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Danubian Sich | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1775–1828 | |||||||||
 Seal of the Transdanubian Cossack Army from the beginning of the 19th century. | |||||||||
 Metropolitan bishopric of Proilava (Brăila) | |||||||||
| Common languages | Ukrainian,Romanian | ||||||||
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox | ||||||||
| Demonym | Zaporozhian Cossacks | ||||||||
| Government | CossackRepublic | ||||||||
| Historical era |  Ottoman Empire (Silistra Eyalet) | ||||||||
| 1775 | |||||||||
| 1828 | |||||||||
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TheDanubian Sich (Ukrainian:Задунайська Сiч,romanized: Zadunaiska Sich,lit. 'Transdanubiansich') was an organization of the part of formerZaporozhian Cossacks who settled in the territory of theOttoman Empire (theDanube Delta, hence the name) after their previous host was disbanded and theZaporozhian Sich wasdestroyed in 1775.
In 1863,Semen Hulak-Artemovsky wrote his librettoZaporozhets za Dunayem inSaint Petersburg to commemorate the exodus of Zaporizhian Cossacks to the Danube, an area ofSilistra Eyalet. The Cossacks were protecting the Metropolitan bishop of Brăila who serviced the area ofBudjak andYedisan (Ottoman Ukraine) and was titled as Metropolitan bishop of all Ukraine.[1]
By the late 18th century, the combat ability of Zaporozhia was greatly reduced, especially after theTreaty of Küçük Kaynarca and the Russian annexation ofCrimea, when the need for the Host to guard the borders was removed. At the same time, the Zaporozhian's other enemy, thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, was also weakened and on the verge of beingpartitioned. This meant that militarily the Zaporozhian Sich was becoming increasingly superfluous, but at the same time their existence caused friction withImperial Russian authorities who wanted to colonise the newly acquired lands that the Cossacks inhabited. After a number of Cossack attacks on Serbian colonies and with Cossack support offered toYemelyan Pugachev, the Russian EmpressCatherine the Great issued an order to GeneralPeter Tekeli to end the troublesome Sich.
Tekeli's operation, carried out in June 1775, was bloodless. TheZaporozhian Sich was surrounded with infantry and artillery and an ultimatum was given to theKosh otamanPetro Kalnyshevsky to destroy the Sich and to have Zaporozhian knights transfer to the family life. The Cossacks did not resist so that no Russian blood would be spilt. But later Zaporozhian CossackGrigory Potemkin, and apparently without Kalnyshevky's knowledge, reached an agreement to allow a group of 50 Cossacks under the guidance of astarshyna Lyakh to go fishing in the river Ingul next to theSouthern Buh in Ottoman territory and to issue 50 passports. The pretext was enough to allow the Russians to let the Cossacks, as 50 passports allowed five thousand Cossacks to leave[2] (approximately 30% of the Zaporozhian Cossacks). As long as Potemkin could be guilty, so starshyna, including Kalnyshevsky, was arrested for this.
These Cossacks were joined by numerous Ukrainian peasants fleeing fromRussian Serfdom and lived on the left bank of the Danube river (Budjak) then part of theOttoman Empire, who allowed them to settle there. By 1778, they numbered 12 thousand men, and the TurkishSultan decided that they would have much more use as aCossack Host, and allocated them the land ofKuchungary (modernTransnistria) in the lowerDniester where they swore loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. However the outbreak of theRusso-Turkish War divided the Cossacks. Some returned to Russia and joined the new Host of Loyal Zaporozhians (later theBlack Sea Cossack Host) formed out of the Cossacks who chose to remain in Russia in 1775. After theRusso-Turkish War (1806–12),Bessarabia became part of Russia, and the Danubian Cossacks lost their allocated land.
Following Turkey's defeat, some Cossacks retreated with the Turkish Army across theDanube River, where the Sultan allowed them to build aSich in the settlement of Katerlez in theDanube Delta right next to existing settlements ofNekrasov Cossacks andLipovans. There was increasing friction between the two groups over land and fishing rights. In 1794, the Nekrasovites attacked and destroyed Katerlez. Afterwards the Turkish authorities re-located the Danubian Zaporozhians further up the Danube on theGreat Brăila Island. The new location was much poorer for fishing and resulted in a group of 500 Cossacks, led byKosh Pomelo to return to Russia.
