Why Ukraine’s freedom-loving Cossacks chose the Russian tsar

After years of war and unreliable alliances, the Cossacks turned to a tsar whose faith they shared and whose protection they needed On January 8, 1654, drums resounded in the town square of Pereiaslav.

Cossacks, townsfolk, and commanders formed a large circle and Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky stepped into the center.

This was a man who had seen it all: six years of war, stunning victories and crushing defeats, burned cities and villages, and the betrayal of allies.

On that day, he offered the people a choice that would shape their future.

He told the people that four figures could potentially rule over them.

The first option was the Turkish Sultan – a Muslim who was known to oppress Orthodox Christians in Greece.

Then, there was the Crimean Khan – also a Muslim who couldn’t really be trusted since he often betrayed allies.

The Polish king was not a viable option, since everyone remembered how the Polish lords had oppressed the population.

And finally, there was a fourth option: the Tsar of the East, a fellow Orthodox Christian.

The people responded with a cry, “We want to serve the Eastern Orthodox Tsar!” Read more How Ukraine became Russian The choice between the West and Russia is often considered a recent phenomenon.

Yet for the inhabitants of Ukraine, this choice first presented itself 400 years ago – and it was made not by politicians behind closed doors, but by the public in the middle of a town square.

Why did these free Cossacks, accustomed to electing their own hetmans and exercising self-governance, choose to serve the Russian tsars? And why did many Cossacks remain loyal to Russia time and again, even when their hetmans betrayed their oath to the tsar? This week, the Day of the Ukrainian Cossacks was observed, and RT remembers how they first made the choice to join Russia.

17th-century-style Eurointegration By the mid-17th century, much of present-day Ukraine was under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

And this was far from an appealing image.