Sidor Bely or Sydir Bily (1716 — 20 July 1788) was Kosh ataman of the

Black Sea Cossack Host Black Sea Cossack Host (), also known as Chernomoriya (), was a Cossack host of the Russian Empire created in 1787 in southern Ukraine from former Zaporozhian Cossacks.Azarenkova et al., pp. 9ff. In the 1790s, the host was re-settled to the ...

Biography

Bily was born in 1716 to a Cossack family near

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

. He studied in the

Kiev-Mohyla Academy The National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA, ), colloquially known as Mohylianka (), is a highly ranked national state-sponsored research university located in a historic section of Kyiv, Ukraine. The university is bilingual in Uk ...

after which he joined the

Sich A sich (), was an administrative and military centre of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. The word ''sich'' derives from the Ukrainian verb , "to chop" – with the implication of clearing a forest for an encampment or of building a fortification with t ...

as a young man where he continued his studies in the Sich officer school. Due to his talents he was chosen to be an osaul. He took part in numerous sea and land campaigns on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and in

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 ...

where he gained a reputation as a fine commander and seaman. In the 1760s he carried out special assignments for Petro Kalnyshevsky. Because of his intelligence and education he was always trusted and was popular. He travelled to

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

with Kalnyshevsky and

Antin Holovaty Antin Holovaty () or Anton Golovaty () ; between 1732 and 1744 – 28 January 1797 was a prominent Zaporozhian Cossack leader who after the Zaporozhian Sich's destruction was a key figure in the formation of the Black Sea Cossack Host and t ...

in January 1762 for the coronation of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

. Bily was honoured with a gold medal and nobility status. 150px, left, Coat of arms of Sydir Bily After his return to the Sich in 1774, Bily and Antin Holovaty once again sent to St Petersburg, where he represented the rights of the cossacks and the return of confiscated lands. Their petition was ignored. The fate of the Sich was sealed on April 23, 1775, at a council meeting in the Palace to which Bily and Holovaty were not invited. During the destruction of the Sich, Bily was in St Petersburg. On his return all he saw of the Sich were ruins. He was able to avoid repercussions and repressions by the direct intervention of

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

. Bily was retired as a major in the Russian army and tended to the management of his estates. In 1786 he headed the council of nobility in

. This period is described in various ways. Some state that he moved to the Danubian Sich, and he was labelled a traitor, that he sold out to the Empress for a gold medal. Analysis tends to lead us to the fact that Bily was a skillful politician and understood the politics of the time. He understood that the Sich could not continue within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and understood that it could only survive outside of the Russian Empire. As a result he moved to the Danube and started creating the " Host of Loyal Zaporozhians". Kherson at that time had started building large sail-boats - corvettes, frigates and line boats for the future Black Sea fleet. Bily took part in the construction of these boats and also in the selection and training of future sailors from the Ukrainian population. With the addition of

to the Russian Empire,

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 ...

understood this as being a breaking of the Treaty of Kujchuk-Karnadji. Turkey sent a fleet of 25 large boats and war broke loose. Commanders were sent from the Baltics, and the

Azov fleet Azov (, ), previously known as Azak (Turki/ Kypchak: ), is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. The population is History Early settlements in the vicini ...

was sent to engage the Turks. Potemkin's admirals did not know the conditions in the Dnieper-Black Sea region and as a result Bily took a commanding role. After handing over command of the fleet to vice-admiral F. Klokachov, Bily returned to Kherson where he took command of the Lyman fleet, which was still to be built. The fleet was built in 1787 made up of Cossack Chaikas (one of which is in the Cossack museum in

Khortytsia Khortytsia (, ) is the largest island on the Dnieper River, and is long and up to wide. The island forms part of the Khortytsia National Reserve. This historic site is located within the city limits of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. The island has ...

today) and brigants. During

visit through Ukraine and Crimea in 1787, Sydir Bily accompanied her with a guard of Cossacks. Catherine was happy with the service and agreed to pardon the Cossacks who had left the Russian Empire. Potemkin placed the French Prince Karl Heinrich Nassau-Zigen as commander of the Lyman fleet. Sydir became the commander of the Cossack Chaikas. 27 February 1787 Suvorov sent Koshovy Bily to the Empress to petition for the return of the Zaporozhian attributes: a large white with blue cross flag, some other smaller flags, bulava etc. The flag became the basis for the current Navy flag of Ukraine. The word Zaporozhian however, was no longer allowed to be used, although Suvorov paid no heed to the ban. September 7, 1787, the next Russo-Turkish war erupted. The tragedy of this campaign was that they not only fought the Turks, but also their brethren who had resettled in the

Danubian Sich The Danubian Sich () was an organization of the part of former Zaporozhian Cossacks who settled in the territory of the Ottoman Empire (the Danube Delta, hence the name) after their previous host was disbanded and the Zaporozhian Sich was des ...

. The fleet led by Sydir Bily had negotiated with the Danubian Cossacks not to engage them in combat. They shot their cannon a number of times and returned to shore. The refusal of the Danubian Cossacks to fight their brothers guaranteed Potemkin victory. On the 17 June near

Ochakiv Ochakiv (, ), also known as Ochakov (; ; or, archaically, ) and Alektor (), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Ochakiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. ...

a new battle erupted. A number of boats of Eksi-Hasan were grounded in the shallow waters. The Lyman flotilla attacked and destroyed six frigates. During the attack 18 cossacks died and 235 were taken captive. Sydir Bily was also wounded. He was taken to the Kinburg fortress. Suvorov gave him his finest doctors, but this was all in vain. Bily died June 20, 1788, at the age of 72. At his funeral were Suvorov, Antin Holovaty, contr-admiral

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

Biography

Further reading