In 1800, theBalkan Peninsula erupted in uprisings led byOsman Pazvantoğlu who rebelled against the new Turkish SultanSelim III. In order to gain support, Pazvantoğlu promised the Nekrasovites all the land on the lower Danube. Seeing an opportunity to settle the score with their rivals, the Danubian Zaporozhians sided with the Sultan. The resulting Civil War saw severe losses in both Cossack groups. In the end the rebellion was put down, the Zaprozhians where rewarded by the Brailov Nazir, who allowed then to return to Katerlez in 1803. However the Nekrasovites found their own protector, the commandant ofIzmail Pekhlevanoğlu. With his aid, they attacked the Sich once again in 1805 and sacked it. The surviving Zaporozhians fled to Brailov (modernBrăila,Romania).
The newRusso-Turkish War (1806–1812) caused further division among the Danubian Cossacks. After Russia overran the Danube, the Kosh Otaman Trofim Gaibadura and Ivan Guba offered their allegiance to Russia. They were permitted to settle in theBudjak region and by order ofAlexander I and on 20 January 1807 formed the Lower-Danube Budjak Host (Усть-Дунайское Буджацкое Войско). The new host lasted only five months, during which many neighbouring Ukrainian and Moldovan landowners complained about their serfs running off toKiliya (modernUkraine) and Galats (modernGalaţi,Romania) where the Host was based. Therefore, on 20 June, the host, which by that point numbered only 1387 men, was disbanded. Approximately 500 of them moved to theKuban. This caused many of the remaining Danubians, who initially wished to follow the Kosh and move to Russia, to reconsider.
After negotiations with the Russian GeneralKutuzov, many Nekrasovites were pardoned and allowed to move to Russia. The1812 Treaty of Bucharest resulted in the Buhjak becoming part of Russia. With the old rivalry still strong, the Zaporozhian Danubians once again attacked their enemy, and in 1813 retook Katerlez. After a very brutal conflict, which shocked even the Turkish authorities, Zaporozhians captured the Nekrasovite capitalUpper Dunavets (modernRomania) in 1814 . There they founded their final Sich. Many Nekrasov Cossacks were later re-located toAnatolia, while those who remained mixed with Lipovans and old-believers among the Danubian Cossacks.
After a few years of peace, trouble once again came to the Balkans, with the outbreak of theGreek War of Independence. In 1821, the Russian-Greek commanderAlexander Ypsilantis moved theEterian Greeks from Russia toWallachia. The Danubian Cossacks, under command of Kosh Nikifor Beluha, assisted in the defeat of this incursion. Afterwards five thousand Cossacks under the Kosh Semen Moroz were sent to Greece to fight for the Turks. In 1824 they took part in the storming ofMessolonghi. Many died there, and Moroz himself was killed in the naval battle off the island ofChios.
During this time the Danube Sich reached its height, numbering 10,000-15,000 men, and controlling all of the Danube delta region with six villages being in personal control of the Kosh. In the Upper Dunavets there were 38kurens under old traditional names of the Zaporozhian Sich. However, the new Sich was noticeably different from its predecessor. There were no longer any HostStarshynas, and only un-married Cossacks were considered as eligible for service.Polkovnyks were assigned temporarily by the Kosh. The Host lacked any cavalry, only infantry in boats. The social structure also began to fragment; instead of the former equality of all Cossacks, many fishing, tradesmen and landowners became theRayah. In order to gain permission to do so, there had to be at least a marriage link to a Cossack family.
In 1825, Kosh otaman Lytvyn promised to send another expedition to Greece but fled the Sich without any trace. The events in Greece once again affected relations between Turkey and Russia, and a newRusso-Turkish War broke out. Among the Danubian Cossacks there was as ever a pro-Russian and a pro-Turkish split. The former were willing to return to Russia if a pardon was given. Learning of this, the head (Hradonachalik) ofIzmail S.A. Tuchkov entered into secret negotiations with Kosh Vasily Nezmayevsky (1827). The conditions were set to allow the whole Host to return to Russia. Despite being a Russophile, Nezmayevsky was not ready to accept such a move.
With the outbreak of the newRusso-Turkish War (1828–1829), the Russian Army under command of Field-MarshalPeter Wittgenstein advanced. Threatening to overrun the Sich, the Sultan wished to relocate it to Adrianopol (modernEdirne,Turkey) and ordered the Kosh to rally the Danubian Army toSilistra (modern Bulgaria). The new Kosh wasOsyp Hladky, originally from a rich landowner family fromPoltava who in 1820 had left his home to earn a living, but after a few failed business attempts inCrimea andOdessa, had left Russia and joined the Sich in 1822. He took part in the campaign against Messolonghi and afterwards was elected to be a Kuren Ataman of the Platnyrovsky Kuren. After the failed negotiations with Nezmayevsky, Tuchkov approached Hladky, who upon the Kosh elections held onPokrov (1 October) was elected to be the Kosh Ataman.
