Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk (; ; – May 26, 1742) was a Zaporozhian Cossack statesman, diplomat and member of Cossack starshyna who served as the

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, ...

in exile from 1710 to 1742. He was a close associate of

Ivan Mazepa Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (; ; ) was the Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host and the Left-bank Ukraine in 1687–1708. The historical events of Mazepa's life have inspired Cultural legacy of Mazeppa, many literary, artistic and musical works. He was ...

and the author of the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk.

Biography

Pylyp Orlyk was born in the village of ,

Ashmyany Ashmyany or Oshmyany is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus. It is located from Vilnius in Lithuania, and serves as the administrative center of Ashmyany District. The river Ashmyanka passes through the city. As of 2025, it has a population of 16 ...

county,

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

( Vileyka district of modern-day

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

), on November 1, 1673. Pylyp Orlik came from an old noble family of the Nowina coat of arms. The family name appeared in the form Orlik or Orlicki. The family most likely came to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

from Bohemia in the 15th century, then settled in western Belarus. Pylyp's father Stefan Orlik was killed in the Battle of Chocim against the Turks on November 11, 1673, fighting in the ranks of the Polish-Lithuanian army, a year after his son's birth. Pylyp's mother was Irena née Małachowski of the Hrymal coat of arms. Although Orlyk's father was Catholic his mother was Orthodox and baptized her son in that rite. Orlyk first studied at the Jesuit college in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

and until 1694 at Kyiv Mohyla Academy. In 1698 he was appointed secretary of the consistory of

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, ...

metropolia. In 1699 he became a senior member of

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, ...

's General Military Chancellery and 1706 was appointed general chancellor and at that position he was Mazepa's closest aide, facilitated Mazepa's secret correspondence with the Poles and Swedes, and assisted Mazepa in his efforts to form an anti-Russian coalition.

Hetman in exile

After the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would l ...

in 1709, he escaped together with

and king

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

to Bender in the

Principality of Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later auto ...

, where Mazepa soon died. Pylyp Orlyk was then chosen as a

by the Cossacks and the Swedish king

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

. While in Bender, Orlyk wrote one of the first state constitutions in Europe. This Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk was confirmed by

and it also names him as ''the protector of Ukraine''. Between 1711 and 1714, together with

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

and small groups of

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, 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 borde ...

, Orlyk carried out unsuccessful raids into

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 ...

. Afterwards, Pylyp Orlyk now together with several other Cossacks followed the Swedish king

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

via

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

. Orlyk with his family and about 40 other Cossacks arrived in

Ystad Ystad () is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and tourist attracti ...

, Sweden in late November 1715. After some months in Ystad they lived in the city of

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

for some years. Orlyk and his family left

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1720 but as late as 1747 his widow and children received financial support from the

Parliament of Sweden The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportionally and serving, since 1994, f ...

. From Sweden Orlyk first went to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

and

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, where he left his family to stay in a monastery. Orlyk stayed in Poland until March 1722, when he went to

Khotyn Khotyn (, ; , ; see #Name, other names) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of th ...

in Ottoman

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

. From there he went on to

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. In 1734 he moved to the Sultan's residence in Căușeni, Moldavia. He then stayed in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, and from late 1739 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. He died 1742 in Jassy,

(today

, Romania). Orlyk wrote numerous proclamations and essays about

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 ...

including the 1710 Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk. Orlik is also the author of a comprehensive ''Dziennik Podróżny'', 3000-pages long diary, covering the years 1720-1732. The diary is written in Polish typical of the 18th century, with many interjections from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

or polonized Latin words. Some words from

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

, Turkic, Tatar and a few Ukrainianisms also appear. The diary also contains passages written in French and Latin.

