Oleksa Dovbush (, ; 1700 – 24 August 1745) was a famous Ukrainian outlaw in 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 ...

, leader of the movement, who became a

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythology, mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in Folk music, folk songs, folk tales ...

Biography

Oleksa was born in the

Hutsul The Hutsuls (Rusyn language, Hutsul/; ; ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and northern Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). In Ukraine, they have often been officially and administra ...

village of Pechenizhyn, Kolomyia Raion, in the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

in the early 18th century in

. He became the leader of his own band that consisted of almost 50 members (''leheni''). Popular tradition portrays him as a protector to the poor people of the region. There are few written references left of him and his activities. The many folk songs and the few prose legends that still survive in

Prykarpattia Prykarpattia () is a Ukrainian term for Ciscarpathia, a physical geographical region for the northeastern Carpathian foothills.Vortman, D. Prykarpattia (ПРИКАРПАТТЯ)'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. Located at the outer foot of ...

portray him as a local hero who robbed the rich and helped the poor

serfs 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 dur ...

, like the legendary Robin Hood. His residence is believed to be located near the city of Bolekhiv in

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

. It is a rock complex that is called the Rocks of Dovbush which was nominated in the seven historical and seven natural wonders of Ukraine. Dovbush's deeds became so admired that the tales of his acts spread beyond the Hutsul region to the neighboring Pokuttia and Podillia regions of western Ukraine. His portraits were sold at local market places. He was feared by Polish

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 ...

(landowning nobility). Once, a military expedition of 2,000 soldiers, headed by Polish

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

Józef Potocki, was sent to stop his activities. Nonetheless, he could not be captured. Dovbush was shot and mortally wounded by one Stefan, the husband of his lover Dzvinka, in 1745. According to Hassidic legend, Dovbush at one time hid in the house of

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (According to a forged document from the "Kherson Geniza", accepted only by Chabad, he was born in October 1698. Some Hasidic traditions place his birth as early as 1690, while Simon Dubnow and other modern scholars argue f ...

and gave him his pipe as a token of friendship.

Legacy

After his death, his legacy was extended by several of his companions and/or people that idolized him: Vasyl Bayurak (a memorial plate is erected in

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

that mentions of his execution),

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 ...

, Ustym Karmaliuk, and many others. His legend entered Ukrainian folklore and was the subject of various artistic works, by, among others, the writers Ivan Franko and Yuriy Fedkovych. A

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

was made about the outlaw, and there are streets and locations named after him. Ukrainian choreographer Vasyl Avramenko created a dance called "Dovbush".

Notes

References

OverviewBrief mentioningThe picture that mentions Bayurak

Biography

Legacy

See also

Notes

References

Further reading