c. 1691–1803
Petro Kalnyshevskyi
Last otaman of the Zaporozhian Sich
The last otaman of the Zaporozhian Sich (1762, 1765–1775): an administrator and diplomat who defended Zaporozhian lands before St. Petersburg. After the Sich was destroyed in 1775, Catherine II exiled him to the Solovetsky Islands, where he spent 25 years in captivity.
Key accomplishments
- Otaman of the Zaporozhian Sich in 1762 and continuously in 1765–1775
- Encouraged settlement of the Zaporozhian lands, farming and trade
- Traveled to St. Petersburg several times to defend Zaporizhzhia’s rights to its lands
- Distinguished himself in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774
- Canonized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate as the Righteous Petro the Long-Suffering (2008)
Who he was
Petro Kalnyshevskyi was born in the village of Pustoviitivka (now in the Sumy region). The exact date is unknown: the Encyclopedia of the History of Ukraine gives 1691, other sources 1690. According to tradition, he came to the Zaporozhian Sich as a child and rose from dzhura (an officer’s attendant) to the highest posts: in 1760 he became military judge, and in 1762 he was first elected otaman, the head of the Sich.
His story
From 1765 Kalnyshevskyi was re-elected otaman again and again, until 1775. He was above all an administrator: he encouraged the settlement of the Zaporozhian lands and the growth of farming and trade. As a diplomat he traveled to St. Petersburg several times, trying to protect the Zaporozhian lands from encroachment by the Russian Empire. In the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 he showed military skill, for which Catherine II awarded him a gold medal with diamonds.
After the victory over the Ottoman Empire, the empire no longer needed the Zaporozhians. In 1775 Russian troops destroyed the New Sich, and Kalnyshevskyi was arrested and, on Catherine II’s orders, exiled to the prison of the Solovetsky Monastery on the White Sea. He spent 25 years there in harsh conditions. In 1801 Emperor Alexander I freed him, but the old otaman stayed at the monastery. He died in 1803; sources put his age at 112 or 113.
Why it matters today
Kalnyshevskyi became a symbol of resilience and of the last days of Zaporozhian freedom. In 2008 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate canonized him as the Righteous Petro the Long-Suffering. Streets in many Ukrainian cities bear his name.
