Noble “nation”

26

When one speaks of socio-cultural understanding of influences and adoption of “native” and “foreign”, then the appearance of persons marked as “noble” already testified about certain characteristics and, to some extent, the interrelationship of socio-cultural processes. Sloboda Ukraine originated through the migrants from the territory of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, who, despite the Cossack revolutionary actions of the middle of the 17th century, brought many features of the “noble republic” hereinto. The social elite of the Commonwealth was precisely the social ideal after which the leaders of the Sloboda Cossack regiments strained. As the Polish language was the main language for social events in the Commonwealth, it became naturally a part of the higher culture in Slobozhanshchina, the culture of the new nobility, the rapidly transforming upper class of the senior Cossack officers. Such examples in the late 17th – early 18th centuries were quite numerous. It should be noted that this process of “ennoblement” was also usual for the neighboring and more conservative Cossack autonomy – Cossack Hetmanate, especially during the time of Ivan Mazepa’s reign (1687-1709). This “nobility”, “noble nation” perhaps unites the past of Poland and Ukraine (actually Moldova, Belarus, Lithuania as well) the best.

Tracing own roots from the noble families of the Commonwealth separated the representatives of the elders from the Cossack community. And perhaps a vivid example in this regard would be the family of Kharkiv colonels Donec-Zacharzewski. Its ancestor Grygoriy Donec appeared in the Kharkiv registers as a wealthy Cossack in 1660, in 1662 he was a corporal, and in 1667 he was already a captain of the Kharkiv regiment. In October 1668, Grygoriy Donec supported the Moscow authorities on behalf of the Kharkiv governor Lev Sytin (during the riots in Kharkiv) and became a Kharkiv colonel[1]. The Donec-Zacharzewski family ruled the Kharkiv regiment until 1711, when the son-in-law of Grygoriy Donec, Fedir Szydlowski[2], was arrested.

The flag of the Kharkiv Regiment

That is, the whole development of Kharkiv during the years 1668 – 1712 is in any way related to the activities of Donec-Zacharzewskis and their relatives. It is not only about military campaigns, construction of fortifications or quite noticeable enrichment by various methods, but also about the first stone social building in Kharkiv (the colonel’s house, later passed through to the Kharkiv College) and, of course, the pearl of Kharkiv that preserved till now – Pokrovska church (the colonel’s house stood next to it). Actually, the merits of Donec-Zacharzewski family were recognized by the Kharkiv authorities as early as 1894, when the Mala Nimetska Street (Small German Street) was renamed to Donec-Zacharzewska (in the middle of the city). In 1920, the Bolsheviks changed its name to Frunze Lane. During the World War II, the occupation power gave the lane its old name of Donec-Zacharzewski. In 1943, after the return of Soviet power, it was called again Frunze, but in the early 1950’s, during the return of the old non-political names, the name Donec-Zacharzewski was restored (49.993496, 36.232909).

Actually, it was the son of Grygoriy Donec – Fedir, who got the surname Zacharzewski. He became a colonel during his father’s life, and finally occupied the post from 1690 (he had been killed in 1706 and was buried near the same Pokrovska church). Such ennoblement of the surname made it possible later for the most famous historian of Slobozhanshchina Dmytro Bahalii to express the opinion that, in fact, Grytsko Donec (and this surname pointed to a certain connection with the Don Cossacks) was a simple Cossack, and the extension of his surname was an unfair mean to become a nobleman. But Bahalii was not right. Once, in 1672, the Kharkiv colonel was the envoy of the Belgorod governor Grygoriy Romodanovsky to the hetman elders, who called him Zakharyashevich[3]. The other question is more interesting – was Grygoriy Donec literate or illiterate? After all, the signatures of the Kharkiv colonel were made in Latina. In 1684, attesting the construction of fortifications along the Izyum line, Grygoriy Donec signed up in Russian using Latin letters: “k sim stroennym knigam harkouski polkounik Grigorij Donec ruku prilozyl“[4]. Although historian Yevgeniy Albovsky considered Grygoriy Donec illiterate, because in the petition of 1682, a clerk signed instead of the Kharkiv colonel (“in little Russian using Polish letters”) – “K sey czelobitnoy Aleksandr Kulik Dovhomir wmisto сharkovskogo polkownika Hrihoria Gerofiova syna Donca po ieho weleniu ruku prylozil”[5]. With careful consideration, Grygoriy Donec-Zacharzewski was quite involved into the Commonwealth world.

