Pavlo Teteria (; ; – 1671) was

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, ...

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 ...

(1663–1665). His real name is Pavlo Morzhkovsky. Before his hetmancy he served in a number of high positions under

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 ...

, and Ivan Vyhovsky.

Brief outlook

When the

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 ...

broke out he served as a regimental secretary of Pereyaslav; shortly afterwards he was appointed the deputy of the general secretary. Later he assumed the post of the Pereyaslav colonel, while still continuing to act as deputy general secretary. He was one of the Ukrainian delegates that were sent to conduct the Treaty of Pereyaslav. Teteria participated in the negotiations aimed at uniting

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

back into 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 ...

. When a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

between Right-bank Cossacks and Left-bank Cossacks broke out, he openly supported pro-Polish policies, and was elected Hetman in the Right-bank Ukraine in 1663. He participated with the Poles in a campaign into

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 ...

, but in 1665 he abdicated because of political and social unrests in Right-bank. Teteria fled to Poland, but eventually came into conflict with 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 left for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, where he died plotting an invasion of Poland.

Biography

He was the son in law of hetman

, when he married his daughter Olena Khmelnytsky in 1660. Teteria was educated at the Kyivan Mohyla College and he was member of the Lviv Dormition Brotherhood. He joined the Cossack army when the

broke out in 1648. He began his official service as a regimental secretary for the Pereyaslav regiment. Shortly after he became the deputy of the general secretary. He was part of the delegation that accompanied Tymofiy Khmelnytsky to Iaşi to marry Ruxandra the daughter of the Moldavian

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 ...

Vasile Lupu. In July 1653, Teteria assumed the position of colonel of Pereyaslav, while still maintaining the office of deputy general secretary. In April 1654, Teteria and Samiilo Bohdanovych-Zarudny were part of the Ukrainian delegation sent to

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 ...

to conduct the Treaty of Pereyaslav 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. ...

. This treaty placed 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

Zaporozhian 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 th ...

under the protection of the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

. When Vyhovsky was proclaimed hetman, Teteria was appointed as the hetman's chancellor secretary. He participated in the negotiations of 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 ...

, which would restore Ukraine back into the Commonwealth, as a third and autonomous state, under the ultimate sovereignty of the King of Poland. The treaty led to a

known as

The Ruin "The Ruin of the Empire", or simply "The Ruin", is an elegy in Old English, written by an unknown author probably in the 8th or 9th century, and published in the 10th century in the '' Exeter Book'', a large collection of poems and riddles. The ...

, when he openly supported pro-Polish policy and pressured the young, and inexperienced Yuri Khmelnytsky to abdicate.

Hetman

First at the officer's council in Chyhyryn in October 1662Pavlo Teteria
at the Kyiv city library and then the cossack council meeting in Chyhyryn on 2 January 1663 Teteria officially succeed Khmelnytsky as the

. Once in power he had

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 ...

leaders executed and imprisoned, because he perceived them as possible rivals. Teteria had Vyhovsky,

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 ...

executed, and had Yuri Khmelnytsky imprisoned. Teteria followed a strong line of Polish policies, and was unwilling to forge an independent Cossack policy. In 1664 along with Jan II Casimir Vasa he led an invasion into Left-bank Ukraine. When the attack failed, Teteria returned to the Right-bank but Cossack-led peasant uprisings against his rule occurred because of the detested behaviors of him and his Polish allies to common cossacks, and peasants. In 1665 unable to cope with the social unrests, particularly the "Drozd Uprising", Teteria abdicated and fled 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 Poland he converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

from Orthodoxy and was given high administrative posts in

Polatsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Western Dvina, Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it ...

. Eventually he got into disputes with Polish

magnates 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 ...

and fell upon misfortune. Unable to gain any sufficient support from the

Polish Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

, he left for

Adrianopolis Edirne (; ), historically known as Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second capital city of the Ottoman ...

, where he died plotting an invasion of Poland.

References

External links

Teteria, Pavlo
at th
Encyclopedia of Ukraine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teteria, Pavlo 1620s births 1670 deaths Year of birth uncertain Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Hetmans of the Zaporozhian Cossacks Kyiv-Mohyla Academy alumni People from Pereiaslav Polish people of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) Zaporozhian Cossack military personnel of the Khmelnytsky Uprising Zaporozhian Cossack nobility Former Ukrainian Orthodox Christians Ukrainian Roman Catholics Colonels of the Cossack Hetmanate