The Last Days of Yurii Kchmelnitsky

Abstract

As the Russo-Turkish war of 1672–1681 was coming to its end, the Ottoman Empire lost the interest in supporting the sultan’s puppet, the Right-Bank Cossack hetman Yurii Kchmelnitsky. The latter was threatened by imminent overthrow and replacement by an ottoman administrator as rumors about it were circulating since the beginning of 1680. In this situation, Kchmelnitsky, in the fall of 1680, supported the spread of information about the potential Ottoman invasion of Kiev in the spring of 1681. Ivan Samojlovich, the hetman of the Left-Bank Ukraine, was very worried by any information about Ottoman military preparations, which former prisoners of war and spies delivered to Baturin. Its highly likely that the sultan’s court actively supported the rumors about its intentions to invade Kiev to make Russia more compliant during the peace negotiations. In reality, the Porte and Crimea strived for peace, which was concluded in the beginning of the 1681. Kchmelnitsky’s fate was sealed. He was overthrown and sent to Constantinople.

Received: 05.03.2025.
Revised: 12.03.2025.
Accepted: 18.03.2025.

Citation
Kochegarov K. A. The Last Days of Yurii Kchmelnitsky // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No. 1–2. P. 12–46 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073- 5731.2025.1-2.01