Fedir Donec-Zacharzewski can already be considered a full nobleman with an influential environment, because at that time even the son-in-law of the Donec family, stolnik Fedir Shylov, who arrived for a visit from Moscow, changed his name to Szydlowski, as if he had recalled his “Polish origin”. It was Fedir Donec-Zacharzewski who commissioned the poet Ivan Ornovsky for a great panegyric to honor his kin, and engraver Ivan Shchyrsky from Chernihiv decorated this work with his prints. The panegyric “Rich garden” (“Bogaty w parantelę, sławę y honory wirydyarz…” was published in the printing house of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in 1705. It was written in Polish, which had to emphasize the origin and importance of the Zacharzewski family. This way or another – the first book on Slobozhanshchina was published in Polish. Numerous antique scenes and names, “the grand style”, allegories of color, smells, fountains, Latin in the text define this Baroque monument. Admittedly, this book is quite rare and, despite its presence in Kharkiv, needs a new edition and translation with academic preface and commentary. Panegyric, however, was eagerly used and translated by well-known Ukrainian writers and philologists Valery Shevchuk and Leonid Ushkalov, and Katarzyna Głowala defended even in Bonn a very large-scale habilitation work dedicated to the Polish-language poetry of Ivan Ornovsky. It should be added that in addition to the intrinsic poetic content, the book has considerable aesthetic value as a monument with an extremely striking decoration and illustrations.

A characteristic feature of the panegyric is that Ornovsky’s story is filled with exaggerations and inaccurate information. Despite the Polish language, Grygoriy Zacharzewski Donec drives Poles away when Jan Casimir stands (1663) near Glukhov (in fact, Hryhoriy Donets’ participation in these events is unconfirmed). The Zacharzewski family originates from the Doliwa coat of arms, the main decoration of which is the rose. Meanwhile, there is a lack of facts about the appearance of this flower in the Wild Field (in Kharkiv). Ornovsky says that the real name of Grygoriy Donec is Adam, and he became known under this name only after his military service on the Don. That is, nobleman Adam Zacharzewski remains one of the genealogical mysteries.

Ornovsky’s exaggerations sometimes have some firm ground. For example, the panegyric mentions the participation of Grygoriy Zacharzewski in founding Valki, Zmiiv, Raygorodok, Cherkasky, Izyum and his own estate Vodolaga. But in this case, first of all, it is the fact that the Kharkiv colonel directed the construction of the fortifications of the Izyum line, and did not directly participate in the foundation of the above-mentioned settlements (probably except for Vodolaga). Information on the patronage of Zacharzewski’s activities concerning the foundation of churches and monasteries (Kuryazsky, near Kharkiv, and Zmiivsky Mykolaivsky) was also confirmed, as well as the mention in the panegyric of the famous figure Ivan Sirko, who served as a colonel in Kharkiv (by the way – the first literary and printed fixation of this fact).

Brothers Kostiantyn (who died from wounds in 1692) and Fedir (the main figure of the family and the actual hero of panegyric) were no less important warriors. Kostiantyn, the eldest son of Grygoriy Donec, fits the reputation of a knight as the leader of the settlement and fortifications over the river Siversky Donets (Siversky Donec) (it was there where the Izyum Regiment originated). Probably the beginning of construction of the Izyum Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral is connected with Kostiantyn Donec. Donec (Zacharzewski) also transferred Izyum, besieged by their predecessor, colonel Yakiv Chernihivets from Balakliya, to the more fortified left side of the Donets River.

The stories about Fedir Donets-Zacharzewski are very representative in the context of military campaigns carried out by Cossacks in the Russian army. The fight against the Ottomans for Tavan (Kazikarmen) in 1695 (by the way, together with Hetman Ivan Mazepa) and the march to the Baltic States with a description of the plundering of “Estonian” towns also form part of the praise given to the Kharkiv colonel and stolnik (boyar title, that he was given in Moscow).

