Among the notable figures of the 18th century Hetmanship, an important place belongs to Yakiv Markovych. He was an outstanding memoirist, a statesman and, in general, one of the most educated people of his time. In this article, we are interested in his everyday life during the tenure of the government of the Lubny commandant colonel. Yakiv came from a noble family. Thanks to his father, Colonel Andrii Markovych of Lubny, he received a high-quality education at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, learned several foreign languages (such as Latin), and developed a close friendship with the prominent theologian Theophan Prokopovych and other members of the states upper circle. His background also helped him to become close friends with the colonel and later the Hetman Pavlo Polubotko. It is believed that it was Polubotko’s Chronicle of events in Ukraine that inspired him to continue chronicling the events of the Hetmanate and create his outstanding «Diariush», covering the period from 1717 to 1764, from which we know about his colonelcy and life. In this article, we are interested in the process of mobilizing the Cossacks of the Lubny Regiment under the command of Colonel Yakiv Markovych (1721–1725). The 18th century was a time when the Russian Empire increasingly oppressed and controlled the Cossacks, forcing their colonels to send them to unnecessary and distant wars, to build canals (for example, the Ladoga Channel), where they fell ill and died. The colonel had no choice: he either obeyed orders, received wealth and the love of his superiors, or he was dismissed. An even worse fate awaited the Cossacks and the foremen: if they refused to go on a campaign, they were given a preventive talk, and if it did not help, they could be beaten with cues. These were all preventive measures to force them into submission and eventually send them on a military campaign anyway. Their injuries did not save them either, as the vigilant colonel closely monitored their recovery to send them back to the task. It was in such conditions of hopelessness and doom that the Cossacks were mobilized into the army, when your life is completely in the hands of the rulers, who are trying their best to use you as a living force for their own selfish purposes. This article will focus on this process.