Igor Sokurenko. The head of the ensemble "Cossack Duke" on the set of the film "School. Director Pavel Lungin
In the Zaporizhzhya Sich, relations between the Cossacks were fraternal, but subordination also took place, and not age was taken into account, but the time of entering the Sich. Who entered the partnership earlier, he called the newly entered "son", and last first"Dad", at least dad was 20 years old, and "son" - 40. A newcomer became a real Cossack only when he learned the Cossack "regulation" (military order and techniques) and the ability to obey the koshevoy chieftain, foreman and all comradeship.
Came to the Sich, of course, different people, including those with a dark past - murderers, crooks, criminals. No one demanded an explanation from them about their past life, but they had to either radically change or leave, otherwise they quickly became familiar with the strict rules of Cossack democracy. The trial and reprisal were swift and ruthless.
Of the crimes, murder was considered the greatest. Since the Cossacks considered themselves brothers, the murder was regarded as "fratricide"; fratricides were buried in the ground alive together with the killed.
Theft, robbery, concealment of stolen things (even one), a relationship with a woman and a sin of Sodom (homosexuality) were punishable by death in the Sich. It was not allowed to bring women into the Sich, be it even a mother or a sister. The woman’s resentment was punished, however, if the Cossack dared to discredit her, for this “extends to the dishonor of the entire army”.
Those who committed violence in Christian villages, unauthorized absence and drunkenness during the campaign, and disobedience and insolence to commanders were also punished with death. The role of the investigator was performed by the military esaul, the convicts themselves were the executors of the sentences, if there were several of them, then they had to execute each other in turn.
For theft, they usually tied or chained to a pillory, where the criminal was beaten with cues (sticks) by their own people. For failure to repay a debt, they chained to a cannon until the debtor paid the debt back or someone else paid for it. For the great theft (theft in especially large sizes) the guilty was awaited by the shibenitsa (gallows). Šibenitsa was located outside the border of Kosh, and outsiders could also be present at the execution. We have heard stories that a girl who agreed to marry a criminal could save the Cossack from Shibenitsa. Moreover, any girl, even a stranger, was good enough.
In connection with this custom, they told a case when a horse with a criminal was already brought to the gallows, a girl under a white veil came out to meet him as a sign that she was ready to marry a condemned man. The Cossack condemned to death asked the girl to remove the veil from her face, but when he saw that she was severely disfigured by smallpox, he said: "Yak mata taku dziubu lepshe on Šibenitsa give an oak tree" and followed further towards his death.
In addition to Shibenitsa, in rare cases, they used an iron hook (hook) borrowed from the Poles, on which the convict was hung by the ribs (like a carcass in a butcher's shop) and left until he died. Sometimes they also used a sharp stick (stake), on which the convict was "put". The executed were buried by crippled beggars, begging in Sich for alms at the city gates. The beggars took off the executed and buried them on the pasture, for which they were allowed to take off the dead clothes and put on their own shabby ones.
Ensemble "Cossack Duke" Order of concerts 8 917 554 2284 Igor
In Zaporozhye, there has long been a custom - not to hang a single thief until he confesses, is freed from sin and joins the Holy Mysteries, for there is no judgment in the next world for those who have already been condemned here, confessed their sins and repented.
Neither title nor high position could save from punishment. The hawkers kept their customs for a long time. So, being in the ranks of the Russian army (during the time of Catherine the Great), such an incident occurred. One official Cossack was guilty of something and Potemkin, the commander of the army (in the war against the Turks), asked Colonel Golovaty to chide the culprit. The next day, Golovaty reported to "his lordship" that the order had been fulfilled:
They chided the culprit in their own way.
- How did you scold him? - asked the prince.
- But simply: they put it down, rolled them with such cues so that the wine barely stood up ...
- How! Major? - shouted the Serene Highness. - How could you?
- Indeed, they were able to forcefully, barely four of them were knocked down: it was not given. However, they piled it, but what about the bid, what about the wine major? Majority has nothing to do with it, and it remains for him!
The Zaporozhian army was divided into Sich and winter Cossacks. Sich - Cossacks of the Sich itself, were called lytsarstvo or comradeship. Its backbone was made up of Cossacks mainly of Slavic origin, strong, well-built, distinguished by courage in battle and always single (or broke their marriage bonds). Only the knighthood had the right to choose a foreman (chiefs) from among its midst, manage affairs in the army, divide the spoils and receive grain and monetary salaries for the Sich.
Family Cossacks, although they were allowed in Zaporozhye, did not dare to live in the Sich, but settled in the steppe in settlements, winter quarters and skins. There they were engaged in arable farming, handicrafts and trades and were called among the Cossack environment "winter chaks", "sydney", "gnizdyuk". In addition to the Cossacks, peasants lived on the territory of Zaporozhye, who were considered subjects - "pospolite" - of the partnership of Zaporozhye and were called pospil.
In the event of war, the hawkers and winter quarters formed a single army.
"The Dnieper army, koshevoy, riding, grassroots and everything will be in the fields, meadows, meadows and all the natural boundaries of the sea, Dnieper and field" - this was the name in special occasions full name The Zaporozhye army.
