Bohorodyts'ka and Starosamars'ka hundred (sotnya): administrative system and officer (starshyna) corps

Abstract

Bohorodyts'ka and Starosamars'ka hundred (sotnya)is an unique Cossack formations. They existed in a territorial isolation from the Hetmanate and Slobozhanshchyna, on the lands of the Zaporozhian Sich. The study of these formations will better understand the policy of the Russian government in relation to the Sich, to find out the methods by which the state authorities planned to put Zaporizhzhya Cossacks under their control. We do not know when the Bohorodyts'ka hundred (sotnya) arose. Now the first mention in the documents dates back to 1700. The Russian government planned to create a Cossack regiment (polk) here, but in reality was founded a Cossack hundred (sotnya). Ivan Mazepa, as an autonomous ruler, wanted to include this formation in the structure of Hetmanate, but a hundred (sotnya) was subject to the authority of a representative of the Russian administration – the Kiev governor. The hundreds (sotnya) were liquidated as a result of Russia's defeat in the war with Turkey and the signing of the Prut peace in 1711. We do not know when the Cossack hundred (sotnya) was restored under the name Starosamars'ka. This happened in the late 1730s – early 1740s. In 1744, the Starosamarsʼka hundreds became part of the Poltava regiment (polk) of the Hetmanate. The administrative apparatus of the hundreds was predominantly similar to other hundreds of Hetmanates, but the real power of the Cossack officers was a bit lower here. During the existence of the Starosamars'ka hundreds, such a body of self-government was preserved as a council (rada) that was not typical for the Hetmanate in this period. This was due to the fact that the peoples could easily escape from their power and move to neighboring settlements and recognize the jurisdiction of the Zaporozhska Sich. The population of hundreds and officers consisted mainly of immigrants from the left bank of the Dnieper, to a lesser extent – from immigrants from the right bank. Summing up, I note that the Bohorodyts'ka and Starosamars'ka hundred (sotnya) appeared as instruments of control of the Russian government over the colonization of Zaporizhye cossacklands. The Bohorodyts'ka hundred (sotnya), as far as we can judge, was under the direct authority of the Kiev governor. Starosamars'ka hundred (sotnya) became part of the Hetmanate. This is due to the fact that in the 1740s the Russian government was already convinced of the reliable control over the Hetmanate, although at the end of the 17th century there was no such control. Zaporizhska Sich fought both with legal and violent methods with this hundred (sotnya), which was located on the lands of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. The Starosamars'ka hundred (sotnya) ceased to exist in October 1761, when its territory entered the jurisdiction of the Zaporozhzhya Sich.