The content of the panegyric is very important and full of numerous allegories: under the richest garden planted with roses, one can understand both Sloboda Ukraine, conquered in the “fight against Tatars”, and the expansion of the Zacharzewski family and their power on widespread territories.

Ornovsky’s panegyric was no exception. Its author is known for his poetry and glorification of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, but for the history of culture of Sloboda Ukraine this work is of exceptional importance. The neighboring Cossack state, the Hetmanate, was transformed into a kind of “Commonwealth in miniature”, drawing into the cultural sphere primarily Sloboda regiments. The Sloboda senior officers were becoming relatives with the Hetmanate elders. According to unconfirmed data, Fedir Donetsk- Zacharzewski became related to the influential noble officer family Potrebych-Grechany. They also emphasized their importance. It was not for nothing that Ornovsky’s book came out in Kyiv (namely, in the printing house of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra), a prominent center of Orthodoxy, and at the same time a center of close links with the Commonwealth.

In fact, the noble family of Donec-Zacharzewski can be traced by analyzing the growth and loss of their possessions. Many of these estates became Kharkiv suburbs, that is, modern Kharkiv was partially formed of the former estates of Donec-Zacharzewski – Lidne and Hyivka, Vereshchakivka, Pylypivka, Oleksyivka. However, the former estates of this family are also large settlements of Sloboda Ukraine – Berezove, Borky, Budy, Stara Vodolaga, Zhyhar, Komarivka.

The Donec-Zacharzewski lineage continued not through the descendants of Fedir, but through the descendants of Kostiantyn, who was already dead at the time of publishing the Ornovsky’s book. His son, Mychailo, became a colonel in Izyum, and his grandson, also Mychailo, – a colonel in Sumy. Through the lateral genealogical branches, the main possessions of the family passed over to the families of Shcherbinin, Kropotkin, and Zadonsky. In turn, the straight line of Donec- Zacharzewski ceased in 1871, when its last representative, Dmytro Donec- Zacharzewski, was strangled by his nephew (son of a sister) Mykola Pokhvisnevych.

The history of this family, certain difficulties with the identification of Grygoriy and Fedir Zacharzewski, Latina and Polish language are all very notable, but not at all exceptional. Kovalevsky, Rosalion-Soszalski, Samborsky and even Kvitka also emphasized their origin from the gentry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Mechanisms of such transitions are clear but complex in terms of presentation. It is quite possible that Adam Zacharzewski came from the territory of modern Poland, and Yuri Rosalion (Soszalski), a regimental clerk of the Izyum Regiment of the early 18th century, studied at the Krakow Academy[6]. But there is no doubt that at the beginning of 18th century in the spheres of the upper classes of Sloboda Ukraine, there was a break towards the “Polish values” of the Commonwealth.

Polish, being the language of the upper classes and an important neighboring state, was taught in Ukrainian Orthodox colleges, including Kharkiv that was far enough from the borders of the Commonwealth. According to Lyudmila Posokhova, in the local college, following the Kyiv traditions, students also studied Polish (although this was not a regular practice), and there were books in Polish in teachers’ libraries. It is representative that when the streets of Kharkiv were named in 1805, the future lane of Ilya Mechnikov (it is located perpendicular to Donec- Zacharzewski Street) was called Shwansky [7]– probably in honor of the widow Maria Shwanska, former wife of Archpriest Mykhailo Shwansky, a deep-minded thinker. The main thing was that on that street lived Fedir Kudrytsky, the director of the schools of the Sloboda Ukraine province and the former student of the college. Contemporary names of the lanes combine nobility and collegiate scholarship.

Polish language, nobility and heritage are most likely the consequences of the Commonwealth era in Ukrainian history, which echoed in Slobozhanshchina. The era which ceased to exist with the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this case, it is not only about the political context, but also about the culture that fell under the “wheels of the Age of the Enlightenment.” Polish lost an important role in the cultural space (same as Latin), giving way to French and German. However, the annexation of Right-Bank Ukraine and the Polish lands to the Empire eventually led to the need for specialists in that language.