Memory

In 2011 a monument dedicated to Pylyp Orlyk was erected in Kristianstad, Sweden on a building Ukrainian hetman lived in 1716–1719 years to celebrate tercentenary of Pylyp Orlyk's constitution. The authors of the monument are Borys Krylov and Oles Sydoruk. 104 streets and 22 alleys of Ukrainian settlements are named after Pylyp Orlyk. The streets of Vileik (Belarus) and Kristianstad (Sweden) are also named after the Hetman. The National Bank of Ukraine issued two silver coins dedicated to Pylyp Orlyk (2002) and the first Ukrainian Constitution to Pylyp Orlyk (2010). Ukrainian State Enterprise of Postal Service "Ukrposta" issued stamps in honor of Pylyp Orlyk (1997) and his Constitution (2010). Ukrainian MPs and representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora in the U.S. established the Pylyp Orlyk International Prize in 2007, which is annually presented in Kiev to prominent Ukrainian and foreign lawyers. The award is currently presented by the International International Charitable Foundation for the People's Hero Mark Paslawsky. The name of Hetman Pylyp Orlyk was given: Nikolaev International Classical University, Non-state think tank in Ukraine – Institute of Democracy in Kyiv and 43rd reservoir hut in Lviv. Monuments and memorial signs to Hetman Pylyp Orlyk. The monuments of the Hetman and memorial signs of the first Ukrainian Constitution were installed in Kosuta (Belarus) (2006), Baturyn (Ukraine) (2009), Bendery (Moldova) (2010), Kyiv (Ukraine) (2011), Orlyk in the Poltava region (Ukraine) (2011), Kristianstad (Sweden) (2011) and Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine) (2012). In Baturyn, on the Maidan of Hetman glory, towering monument «Hetmans. Prayer for Ukraine», in the form of a sculptural group of five Ukrainian hetmans: Demian Ihnatovych, Ivan Samoylovych, Ivan Mazepa, Kyrylo Rozumovsky and Pylyp Orlyk. Hetman in emigration Pylyp Orlyk stands beside his mentor Ivan Mazepa. The sculptural composition symbolizes the unity of their thoughts. Sculptures: Nikolai and Bogdan Mazura. Monument «Hetmans. Prayer for Ukraine» is solemnly opened on the Day of Cathedral of Ukraine, January 22, 2009. with the participation of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko.

Family

Pylyp Orlyk married Hanna Hertsyk in on November 13, 1698. She was of Jewish descent, a daughter of the colonel Pavlo Semenovych Hertsyk (a close ally of Mazepa) of the Poltava regiment. Pylyp and Hanna had eight children. They were:Bertil Häggman: "Son til ukrainsk 1700-talsstatschef med skånsk anknytning studerade i Lund." ''Lundagenealogen 2008:1''. * Anastasiya Orlyk (1699–1728) – born in

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 ...

. Married the Swedish nobleman and officer Johan Stenflycht (1681–1758) in 1723. They had two sons: ** Carl Gustaf (1724–1758) – colonel in the French regiment Royal Pologne. ** Filip (1726–1739) – died in Hamburg. * Grégoire Orlyk (; November 5, 1702 – † November 14, 1759) – born in

Baturyn Baturyn (, ) is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. It is located in Nizhyn Raion (district) on the banks of the Seym River. It hosts the administration of Baturyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. P ...

, Ukraine. His godfather was Hetman Ivan Mazepa. He studied at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

(1717–1718). After leaving

in 1720 he first lived with his mother in

, Poland. He later became a Lieutenant General in France where he called himself ''Comte d'Orlik''. Although he kept the contact with

and in 1742 he also visited

. In 1747 he married a French noblewoman, but they didn't have any children. He was killed in 1759 at the Battle of Minden in Germany where he also is buried. * Mykhailo Orlyk (1704–?) – born in

, Ukraine. His godfather was Hetman Ivan Mazepa. * Varvara Orlyk – born in

, Ukraine. Her godfather was Hetman Ivan Mazepa. * Yakiv Orlyk (1711–?) – born in Bender,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. His godfather was king

. * Marta Orlyk (1713–?) – born in Bender,

. Her godfather was king Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland. * Maryna Orlyk (1715–?) – born in Altefähr,

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania (; ) was a dominions of Sweden, dominion under the Sweden, Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish-Swedish War, Polish War and the Thirty Years' War ...

. Her godparents were king Charles XII of Sweden's sister Ulrika Eleonora and king Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland. * Kateryna Orlyk (November 5, 1718–?) – born in

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

, Sweden and probably died already in 1719.

References

Bibliography

* * Jean-Benoit Scherer, ''Annales de la Petite-Russie, ou Histoire des Cosaques-Saporogues et des Cosaques de l'Ukraine'' (Adamant Media Corporation, 2001) *

External links

Minsk honors Ukrainian hetman, born in Belarus
* Taras Chuhlib, ''The Belarusian roots of hetman Pylyp Orlyk'', Zerkalo Nedeli ''(Mirror Weekly)'', October 28 – November 3, 2006
in Russian
an
in Ukrainian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlyk, Pylyp 1672 births 1742 deaths People from Vileyka district People from Vilnius Voivodeship Pylyp Hetmans of the Zaporozhian Cossacks Ukrainian people of Belarusian descent Ukrainian people of Czech descent Kyiv-Mohyla Academy alumni Vilnius University alumni 17th-century Ukrainian people 18th-century Ukrainian people People of the Great Northern War Orlyk, Pylyp