthermore, pro-Russia unrest, led by

Ivan Bohun Ivan Bohun () (died 1664) was a Zaporozhian Cossack colonel. A close associate and friend of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, he opposed both the pacts with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Treaty of Hadiach of 1658) and with the Tsardom of Russia (Pere ...

, broke out again among the Cossacks. In 1659 Yuri Khmelnitsky opposed him. Their troops met at Bila Tserkva but the battle did not happen as Vyhovsky's Cossacks quickly defected to the camp of pro-Russian Cossacks. Seeing the helplessness of his struggle, the hetman renounced his position and retired to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In 1660, he was appointed Voivode of Kyiv, a position that he kept until his death in 1664. Kyiv itself was held by the Russian troops after Voivodes Vasily Sheremetev and Yury Baryatinsky managed to repel two Vyhovsky's and one Polish assault on the city.Малов А. В. Русско-польская война 1654–1667 гг – М.: Цейхгауз, 2006. . Unfortunately for Vyhovsky, his service on behalf of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and his voluntary surrender of power did not protect him. In 1664 another Cossack hetman, Pavlo Teteria, seeing in Vyhovsky a potential rival, accused him of treason and betrayal (reconciliation with Russia and Russian followers amongst the Cossacks) before the Polish authorities. Consequently, Vyhovsky was charged with treason, arrested and executed without trial by a Polish commander colonel, Sebastian Machowski, making him another victim of the fratricidal power struggles that devastated Ukrainian territory in the latter half of the 17th century.

Origin and family

Education

Military service

Legacy

See also

References

Sources

See also