The Little Russia Office () was a Muscovite state agency (

Prikaz A prikaz (; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive bureaucracy , office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Tsardom of Russia from the 15th ...

) and administrative body of the Tsardom of Muscovy in charge of affairs connected with 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 ...

and the

Left-bank Ukraine The Left-bank Ukraine is a historic name of the part of Ukraine on the left (east) bank of the Dnieper River, comprising the modern-day oblasts of Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy as well as the eastern parts of Kyiv and Cherkasy. Left-bank Ukrain ...

. Created on , the office existed until 1722 when it was transformed into the Collegium of Little Russia and moved to

Hlukhiv Hlukhiv (, ; ) is a small historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Esman River. It belongs to Shostka Raion of Sumy Oblast of Ukraine. Population: It is known for being a capital of the Cossack Hetmanate after the deposition of Ivan M ...

. The Little Russia Office was part of the bigger Ambassadorial Office and since 1671 was chaired by the head of the office. Located in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, since 1707 the agency had its resident general in the hetman's capital. Conditions of the office were expressed in articles (or statutes; {{langx, ru, статьи) which were concluded with every newly elected Hetman.

Overview

Noticeable is the fact that the Little Russia Prikase was created about a week later after the official confirmation of Hetman Pavlo Teteria in Chyhyryn after he was elected the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host earlier in October 1662. The prikase sanctioned an alternative elections of hetman which led to election of the Kosh Otaman Ivan Briukhovetsky as another Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in

Nizhyn Nizhyn (, ; ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the capital city, administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It hosts the ...

in June 1663 (see Chorna rada of 1663). The creation of dual hetmanship conditionally divided Ukraine along the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

which later in 1667 saw its virtual and legal realization at the

Treaty of Andrusovo The Truce of Andrusovo (, , also sometimes known as Treaty of Andrusovo) established a thirteen-and-a-half year truce, signed on between the Tsardom of Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which had fought the Russo-Polish War sin ...

Composition and functions

The prikase consisted of four clerks ( dyaks) and 15-40 assistants (podyachny). It controlled the Hetman and its officer council implementing a prikase-voivode system of the Russian administration in Ukraine. The prikase prevented any attempts that were undertaken to succeed Ukraine from Russia in its early stage. In 1722 it was transformed into the Collegium of Little Russia suspending next Hetman elections indefinitely.

Primary

* maintained ties on the tsar's behalf with the hetman's government and representatives in Moscow * kept the tsar informed of developments * gathered intelligence * supervised and supplied the Muscovite garrisons in several of the Hetmanate's towns * mitigated conflicts between them and the people * oversaw the construction of fortresses and bridges * looked after the interests of Russian merchants in Ukraine * issued travel permits * settled jurisdictional disputes

Additionally

* monitored the administrative institutions of the Hetman state * monitored the hetman's correspondence with foreign rulers * reviewed the hetman's appointments * interfered in the affairs of the Orthodox church in Ukraine

Heads

* 1663–1667 Boyar Pyotr Saltykov, dyak Ivan Mikhailov * 1667–1668 Boyar Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin (part of Ambassadorial Prikaz) * 1668–1676 Council Courtier

Artamon Matveyev Artamon Sergeyevich Matveyev (; – ) was a Russian statesman, diplomat and reformer. He served as the head ('' dyak'') of the foreign ministry (''Posolsky prikaz'') from 1671 to 1676 during the reign of Alexis of Russia, succeeding Afanasy Or ...

, dyaks Grigoriy Bogdanov and Yakov Pozdyshev ** since 1670 part of Ambassadorial Prikaz

Articles

* 1654 March Articles * 1659 Pereyaslav Articles * Moscow Articles of 1665

External links

Little Russian Office
at the

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...

Little Russian Office
at the Encyclopedia of history of Ukraine

at the

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

Little Russia Prikase
Soviet Historical Encyclopedia. 1663 establishments in Russia 1722 disestablishments in the Russian Empire Russia–Ukraine relations Cossack Hetmanate