The army was governed by its own democratic laws, the mechanism of which was much more perfect than the Greek and Roman democracy, not to mention modern democracies.
At the heart of power in Zaporozhye was the bulk - the Cossack comradeship. To resolve important issues, the timpani summoned all the Cossacks to Sichovaya Square, where the Rada (rejoice - consult) took place - the Cossack Circle or the Army Council.
In the Rada, each Cossack could openly express his opinion or proposal and had the right to vote. But after the decision was made by a majority vote, everyone (even those who disagreed with it) were obliged to carry it out.
Neither the nobility of the family, nor the class origin, nor the seniority of the years had any meaning in the Sich. Only courage, experience, intelligence had authority. Everything was done together and for the community.
Even the elected chieftain in the Sich was the first among equals and could not decide anything vital without the will of the Cossacks.
Broad democracy in the Sich did not at all presuppose anarchy. The entire mass of the Cossack brotherhood was divided into certain groups of a kind of hierarchical ladder. At the first step were young people - newly arrived youth, passing through the Regula (Cossack training), each experienced Cossack took care of 2-3 young Cossacks. Behind the young men on the second step was the bulk of the Sich Cossacks, above them were the foremen - honored soldiers, hardened in battles. Above the elders stood the chieftain with his entourage.
Outwardly, in peacetime, this structure was not conspicuous - everyone was equal and treated like brothers. V war time this structure acquired rigidity with a clear control system. The Koshevoy ataman had unlimited power and was free to dispose of the life of any Cossack, including the most honored one.
Cossack entourage for your holiday. t. 8 917 554 22 84
In peacetime, the Sich was open system... No one was forcibly kept here. Any Cossack could leave the Sich for a time or forever. In wartime, leaving without the permission of the Military Chancellery was not allowed. Those who left the Sich had the right to come back, they were accepted again.
Cossacks of the Dnieper freemen
For several centuries the Zaporizhzhya Sich has remained a symbol of unbridled prowess, dashing freemen and reckless courage. But who are they - the Zaporozhye Cossacks? Where did they come from, how did they live and where did they go?
The first settlements of free people in the steppe, near the rapids of the Dnieper, appeared in the XIII-XIV centuries. Gradually, the inhabitants of these places began to be called "Cossacks". The word of Turkic origin passed into Russian from the Mongol-Tatars. Usually they were called robbers who hunted on the highways. And sometimes - the guards who were hired to defend against these very robbers.
Cossack to Cossack strife
In the middle of the 16th century, scattered Cossack detachments began to unite into a single force. In 1553, Volyn prince Dmitry Vishnevetsky laid a wooden-earthen castle on the island of Malaya Khortytsya, building it at his own expense. This is how the first Sich - Khortitskaya appeared. With the Polish king, Vishnevetsky did not go well. But he made a close friendship with the Moscow kingdom. As a distant relative of Ivan the Terrible, Vishnevetsky with his Cossacks received Active participation in campaigns against the Crimean Tatars. However, soon the Krymchaks, together with the Turks, ruined Khortitsa. Vishnevetsky took possession of the city of Belev (in the modern Tula region) and left the Dnieper forever. And the Cossacks again disintegrated into separate small settlements. And then the kings of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth drew attention to the Dnieper freemen.
The famous letter of the Zaporozhye Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan Mohammed IV, full of insults, was written in the 17th century, in response to a demand to lay down arms.
The Poles have dreamed for a long time that it would be nice to have a permanent army in the south, capable of repelling the Turks if necessary. Sigismun II Augustus in 1572 issued a decree on the creation of the "Registered Cossacks". 300 people were accepted into the service, who took the oath to faithfully serve the crown, repel the raids of the Tatars, suppress peasant unrest and participate in royal campaigns. This Cossacks were solemnly named the Army of His Royal Grace Zaporozhye. Subsequently, King Stephen Bathory doubled the number of registered Cossacks.
To be called a registered Cossack was not only honorable, but also beneficial. High status, honor, regular salary ... But they had a very conditional relationship to the real Zaporizhzhya Sich.
Registered Cossacks did not live on the Dnieper, but in the town of Trakhtemyriv in the Kiev Voivodeship. There were their treasury, arsenal, archives and hospital. They contemptuously called the real Zaporozhian Cossacks "naked Cossacks" - from the word "nakedness". The Polish crown also did not recognize the free Cossacks of the Dnieper rapids, although it used them for military campaigns, together with the registered Cossacks. It turned out that there were two Zaporizhzhya Sichs at the same time: the official registered army and the wild Dnieper freemen, called the "grassroots Cossacks". Both of them, of course, considered themselves to be real, and called their opponents impostors.
The Moscow state has always taken the "grassroots" Sich seriously: as a good ally in the fight against the Turks and Tatars, but a dangerous enemy during the Polish campaigns. After all, the Cossacks knew how to fight and loved. The Cossacks have always been armed with the most advanced weapons of those peoples with whom they fought. Trusting the sharp saber, the Cossacks did not forget about pistols, rifles and cannons. And their light ships "seagulls" terrified the seas and rivers.
