What is Ivan Sirko?
'''Ivan Sirko''' was a [[Cossacks|Ukrainian Cossack]] military leader and Koshovyi Otaman of the [[Zaporizhzhia|Zaporozhian Host]], born around 1610 and died around 1680. He is believed to have co-authored the famous Cossack letter to the Ottoman sultan, which inspired the painting Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks by artist [[Ilya Repin]]. His place of birth is uncertain, but he is believed to have come from the Ukrainian (Ruthenian) Orthodox szlachta, a group of nobles. Sirko changed his political orientation several times throughout his career, sometimes supporting [[Moscow]] and sometimes fighting against it. He was known for his battles against the Poles, Tatars, and hetman [[Petro Poroshenko|Petro Doroshenko]] in alliance with Muscovy. Sirko was the first Cossack ataman to accept Kalmyks into his army. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sirko, Ivan}} [[Category:Ukrainian military people]] [[Category:1610s births]] [[Category:1680s deaths]]