c. 1516–1563
Dmytro Vyshnevetskyi (Baida)
One of the first Cossack leaders
A prince of the Volhynian Vyshnevetskyi family and starosta of Cherkasy and Kaniv, who rallied the Cossacks against the Tatars and built a castle on the island of Mala Khortytsia. He died in Turkish captivity; a folk song about the Cossack Baida made him immortal.
Key accomplishments
- Starosta of Cherkasy and Kaniv from the 1540s; relied on the Cossacks to defend the southern frontier
- Built a fortification on the island of Mala Khortytsia (1555–1556), a forerunner of the Zaporozhian Sich
- Campaigns against the Turkish fortress of Ochakiv and the Tatar Islam-Kermen
- Took part in campaigns against the Crimean Khanate in the service of Muscovite Tsar Ivan IV (1557–1561)
- Hero of the folk song (duma) about the Cossack Baida
Who he was
Dmytro Vyshnevetskyi came from the Volhynian princely family of Vyshnevetskyi; the year of his birth is not known for certain. His father, Ivan Mykhailovych, was a starosta (royal district governor), and through his mother the family was related to the Ostrozkyi princes. From the 1540s Dmytro served as starosta of Cherkasy and Kaniv, on the restless southern frontier of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where Tatar raids had to be fought off constantly.
His story
Vyshnevetskyi relied on the Cossacks, and in 1554 King Sigismund II Augustus appointed him guard of Khortytsia. In 1555 he began building a powerful fortification on the island of Mala Khortytsia, from which he led campaigns against the Turkish fortress of Ochakiv and the Tatar Islam-Kermen. In 1557 the Tatars destroyed the castle.
Looking for allies against Crimea, Vyshnevetskyi entered the service of Muscovite Tsar Ivan IV and took part in defending the southern borders and in campaigns against the Khanate. He later returned to the allegiance of Sigismund II. In 1563, during a campaign in Moldavia, where he probably hoped to win the throne of the hospodar (ruling prince), he was captured and taken to Istanbul. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, the Turks executed him on 29 October 1563; according to the Encyclopedia of the History of Ukraine, this followed his refusal to enter Turkish service.
Why it matters today
Vyshnevetskyi is regarded as the first reliably documented Cossack leader, and his Khortytsia castle as a forerunner of the Zaporozhian Sich. The folk song about the Cossack Baida, whom the Turkish sultan invites into his service and who refuses, made him a symbol of defiance.