"Grassroots licking"
The "grassroots" Zaporizhzhya Sich was not a state. It was a completely unique community of free people for the 16th-17th centuries who lived the way they wanted, not submitting to outside power. All decisions were made jointly, at kuren and koshevo councils (meetings). All the Sich Cossacks were considered to be members of the kosh (community or partnership), which was divided into 38 kurens. Kuren is and military unit(battalion or regiment type), and a long wooden house(rather, a barracks), in which the Cossacks lived. The entire territory on which the Sich was spread was divided into 8 palanoks (districts).
The most important person in the Sich was the koshevoy chieftain, who was elected at the koshevoy council. He had tremendous power - he resolved disputes, passed death sentences and commanded the army. His closest assistants held the positions of judge, esaul and clerk. And already behind them in seniority were the kuren atamans. In total, a little over a hundred people held various positions in the Sich. All others were equal.
Even the chieftain could not challenge the decision of the Kosheva Rada, which met without fail once a year. Any Sich Cossack had the right to vote on it. But it was not so easy to become a “Sich”. It was not enough just to come to the Sich and declare their desire to join the Cossacks. Several conditions had to be met.
Firstly, anyone wishing to join the Sich had to be free and unmarried. So it was more convenient for the fugitive serfs to go to the Don than to the Cossacks. Although, in order to confirm their free status, it was enough to give the floor, which, of course, many used. Secondly, only Orthodox Christians or those who were ready to change their faith were accepted. And finally, thirdly, it was required to learn the "Sich knighthood".
Only after seven years of study did the candidate receive the status of a "tested comrade" and was admitted to the Sich. Then he was given a nickname-surname - remember Gogol's Taras Bulba or Mosiy Shilo.
Those who have not yet passed the test lived on the borders of the Sich and were called "winter Cossacks". Those who decided to marry were also sent there. Moreover, they were all considered part of the "grassroots army". But they did not participate in the Rada and received only a small fraction of the war booty.
The laws established in the Sich were extremely harsh. Theft, which was always punishable by death, was considered a grave crime. For fights, abuse of a woman or robbery of the Orthodox population, they beat them with a whip and chained them to a pillar. But the most terrible punishment awaited the one who shed the blood of his comrade Cossack. The killer was laid alive in the grave, a coffin with his victim was placed on top and buried. The Cossacks despised deserters especially - they were stoned to death. Perhaps, it was only by such harsh measures that it was possible to keep in check this explosive mixture that had gathered on the Dnieper.
Union with Russia
The relations of the Zaporizhzhya Sich with Russia have always been difficult. Before mid XVII centuries the Cossacks more than once went to Moscow on campaigns. V Time of Troubles fought for False Dmitry I, supported the Polish prince Vladislav, who claimed the Russian throne.
However, as the Rech Po-spolitaya strengthened, Orthodox Cossacks began to feel more and more uncomfortable in an alliance with a rigidly Catholic state. This resulted in the uprising of Boris Khmelnitsky in 1648. As a Cossack colonel, he managed to unite the registered Cossacks with the "grassroots army" and jointly give battle to the Polish king. The result was Pereyaslavskaya Rada 1654, which announced the transition of the Cossacks to the rule of Russia. So a new one arose autonomous education- Hetmanate. There again two Sichs began to exist side by side: the Army of His Imperial Majesty Zaporozhye (registered Cossacks) and the "grassroots army".
The union with Russia was short-lived. During the Northern War, the fatal betrayal of Hetman Mazepa took place. The hetman brought only a few hundred Cossacks to the Battle of Poltava. But already before that, the Cossacks had deployed active fighting against the Russians. True, it turned out that the "regiments of the new system" created by Peter I were too tough for the Cossacks. The catchers lost their former daring, stopped borrowing military innovations from the enemy. They became heavy to climb and clumsy in battle.
As a result, in May 1709, the Zaporizhzhya Sich was completely defeated by three Russian regiments under the command of Pyotr Yakovlev. The fortresses were destroyed, the smoking houses were burned, the Cossacks were dispersed or killed, and about 400 people were taken prisoner, and many were later executed.
The further history of the Zaporozhye Cossacks is endless wanderings, in attempts to find new house and revive the former glory. I had to ask for protection from sworn enemies - the Turkish sultan and the Crimean khan. But the Cossacks did not take root there. They returned to Russia under Anna Ioannovna and founded the New, or Podpolnenskaya, Sich almost at the same place where they were defeated by Peter. They guarded the Russian border, participated in Russo-Turkish wars, but they never reached their former scope.
The point in the history of the free Cossacks was set by Catherine the Great, who on August 3, 1775 signed the manifesto "On the destruction of the Zaporizhzhya Sich and on its assignment to the Novorossiysk province."
The Zaporozhye Cossacks, praised by traditional historiography as the knights of the "free republic", actually differ from the well-known image. What were they like?