Hladky only gathered those that he suspected of having a pro-Turkish allegiance (about two thousand men) and set out for Silistra. After reaching there, he asked to return to the Sich to gather more. When he returned, he instead called for aCossack Rada and announced his decision to side the whole Sich with Russia. On 30 (18) May 1828,[3] Hladky along with 218 Cossacks and 578 Rayah crossed the Danube with all the Sich regalia, treasury and prized possessions. After landing on the left bank, they were taken to the Russian headquarters where they knelt before EmperorNicholas I himself, who was quoted saying:
God will forgive you, the Motherland forgives you, and I too forgive
— [4]
The Danubian Cossacks were fully pardoned for their past, and managed to win over the Tsar's trust, which was confirmed when the Russian Army Crossed the Danube, as Nicholas was in the same boat that Hladky had initially came over in, with Kosh Polkovnyks rowing. The Tsar let the Danubians form a newSpecial Zaporozhian Host (Отдельное Запорожное Войско), with Hladky as the appointed Ataman. The new Host was small with only a five infantrysotnias (~100 men each) and came under the control of theDanube flotilla. Despite the small number of men, they soon became a prized asset due to their knowledge of the complicated Danube Delta. They proved themselves in combat in the storming ofIsaccea, and 10 Cossacks were awarded theCross of St. George.
For those Danubian Sich Cossacks who refused to follow Hladky, their fate was tragic. Learning of Hladky's betrayal, the Sultan called upon theJanissary corps to raze the Sich, massacre its population and burn down its church. Even those that were in Silistra were disarmed and sent toforced labour deep in Turkey.
After the war ended, Russia remained to administer theDanubian Principalities. Nicholas I decided to form yet another new Cossack group theDanube Cossack Host, which was to include descendants of the Zaporozhians who fled Russia in 1775 but did not join the Sultan and instead settled in Bessarabia. In addition it included loyal Nekrasovites as well as many volunteers from the Balkan peoples. It was based in the many historical refuge areas, where over the previous decades many Cossacks fleeing from Turkey found sanctuary such asAkkerman.
There were plans to relocate the Danubian Cossack Host to theKuban, where Gladky visited in 1830. But theCaucasus War was in full swing, and the long journey for such a small group would have been too difficult. Instead the Tsar allowed Gladky to remain inNovorossiya and find a piece of land that was uninhabited (Rather than just let them remain). Gladky chose the northern coast of theAzov Sea, next toBerdyansk. In May 1832, Gladky carried his men over to the new land and there they formed theAzov Cossack Host. Initially numbering 2336 people (including 687 women), the new Host was the only Cossack force in Russia which had a Naval role, acting as a coast guard for the Caucasus and Crimean coasts, by defending them from Turkish and Circassian raiders.
The remaining Cossacks who managed to escape the Sultan's vengeance, but did not return to Russia moved to the Danube Delta, where in 1830 they numbered 1,095 families.[5] Over the years they were joined by other peasants fleeing serfdom in the Russian Empire. To date there is still a smallUkrainian minority living in theDobruja region aroundUkraine andRomania. In 1992, they numbered four thousand people according to official Romanian statistics[6] while the local community claims to number 20,000.[5] Known as Rusnaks[7] they continue to pursue the traditional Cossack lifestyle of hunting and fishing.
The legacy of the Danube Cossacks survived in a lyrical-comic opera called"A Zaprorozhian Cossack beyond the Danube" (Zaporozhetz za Dunayem) composed in the 1850s bySemen Hulak-Artemovsky, a student ofMikhail Glinka. Although the opera historically relates to the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish war of 1828-9, where according to a peace treaty, the Danube cossacks were granted the right to return to their homeland, Hulak-Artemovsky reset the opera to take place in the 18th century.The opera first opened inSt. Petersburg at theMariinsky Theatre on 14 March 1863. After its premiere it was censored and restricted from performance.[citation needed] In the 1870s it was revived by amateur Ukrainian theatre troupes and received a new lease on life. Today it is considered a Ukrainian opera classic.
Наталія Пономаренко, Григорій Сергієнко.Задунайська Січ (1775—1728 рр.) // Козацькі січі (нариси з історії українського козацтва XVI—XIX ст.) /В. Смолій (відп. ред.), В. Щербак (наук. ред.), Т. Чухліб (упорядн.), О. Гуржій, В. Матях, А. Сокульський, В. Степанков. — НАН України. Інститут історії України; Науково-дослідний інститут козацтва. — Київ; Запоріжжя, 1998. — С 190—235.
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