Іван БОГУН

He was one of the most famous Cossack commanders in Ukraine in the mid-17th century, whose fame resounded not only in Ukrainian lands, but also far beyond their borders. He passionately loved his Ukraine and reacted quite painfully to the steps of Ukrainian hetmans that could oppress the rights of Cossack freedom. In the political spectrum of the Ukrainian Cossack state, he occupied the place of a permanent oppositionist. He quite resolutely opposed the conclusion by Bohdan Khmelnytsky of the Treaty of Bila Tserkva in 1651, condemning the policy of concessions to Poland and the reduction of the Cossack register. He was among the opponents of Khmelnytsky's course of an alliance with Moscow, without taking the oath to the Russian tsar. Later, he led the anti-Moscow elders' opposition. He became a legend even during his lifetime. The Polish historian of the mid-17th century, Vespasian Kochowski, wrote: "Brave, intelligent, extremely popular, able to act like no other; strong and cunning like a fox; a brave and determined man."