Not slavs
The origin of the Zaporozhye Cossacks is not fully understood. However, one thing is indisputable: there is suspiciously a lot of Turkic in their language, clothes and way of life. It is curious that who lived in early XVI II century, one of the first chroniclers of the history of the Cossacks, Grigory Grabyanka, derived their ancestry from the Khazars. And this is the reasoning that neither is the real representative of the Cossack foreman of the Hetmanate. A lot of similarities can be seen in the appearance of the Cossacks-Zaporozhians and the Ottoman Turks - a colorful settler, drooping mustache, wide trousers, a curved saber. For example, in European paintings of the late 17th - early 18th centuries, there are images of the defeated Turks, which in appearance are very reminiscent of the Cossacks.
It is noteworthy that the folklore personification of the Ukrainian people is a Cossack with a completely non-Ukrainian name Mamai. On the Little Russian prints of the 19th century, eastern rather than Slavic features are more likely to be seen in his appearance. Historians confirm that the Slavic element in the Zaporozhye Cossacks began to predominate only from the beginning of the 17th century, when the oppressed poor inhabitants of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began to flock to the free Sich from the oppression of the magnates.
Pirate republic
It is known that there were about a dozen Zaporizhzhya Sichs, they arose and died out in different time and in different places... But there is no reason to believe that the Cossacks had their own statehood. The first Sich, which arose on the island of Khortitsa, was very modest. Considering the occupation of the Cossacks, it was more correct to call it the "Pirate Republic". For example, this was the Republic of Sale - a pirate free city that existed on the Moroccan coast from 1627 to 1668.
Like a horde
In Ukrainian history, the Cossacks are dashing fellows fighting for the freedom of the Fatherland. However, the facts paint a much more impartial picture of the Ukrainian Cossacks. In particular, numerous atrocities in the lands of Belarus are on the conscience of the Zaporozhye knights.
In the “Barkulabovskaya Chronicle”, compiled by the priest of the Belarusian town of Barkulabovo Fyodor Filippovich, the Zaporozhian Cossacks appear only as bandit gangs hired by the Polish king to solve their military tasks. “The Zaporozhians repaired the great Skoda, and the glorious place of Vitebsk was conquered, they took away a lot of gold and silver, they cut down the courteous townspeople.” Describing such "feats" of the Cossacks, the priest compared them with the Tatars, placing them on a par with the villains known to him: "Bitter than evil enemies, Albo evil Tatars." And here is Filippovich's list of the damage inflicted on the Belarusian peasants in one of the Cossack raids: “50 wild boars, 60 poods of honey, 500 measures of ryth, one and a half hundred yalovitsy (cows), 500 chickens and 300 cartloads of hay”. This is without taking into account the monetary losses expressed in hard currency. It was like Mamaev's horde swept through the Belarusian village.
They did not spare even minors
However, Fyodor Filippovich was much more shocked by the savagery of the Cossacks. In their outrage, according to the chronicler, the Cossacks went so far as to rape a six-year-old girl. Her half-dead philistine carried in his arms to show the royal envoy, who had come to pacify the Cossacks. Looking at this terrible sight, "all the people were crying," the chronicler wrote.
The hero of the Ukrainian epic, Severin Nalyvayko, repaired no less lawlessness. In 1595, with a two-thousand-strong detachment, he captured Mogilev, his people burned up to 500 houses in the city, and “the bourgeoisie, boyars, people who were so polite as husbands, as well as wives, small children were beaten, chopped up, slaughtered [raped - author], belongings like they took the non-personal from the krams and from their homes. "
“For some reason, all this disgrace in modern Ukrainian historiography is called“ the people's uprisings against the Polish gentry panuvannya by the wire of Nalivaik, ”Ukrainian publicist Oles Buzina wondered. “Although it was a common robbery, which ended in quartering for Severin in Warsaw - a well-deserved punishment for any maniac, despite its“ historical ”significance."
And yours and ours
In Ukraine, they like to talk about Russia's aggression, but they forget that back in 1618, the troops of Hetman Sahaidachny, hired by the Polish government, invaded the Russian kingdom to help Prince Vladislav take the Moscow throne. Putivl was the first on the way of the twenty-thousandth Zaporozhye army, followed by Livny, Yelets, Lebyadin, Dankov, Skopin, Ryazhsk. Even modern Ukrainian historians Alexander Chuvardinsky and Anatoly Paliy in their book "Hetman Sagaidachny" admit that the Cossacks destroyed "many men, women and children before infancy." Sagaidachny managed to reach the Arbat Gate, where he was stopped by the troops of Dmitry Pozharsky. But within a year and a half, the hetman sent an embassy to Moscow with a message, the essence of which was that the Zaporozhian Host wishes to serve the Russian government. Especially Sagaidachny asked that "their sovereign granted him, like his lackeys."
Cannibal Cossacks
When, in 1612, the militia of Minin and Pozharsky blocked the Poles and the Cossacks who joined them in the Kremlin, the invaders were in for an imminent famine. Then everything went for food: cats, dogs, belts, horse harness, books. But when this was over, the besieged began to eat each other. The Kiev merchant Bogdan Balyka, who survived this siege, left us his memories of the Moscow campaign of the Zaporozhye Cossacks. He described how his compatriots, feral with hunger, first ate the prisoners, then ate the soldier Vorontsov, dug from the grave; The Cossack Shcherbina, executed for looting for looting, did not hang an hour on the gallows - his "infantry was cut off at once and cut into pieces and eaten."
