Zaporozhian Cossack starshyna and diplomat; Hetman-in-exile (1672–1742)
Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk (; ; October 21 [O.S. October 11] 1672 – May 26, 1742) was a Zaporozhian Cossack statesman, diplomat and "starshyna" who served as the hetman in exile from 1710 to 1742. He was a close associate of Ivan Mazepa and the author of the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk.
Biography.
Pylyp Orlyk was born in the village of Kosuta, Ashmyany county, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Vileyka district of modern-day Belarus), on November 1, 1673. Pylyp Orlik came from an old noble family of the Nowina coat of arms. The family name appeared in the form Orlik or Orlicki. The family most likely came to the Kingdom of Poland from Bohemia in the 15th century, then settled in western Belarus. Pylyp's father Stefan Orlik was killed in the Battle of Chocim against the Turks on November 11, 1673, fighting in the ranks of the Polish-Lithuanian army, a year after his son's birth. Pylyp's mother was Irena née Małachowski of the Hrymal coat of arms. Although Orlyk's father was Catholic his mother was Orthodox and baptized her son in that rite.
Orlyk first studied at the Jesuit college in Vilnius and until 1694 at Kyiv Mohyla Academy. In 1698 he was appointed secretary of the consistory of Kiev metropolia. In 1699 he became a senior member of Hetman Ivan Mazepa's General Military Chancellery and 1706 was appointed general chancellor and at that position he was Mazepa's closest aide, facilitated Mazepa's secret correspondence with the Poles and Swedes, and assisted Mazepa in his efforts to form an anti-Russian coalition.
Hetman in exile.
After the Battle of Poltava in 1709, he escaped together with Hetman Ivan Mazepa and king Charles XII of Sweden to Bender in the Principality of Moldavia, where Mazepa soon died. Pylyp Orlyk was then chosen as a Hetman by the Cossacks and the Swedish king Charles XII. While in Bender Orlyk wrote one of the first state constitutions in Europe. This Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk was confirmed by Charles XII and it also names him as "the protector of Ukraine".
Between 1711 and 1714, together with Crimean Tatars and small groups of Cossacks, Orlyk carried out unsuccessful raids into Right-bank Ukraine. Afterwards, Pylyp Orlyk now together with several other Cossacks followed the Swedish king Charles XII to Sweden via Vienna and Stralsund. Orlyk with his family and about 40 other Cossacks arrived in Ystad, Sweden in late November 1715. After some months in Ystad they lived in the city of Kristianstad for some years. Orlyk and his family left Stockholm in 1720 but as late as 1747 his widow and children received financial support from the Parliament of Sweden. From Sweden Orlyk first went to Hamburg, Hannover, Prague, Wrocław and Kraków, where he left his family to stay in a monastery. Orlyk stayed in Poland until March 1722, when he went to Khotyn in Ottoman Moldavia. From there he went on to Thessaloniki. In 1734 he moved to the Sultan's residence in Căușeni, Moldavia. He then stayed in Iași, and from late 1739 in Bucharest. He died 1742 in Jassy, Principality of Moldavia (today Iași, Romania).
Orlyk wrote numerous proclamations and essays about Ukraine including the 1710 Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk. Orlik is also the author of a comprehensive "Dziennik Podróżny", 3000-pages long diary, covering the years 1720-1732. The diary is written in Polish typical of the 18th century, with many interjections from Latin or polonized Latin words. Some words from Church Slavonic, Turkic, Tatar and a few Ukrainianisms also appear. The diary also contains passages written in French and Latin.
Memory.
In 2011 a monument dedicated to Pylyp Orlyk was erected in Kristianstad, Sweden on a building Ukrainian hetman lived in 1716–1719 years to celebrate tercentenary of Pylyp Orlyk's constitution. The authors of the monument are Borys Krylov and Oles Sydoruk.
104 streets and 22 alleys of Ukrainian settlements are named after Pylyp Orlyk. The streets of Vileik (Belarus) and Kristianstad (Sweden) are also named after the Hetman.
The National Bank of Ukraine issued two silver coins dedicated to Pylyp Orlyk (2002) and the first Ukrainian Constitution to Pylyp Orlyk (2010).
Ukrainian State Enterprise of Postal Service "Ukrposta" issued stamps in honor of Pylyp Orlyk (1997) and his Constitution (2010).
Ukrainian MPs and representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora in the U.S. established the Pylyp Orlyk International Prize in 2007, which is annually presented in Kiev to prominent Ukrainian and foreign lawyers. The award is currently presented by the International International Charitable Foundation for the People's Hero Mark Paslawsky.
The name of Hetman Pylyp Orlyk was given: Nikolaev International Classical University, Non-state think tank in Ukraine – Institute of Democracy in Kyiv and 43rd reservoir hut in Lviv.
Monuments and memorial signs to Hetman Pylyp Orlyk.
The monuments of the Hetman and memorial signs of the first Ukrainian Constitution were installed in Kosuta (Belarus) (2006), Baturyn (Ukraine) (2009), Bendery (Moldova) (2010), Kyiv (Ukraine) (2011), Orlyk in the Poltava region (Ukraine) (2011), Kristianstad (Sweden) (2011) and Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine) (2012).
In Baturyn, on the Maidan of Hetman glory, towering monument «Hetmans. Prayer for Ukraine», in the form of a sculptural group of five Ukrainian hetmans: Demian Ihnatovych, Ivan Samoylovych, Ivan Mazepa, Kyrylo Rozumovsky and Pylyp Orlyk. Hetman in emigration Pylyp Orlyk stands beside his mentor Ivan Mazepa. The sculptural composition symbolizes the unity of their thoughts. Sculptures: Nikolai and Bogdan Mazura. Monument «Hetmans. Prayer for Ukraine» is solemnly opened on the Day of Cathedral of Ukraine, January 22, 2009. with the participation of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko.
Family.
Pylyp Orlyk married Hanna Hertsyk in on November 13, 1698. She was of Jewish descent, a daughter of the colonel Pavlo Semenovych Hertsyk (a close ally of Mazepa) of the Poltava regiment. Pylyp and Hanna had eight children. They were:
References.
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