The hetman understood that the peace must inevitably be disrupted again, since the terms of the treaty could satisfy only the Cossacks, but not the common people, who again fell into slavery. Such a peace could not last. Six levt wars yielded almost no results. What was left to do? The Poles did not want to retaliate and did not liberate the people from the gentry, but the claps wanted freedom; It was impossible to resolve this issue amicably.
On the other hand, Ukraine was not strong enough to cope with the Poles on its own; All that was left was to turn to outside help, but where? Khan cheated twice, and there was little hope for him; In addition, the Tatars after Zhvanets, leaving for the Crimea, carried out a terrible robbery in Ukraine, beat many people and took even more women into captivity. Turshya and the Moscow state remained.
The Orthodox people, who have long considered the war with the infidels to be a holy cause, would never agree to come under the rule of the infidel, to merge with him, to act for one thing.
Therefore, only Moscow remained: the Orthodox faith was there, the same Russian people lived there as in the Ukraine, the descendants of the great princes of Kev sat on the royal throne. The annexation of Ukraine to Moscow would have restored the former unity of the Russian land. Everything spoke in favor of joining Moscow; True, all the Moscow kingdoms were then serfs, but the Russian boyar never oppressed the peasants like that.
\ Nina, like the Polish gentleman of Khlop, whom he considered “cattle”. Moreover, the Tsar of Moscow not only did not lose anything by uniting with Ukraine, but gained something, and therefore he would have given Ukraine more rights than the king favored.
Khielnitsy understood well and wanted this, but such an important thing as giving the entire Ukraine into the citizenship of anyone could not be decided by him alone. This had to be decided by the people themselves. Finally, I agree with VSFH. Ambassadors were sent to Moscow with a request to take Ukraine under the high royal hand.
On January 3, 1654, a huge council gathered in Pereyaslavl, and Moscow’s ambassadors began to cry. Khmelnitsy, surrounded by all the Cossack elders, before the start of the prayer, said a word to the people: he recalled all the history of oppression of the lords, the desecration of the faith, the destructive wars that destroyed Ukraine, the treason of the Khan, the persecution of Christians in Turshi, and offered to surrender to the Tsar of Moscow, who would approve all Cossack liberties. At the end of the speech, the whole party shouted: “We will serve the king of the East; it is better to die in the faith of Christ than to fall to the hater of Christ, the bastard!”
Then Pereyaslavsky Colonel Teterya asked: “Why do you all deign to do this?”
- “Everyone!” was the only answer: glad.
- “Be like this! May the Lord strengthen us under his royal cry with his hand!” - the hetman shouted in a loud voice.
- “God confirm, God strengthen, that we may all be one forever!” - Rada picked up.
At the end of the day, the conditions under which Ukraine would join Great Russia were read. The Cossacks, the first fighters for the freedom of the people, were not forgotten either: all their liberties and rights were confirmed. After honoring the conditions, a prayer service was served, and then Khmelnytsky was presented with signs of hetman’s dignity. All the foremen received gifts.
le II
So Little Russia joined Great Russia; Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich of Moscow began to be called “Tsar of Great and Little Rus'” in his royal title.
However, Khmelnitsky’s great deed was not over. Neither Poland, nor Turschya, nor the Crimean people wanted to allow such a strengthening of Moscow. Terrible wars began again, Poland lost Belarus, conquered by the Moscow Tsar himself. Peace was concluded in 1657; Poland was forced to recognize the union of Moscow and Ukraine; the Dniester, Goryn and Pripet were designated as borders. At the same time, peace was concluded with the Tatars.
In the same year, 1657, Khmelnitsk, exhausted by wars and continuous ten-foot campaigns, as well as many sorrows, fell ill and felt closer to death. A council was assembled at which he said goodbye to the people, asking them to sacredly preserve unity among themselves, thanked them for all the honors shown to him and proposed, during his lifetime, to choose a new hetman, to whom he could give the necessary advice and reveal the secrets of governing Ukraine. The people, saying goodbye to their beloved father, cried bitterly. The Rada did not want any of the persons proposed by the hetman as successors to his power, but, honoring the old man’s merits, chose his son Yury. Khmelnytsyu was touched, tears flowed down his cheeks. Finally he agreed.