Do not steal
Life in the Zaporozhye freemen was strictly regulated, especially the violators of the order were watched. Punishments and executions were applied depending on the severity of the crime. The murder of one Cossack by another without delay was punishable by death. The worst thing is being buried alive, in the same coffin with the dead. However, if the criminal turned out to be a noble Cossack or a brave warrior, he could be pardoned and limited to a fine.
Theft was a highly condemned crime in the Sich. For a small theft they could be cruelly whipped, and "for big guilt they broke an arm and a leg."
Cossacks swear
Linguists considered that the famous letter of the Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan Mehmed IV contains 26 swear words. Before sending troops to the Zaporozhye Sich, the Sultan sent the Cossacks a demand to submit to him as the ruler of the whole world and the governor of God on earth. In their response, the Cossacks altered all the numerous titles of the Sultan, turning them into mocking insults, accompanied by selective profanity. “Yaky ti the devil is a liar, if the naked asshole їzhaka doesn’t wb" sh "- this is one of many.
Redemptive forelock
The legendary Zaporizhzhya forelock - a sedentary man - on the one hand, was very practical solution hygiene issues. Many researchers of the Cossacks believe that the custom of shaving bald, leaving only one lock of hair, appeared among the Cossacks during long military campaigns - in this way they prevented lice.
Another version says that the hardened Cossack accumulated so many sins in his entire life that he could not avoid hell. And according to legend, a long forelock was needed so that the merciful God could pull the hero out of the underworld.
Cossack "seagulls" - the first submarines
Some historians consider the military ships of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, the so-called "seagulls", as a prototype of modern submarines. The designs of some "gulls" had two bottoms, between which the ballast weight was placed. Thanks to this feature, the ship sank deep into the water and could approach the enemy unnoticed. Immediately before the battle, the ballast was thrown out, and the ship, fully armed, appeared before the amazed enemy.
In 1634, the Dominican abbot Emilio Dascoli, in his Description of the Black Sea and Tartaria, remarked: “At sea, no ship, no matter how large and well armed, is safe if, unfortunately, it encounters the“ seagulls ”, especially in calm weather. The Cossacks are so brave that not only when equal forces but they are not afraid of the Padishah's thirty galleys by twenty "seagulls" either, as is evident every year in practice. "
The collision of the Zaporizhzhya Sich as a representative of the whole of Ukraine with the Polish landlord Gogol reduces not only to military events. The struggle is revealed in the clash of two social systems - the patriarchal democracy of the Sich and the feudal-royal Commonwealth. Gogol showed the contradictions between the harsh and largely backward way of life of the Zaporozhye Cossacks and the new trends of the West. The writer's attention is focused on the depiction of the patriotism and heroism of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, it is natural that the details of everyday life, home furnishings in the story are in the background. The writer acquaints readers with the everyday life of Taras Bulba and the Zaporozhye Cossacks during the peaceful period of their lives. It shows the democratic structure of the Sich, the customs of the Cossack community, the Cossack contempt for wealth and luxury.
The Zaporizhzhya Sich had its own territory, which was called Kosh. Scattered across the field are smokers, reminiscent of separate states. They were led by elective koshev atamans, who were elected by the Grand Council "from their own Zaporozhye Cossacks." All important issues were resolved together at general meeting... There was also a supply of provisions and a cook.
Anyone could come to the Sich, but those who wanted to settle here had to pass a kind of military exam with experienced soldiers. If the newcomer was weak and unfit for military service, he was not accepted and sent back home. The admission to the Sich was simple: you had to say:
* "I believe in Christ, in the Holy Trinity" and be baptized. There was a church on the Setch, where the Cossacks went to services, although they never fasted.
There were few laws in the Sich, but they were cruel. Theft in the Sich was considered a dishonor for the entire Cossacks. The thief was tied to a post and everyone who passed by was obliged to hit him with a club. The Cossacks, who did not pay the debt, were not left unpunished - the debtors were tied to a cannon, and then one of the friends ransomed it. The most terrible execution was for murder - the murderer and the living were buried together in the ground. Wars and harsh living conditions were brought up in Ukrainian Cossacks disregard for comfort and luxury, a sense of camaraderie, brotherhood, courage and fortitude - all the qualities that a real warrior should have, ready to sacrifice himself at any moment. In the Sich, customs were followed, which were passed on from father to son, which was closely followed by the old Cossacks. Each of the Cossacks was ready to die for their fatherland. Taras Bulba, giving a speech before the battle, said to the Cossacks: "There are no bonds more holy than comradeship."
But Gogol does not idealize the Zaporozhye Sich and does not embellish the life of the Cossacks. It shows the barbaric customs and mores of the Zaporozhian people, their nationalist prejudices, spontaneous behavior and the fragility of social life. There was no military school in Zaporizhzhya and Sich - "the youth were brought up and formed in it by one experience, in the very heat of the battles, which were therefore almost continuous." The Cossacks did not like to study any discipline, except for "shooting at a target and occasionally horse racing and chasing an animal in the steppes and meadows." "Some were doing crafts ... but most of them walked from morning to evening."
