Zaporozhian Cossacks - Annexation By The Russian Empire

Annexation By The Russian Empire

Over the years the friction between the Cossacks and the Russian tsarist government lessened, and privileges were traded for a reduction in Cossack autonomy. The Ukrainian Cossacks who did not side with Mazepa elected Ivan Skoropadsky, one of the "anti-Mazepist" Polkovnyks (Colonels) as their Hetman. While advocating for the preservation for the Hetmanate autonomy and privileges of Cossack nobility, Skoropadsky was careful to avoid open confrontation, and remained loyal to the union with Russia. To accommodate Russian military needs, Skoropadsky allowed for stationing of ten Russian regiments in the territory of the Hetmanate. At the same time, Cossacks took part in the construction, fortification and channel development projects in Saint Petersburg, to establish a new Northern Russian capital. Many did not return, and it is often stated that St. Peterburg "was built on bones".

In 1734, as Russia was preparing for a new war against the Ottoman Empire, an agreement was made between Russia and the Zaporozhian cossacks. Under the Treaty of Lubny, the Zaporozhian Cossacks regained all of their former lands, privileges, laws and customs, in exchange for serving under the command of a Russian Army stationed in Kiev. A new sich (Nova Sich) was built to replace the one that had been destroyed by Peter I. Concerned about the possibility of Russian interference in Zaporozhia's internal affairs, the Cossacks began to settle their lands with Ukrainian peasants fleeing serfdom in Polish and Russian proper. By 1762, 33,700 Cossacks and over 150,000 peasants populated Zaporozhia.

By the late 18th century, much of the Cossack officer class in Ukraine was incorporated into the Imperial Russian nobility (Dvoryanstvo), but many of the rank and file Cossacks, including a substantial portion of the old Zaporozhians, were reduced to peasant status. They were able to maintain their freedom and continued to provide refuge for those fleeing serfdom in Russia and Poland, including followers of the Russian Cossack Yemelyan Pugachev, which aroused the anger of Russian Empress Catherine II. As a result, by 1775 the number of runaway serfs from the Hetmanate and Polish-ruled Ukraine to Zaporizhiya rose to 100,000.

After the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, which annexed the Crimean Khanate into Russia, the need for further southern frontier defence (which the Zaporozhians carried out) no longer existed. Colonisation of New Russia began, one of the colonies, located just next to the lands of the Zaporozhian Sich was New Serbia. This escalated conflicts over land ownership with the Cossacks which often turned violent.