Sources of information:

  1. Акты, относящиеся к истории Южной и Западной России, собранные и изданные археографическою комиссией. – СПб., 1879. – Т.9. 1668–1672 гг.
  2. Альбовский Е. Харьковские казаки. Вторая половина XVII в. – Харьков, 2005.
  3. Багалій Д.І. Історія Слободської України. – Харків, 1918.
  4. Державний архів Харківської області (ДАХО). – Ф.3. – Оп.10. – Спр.650. – Арк.3 зв.
  5. Загоровский В. Изюмская черта. – Воронеж, 1980.
  6. Маслійчук В. Козацька старшина слобідських полків другої половини XVII – першої третини XVIII cт. Харків: Харківський приватний музей міської садиби, 2009.
  7. Орновський. І. Багатий сад. Пер. В.Шевчука //Марсове поле. – Кн.2. – Київ, 1989. – С. 143- 148.
  8. Письма и бумаги императора Петра Великого. – Москва, 1956. – Т.10 (январь–декабрь 1710).
  9. Посохова Л. На перехресті культур, традицій, епох. Православні колегіуми України наприкінці XVII – на початку ХІХ ст. – Харків, 2011.
  10. Посохова Л. Польська книга в особистих бібліотеках харківських інтелектуалів XVIIIcт. // Польський альманах. Харків, 2015. – Вип. 7. – С.20-28
  11. Ушкалов Л. Національні світи слобідської літератури // Актуальні проблеми слов’янської філології: Міжвузівський збірник наукових статей. — Донецьк, 2009. – Вип. ХХ. – С. 87-96.
  12. Филарет. Историко-статистическое описание Харьковской епархии. – Харьков, 2005. – Т.2.
  13. Шевчук В. Чернігівський поет другої половини XVII – поч. XVIIIcт. Іван Орновський // Сіверянський літопис. – 2007. – № 5. – С.53-60.
  14. Glowalla К. Kommertierte Ausgabe der polnischsprachigen Gedichtbännde von Jan Ornowski / Ivan Ornovs’kyj. 2 Hälfte des 17 – Anfang 18 Jahrhunderts. – Bonn, 2013.
  15. Ornowski J. Bogaty w parantelę, sławę y honory wirydyarz herbownemi Wielmożnych Ich Mościow Panow P. Zacharzewskich, pozornie po swych kwaterach zasadzony, różami na ozdobę rodowitey, sławney y zamożney w honory prozapiey, in triade róż wysymbolizowaney. Jego Carskiego Nayaśnieyszego Maiestatu Stolnika y Połkownika Charkowskiego, W. Jego Mci Pana P. Theodora Zacharzewskiego, nieśmiertelnemu imieniu oyczystą muzą przez przychylnego y życzliwego sługę Jana Ornowskiego, w prezencie szczerey życzliwości oddany. Roku ktorego ogród Maria zamkniony, wydała kwiat Jesseyski dziwnie rozwiniony. – W.S. ćudotworney wielkiey Lawrze Kijowo Pieczarskiey, 1705.

Prepared by PhD Volodymyr Masliychuk

[1] See details of this family and adoption of Polish values by Cossack elders: Маслійчук В. Козацька старшина слобідських полків другої половини XVII – першої третини XVIII cт. – Харків: Харківський приватний музей міської садиби, 2009.

[2] It is peculiar, but he was accused of misappropriation of property and estates of nobles from Belarus during the Great Northern War. See details Письма и бумаги императора Петра Великого. – Москва, 1956. – Т.10 (январь–декабрь 1710). – С.748.

[3] See details: Акты, относящиеся к истории Южной и Западной России, собранные и изданные археографическою комиссией. – СПб., 1879. – Т.9. 1668–1672 гг. – С. 922, 923, 962.

[4] Citation of: Загоровский В. Изюмская черта. – Воронеж, 1980. – С.220.

[5] Citation of: Альбовский Е. Харьковские казаки. Вторая половина XVII в. – Харьков, 2005. – С. 131.

[6] Филарет. Историко-статистическое описание Харьковской епархии. – Харьков, 2005. – Т. 2. – С. 367.

[7] ДАХО. – Ф. 3. – Оп.10. – Спр. 650. – Арк.3 зв.