Sich was like "a school and a bursa for children who live on everything ready." The backwardness of the Cossacks was especially clearly manifested in the powerless position of a woman, in her tragic fate, which is emphasized in the image of the mother of Ostap and Andriy. All this, together with anti-national tendencies at the top of the Ukrainian Cossacks, was the source of the weakening of the Sich, the growth of internal contradictions in it. Singing the Zaporozhye freemen, Gogol condemned serfdom, oppression, any suppression of the human personality. The most vivid, heartfelt pages are devoted to the heroism of people from the people, their ideas about honesty, justice, and duty. But, glorifying the exploits of the Cossacks, the writer, at the same time, does not hide the fact that prowess in them was combined with carelessness and revelry, feats of arms - with cruelty. But such was the time then: "A hair would now be erected as a height from those terrible signs of the ferocity of the half-savage century, which the Cossacks carried everywhere," writes Gogol. Zaporozhye freemen, unassuming way of life, riotous customs, strict laws tempered and educated the Cossacks. They became brave and fearless, hardy and skillful defenders of the faith and their people.
"Win or die" - this is the motto the Cossacks wrote on their weapons.
And the dashing gangs that walked the sea in fear of the Turks; daredevils from all sides converged here.
Where the Dnieper, having made its way between the underwater rocks (rapids) and rocky islands, spreads widely below the confluence of the Samara River and flows calmly, forming many low-lying islands, along the banks overgrown with thick and high reeds, the Zaporozhye daredevils set up a military camp for themselves, often transferring him from one place to another. At first, their main place of residence was the island of Khortitsa. There were rich places everywhere: the mouths of the rivers flowing into the Dnieper, flooded meadows, forests, steppe! There were plenty of fish and all kinds of animals here. First, in Zaporozhye, to these fertile places for hunting, gangs of hunters and industrialists went, and then at the beginning of the 16th century a sentry camp was set up here to keep the Tatars from sudden invasions. It was from these stanitsa that the Zaporozhye Cossack brotherhood was formed little by little. Having borrowed uninhabited islands and the shores far from any authorities, they considered themselves complete masters here, they were engaged in hunting in the surrounding areas, but when their forces grew, they began to more and more often go on a more distant and dangerous hunt - they went on their light seagulls to "sharpen" the shores Crimea and Turkey. To beat and rob the infidels, according to their concepts, God himself commanded.
Location of the Zaporizhzhya Sichs in the XVI-XVII centuries
The Zaporizhzhya Sich looked like a fortified camp: a rather significant place was surrounded by an earthen embankment, or a rampart, with a notch, or a tynom; cannons were also placed here and there; inside the fence there were kurens, wooden, very unpretentious dwellings of the Cossacks, or huts.
The entire Cossack camp, or kosh, as it was called, was divided into several dozen separate detachments (later it reached 38), each and lived in a separate kuren and chose a koshevoy ataman and other elders: esaul, judge and clerk. The most important cases were decided by common consent at the parliament (general meeting). When it was necessary to collect the Rada, they first of all gave a sign with a shot from a cannon so that all the Cossacks who had scattered around the Sich for hunting or fishing could come. Then, after a few time, the dovbish (timpani) beat the timpani, and the Cossacks hurried from all the kurens to the square in front of the church. Here, near the church, under a disbanded military banner (banner), they became koshevoy with other foremen, and the Cossack rabble was placed around. Then the clerk, if necessary, read the letter or reported on the case that was proposed for the decision of the Rada. Koshevoy humbly asked the audience how they would like to decide, and acted in accordance with the decision of the majority.
Places along the banks of the Dnieper near Zaporozhye were divided into several sections, or "palanoks", as they were called, where the Zaporozhians were engaged in cattle breeding and other trades. Some of the Cossacks, who were more inclined towards a settled and family life, settled in these areas, arranged dugouts (water skins) for themselves, which often stood at a distant distance from one another, otherwise whole farmsteads, the so-called "winter houses", were set up.
On January 1, according to the old custom, a new koshevoy and other elders were elected; on this day, rivers, rivers and lakes were distributed among the kurens for fishing. When the dovbish, on the orders of the koshevoy, beat the collection, the esaul took out the marching banner from the church, then the Cossacks gathered from all the kurens. The timpani beat was rang out twice more; then a koshevoy came with a club, followed by a judge with a military seal and a clerk with an inkwell. They all stood without their caps in the middle of the circle and bowed in all four directions. Dovbish again beat the timpani in honor of his superiors. Then Koshevoy usually addressed everyone with the following speech:
“Dear fellows and comradeship! We have now New Year, we demand, according to our ancient habit, to divide the rivers and tracts into the army ”.
In response, everyone shouted: "Good!"
Then lots are thrown, and which kuren got where, there he had to hunt for a whole year.
Then Koshevoy said again:
“Dear fellows! Wouldn't you from this fate (year), according to your old customs, choose other elders, and the old skidati? "
Cossack Council in the Zaporizhzhya Sich. Diorama from the Sich Museum, Khortytsya
If the Cossacks were pleased with their foreman, they shouted:
“You are our good fathers and gentlemen. You need to panovati over us! "
Then the koshevoy and other foremen bowed and went to their kurens.
If she was glad to express a desire to change her bosses, then the koshevoy had to put his club on his hat and bring it to the banner, and then, thanking everyone for the former honor and obedience, go to his kuren. Other foremen did the same.
When choosing a new koshevoy and other officials, there was often a lot of controversy. It happened that some smokers wanted one thing, others another. There was noise, din, abuse, and sometimes hand-to-hand combat. When, finally, any side prevailed, about ten Cossacks went to the kuren for the chosen one and asked him to accept the position in which he was elected. If he denied and did not want to go to the Rada, then they dragged him by force: two people took him by the hands, while others shoved him from behind, pushing him in the back and in the neck, and thus brought their newly elected boss to the square, and sometimes sentenced:
“Go, son of a dog; we need you; you are our dad; be our master! "
Brought to the Rada, they handed him a sign of his dignity. He, according to custom, had to refuse twice, recognizing himself unworthy of the high honor with which they wanted to honor him; only at the third request did he agree. Then they saluted him with a timpani. At the same time, such a rite was also performed: the oldest Cossacks took soil or even dirt in their hands, if it was after rain, and put it on the head of the newly elected one. (Probably, they wanted to remind him so that he would not be arrogant and would not forget about death - about the fact that the earth will cover him in time.)
In addition to January, the Rada gathered two more times a year: on October 1, on the Day of the Intercession, when there was a temple holiday in Sich, and on Svetloye Christ's Resurrection; however, if there were no changes in the composition of the authorities and there were no special questions, then these days the glad was canceled.
In addition to these deadlines set for the Rada, there were meetings at inopportune hours. If there was any displeasure with the bosses and many had a desire to replace them, then sometimes, quite unexpectedly, very stormy delights occurred. Several kurens first conspired secretly to overthrow the elders, then two or three of the most daring, sometimes playing a lot, pounded the timpani, which were always in the square, with anything. Dovbish came running. The violent crowd forced him to beat the gathering. He did not dare to disobey: otherwise he could have been beaten to death. The Cossacks came running to the Rada and stood in a circle around the square. In the middle were the foremen: the koshevoy, the judge, the clerk, the esaul. Koshevoy usually asked:
"Dear fellows, what are you glad for?"
And those who wanted to overthrow him said:
“You, daddy, put your kosheve; you are incapable of us. "
At the same time, they explained the reason why they find it necessary to change it. If they wanted to replace a judge or a clerk, etc., they usually said:
“God (it is enough) for them to patronize; they are useless ... they have already had their fill of the army's bread! .. "
The foremen immediately went to their smoking rooms. At the same time, the usual terrible noise was raised. The Cossacks were divided into two parts: one defended the old bosses, the other demanded the choice of new ones. Here it was not without a quarrel and dispute; sticks were often used, and there were even murders. At the same time, the position of the elders was unenviable: they could endure beatings, injuries, and even say goodbye to their lives at this time. The side that wanted new leaders dragged their chosen ones to the square, and the opponents did not let them into the circle. The matter often ended with the fact that these chosen ones returned to their homesteads, beaten, torn and glad that they had saved their lives ...
Such was the position of the leaders of the violent Zaporozhye freemen in peacetime. It was not so during the war: then obedience to the authorities and respect for him reached the very high degree- everyone understood that self-will and disagreement in a campaign threatens the death of not one or several Cossacks, but their entire army.
The foremen received significant income, especially from wine, which was exterminated by the Cossacks in an extremely large amount. All merchants who brought any goods usually made gifts to the koshevoy and all the foremen; it was not considered shameful to take offerings from various petitioners. In excess of; In addition, all the Cossacks who went on some kind of trade: fishing or hunting, etc., usually gave part of their booty to their foreman, who also received income, quite significant, from transportation across rivers.
Zaporizhzhya Sich. Historical video
The most profitable trade in the eyes of the Cossacks was war. Accidentally attack the Tatar uluses, steal away whole herds of cattle or herds at once: horses or "rake" the rich shores of Turkey and return with a heap of all kinds of jewels, with caramans full of gold and silver, to seize at once so much that it would be possible without laboring, without care to live for many days, to feast on and go out on a grand scale - that was the cherished dream of the Zaporozhets. Those atamans-daredevils who were able to often and deftly organize raids, brought the "comradeship" of the Zaporozhye "glory to the lytsarskuk" and rich booty and were the main favorites of the Cossacks and were glorified in songs.
War and revelry - that's what the life of a Zaporozhets was mainly woven from. A true Zaporozhets looked at both life and death with contempt. He did not live family life... Not a single woman dared to appear in the Sich; about the future, about the fate of their children, therefore, there were no worries, there was no thought about their old age; rare of the Cossacks died a natural death. Some of them found death for themselves in the depths of the sea; others were killed by a Turkish or Tatar saber; still others, the more unhappy, ended their lives in inexpressible torment, which only human malice could conceive - they died, often surprising their tormentors with the extraordinary firmness with which they endured the terrible execution. They died in hundreds and in Turkish penal servitude. Yes, and those of the Cossacks who died at home, in the Sich, usually did not die in their old years: a fighting life, full of all sorts of hardships, and revelry, which did not know the measure, greatly shortened the Cossack age.
Thousands of Cossacks died, but the Sich, this Cossack nest, was not empty. There were many hunters for a free life, at least full of anxiety and dangers, among the people, suppressed by the masters' oppression, hard forced labor and desperate need. They went to the Sich in droves, if only they would accept. The Zaporozhians accepted newcomers into their brotherhood very easily: it was only required that a person was Orthodox faith capable of military affairs, quick, quick-witted ... Among the Cossacks there were Lithuanians, Poles, baptized Tatars, Volokhs, and Montenegrins - in a word, there could be people of different tribes here; but the vast majority were purely Russian, and, moreover, from the simple village people.
Life in the Sich was very simple. In each kuren under the chieftain, who was in charge of the entire household, there was a cook with two or three assistant boys. For dining expenses, five rubles a year were collected from each Cossack. In food, the Cossacks were completely unpretentious; they ate salamata and grouse: the first consisted of rye flour and was cooked thickly with water; the second was prepared from flour and millet thinner - with honey, kvass or fish ear. These dishes were served on the table in large wooden cups, or sleepovers, from where everything was taken with spoons. No special plates were served. Most of the Kuren Cossacks were quite content with this food. If there were several hunters in the kuren to feast on meat or fish, then they bought them for themselves in a club, an artel.
The more prosperous Cossacks set up their homes on the outskirts, where almost everyone had some kind of crafts: they brewed honey, beer, mash, or were engaged in various crafts.
View of the Zaporizhzhya Sich (reconstruction for the film "Taras Bulba", Khortytsya
The clothes of the Cossacks were also usually very simple. They loved to flaunt good weapons and horses ... After a good profit in the war, the Cossacks were not averse to dressing up in beautiful blue kuntushi, scarlet cloth trousers and scarlet hats with a band of smirks ... They shaved their heads and beards, leaving only a tuft of hair ( donkey), yes they ran a long mustache ...
There were no written laws or rules among the Cossacks) The military judge decided all cases at his own discretion, in accordance with the customs and ingrained concepts of the Cossacks, and in difficult cases he consulted with the Koshevs, Dids (elderly Cossacks) and other foremen. Theft, non-payment of debts and murder were considered their main crimes. Despite the fact that robbery was a common thing for a Zaporozhets - only enemies were allowed to rob; if someone was caught stealing from his comrade, or bought what was known to be stolen, or hid it from himself, then he was subjected to severe punishment: the culprit was chained to a pillar in the square; A cue (stick) was placed beside him, and everyone passing by scolded the convict and beat him mercilessly; if he was not forgiven by the victim of his crime, he was beaten to death. If someone was caught a second time in theft, then he lost his life on the gallows. The one who did not pay the debts had to stand in the square, chained to a cannon, until the lender received satisfaction from him or his friends. But the punishment for intentional murder was especially terrible: the killer was thrown into the grave, the coffin with the body of the murdered was lowered onto him and covered with earth!
The severity of the Cossacks knew no bounds; the indomitable Cossack prowess did not know them either; the wild revelry to which the Cossacks surrendered in their spare time was also unlimited ...
All sorts of craftsmen lived on the outskirts of the Zaporizhzhya Sich: blacksmiths, locksmiths, tailors, shoemakers, etc .; right there and traded everything that the Cossack needed. If only he had money, otherwise everything could be obtained, which was required for his unpretentious life. And the Cossacks had enough money after every successful campaign, so that the familyless man had nowhere to put it. The widest and most reckless party went to Zaporozhye almost continuously. Carousing and drinking endlessly was considered youth. Having divided the booty among themselves, the Cossacks indulged in unbridled revelry, until they had missed everything to the end. Some of them hired musicians and singers and walked with them through the streets, followed by buckets of wine and honey. Everyone they met was watered on the spot, and whoever refused, they scolded in every possible way.
Sundays and holidays visited the Setch with the Cossacks fistfights, and if someone during a fight accidentally killed another, then there was no penalty for this. The Cossacks were big hunters to a dashing dance - a Cossack; loved to listen to the singing of bandura players. Songs about the exploits of the Cossacks, about Turkish and Tatar captivity, of course, were supposed to have a strong effect on them, arouse courage and a sense of revenge in them, and stories about the oppression of the people, about the desecration of Orthodoxy in the possessions of the Commonwealth, incited hatred towards the Poles.
This was Zaporozhye, which the Poles looked at with fear and hatred. Here, the Cossack power grew and grew stronger, and the enmity towards the priests grew: in the concepts of the Cossacks and the people, it was identified with violence, injustice, bitter resentment ...
Pan's oppression in Lithuania and the Western Russian regions, one might say, squeezed the Cossack force out of the unfortunate people, unfortunately for the Commonwealth.