Samiilo Vasyliovych Velychko

Works

Translation of Cosmographia from German The Samiilo Velychko Chronicle, titled The Tale of the Cossack War against Poles led by Zynoviy Bohdan Khmelnytsky (Сказаніе о войнЂ козацкой зъ поляками чрезъ ЗЂновія Богдана Хмельніцкого) - composed between 1715 and 1728, Velychko's main work represents the first systematic historical treatise on the history of Cossack Hetmanate; dedicated to the period between 1620 and 1700, the work used contemporary Ukrainian, Polish and German sources and was written in the Ukrainian literary language of the time, including many elements of vernacular speech; the text has a characteristically opulent style and depict Cossacks as defenders of Ukraine, comparing Bohdan Khmelnytsky to Moses; the work was published between 1848 and 1864 by the Kyiv Archaeographic Commission; it was translated into modern Ukrainian by Valeriy Shevchuk.

Velychko legitimized the Cossack rebellion against Polish rule by the right to resist (jus resistendi), blaming the magnates of violating the rights of Cossacks contrary to the will of their monarch. At the same time, Velychko expressed a degree of nostalgia for the earlier period of Polish rule, depicting it as an era of brotherly relations between Poles and Ruthenians and emphasizing the mutual damage brought to both sides by the conflict between them.

Despite the generally pro-Russian tone of Velychko's chronicle, some of its passages condemn the collaboration of several Cossack leaders with Moscow and criticize the policies of Peter I in respect to Ukraine. Velychko describes the relations between Cossacks and Crimean Tatars as ambivalent, characterized by both animosity and cooperation between the two groups. He depicts the Tatars as brave and just warriors with their own knightly ethics.

Commemoration

Unfortunately, the grave of Samiilo Velychko has not survived to this day. And in the center of the village Zhuky, on the top, near the chapel of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos and the mound of memory, a granite boulder was set up, which symbolizes the last shelter of the famous historian of the Cossack.

Today, in the village where Samiilo Velychko was born, lived and worked, the memorial complex of the glory of the Ukrainian Cossacks was erected. In 2010, the first complex of memory of the dead Cossacks was opened.

In 2003, in order to honor the memory of the glorious Cossack chronicler, the son of Poltava region, and the presentation of the best examples of national culture in the context of the creativity of one of its founders, the regional literary award named after Samiil Wielicz was initiated.

In 2020, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a commemorative silver coin with a face value of ₴10, dedicated to Samiilo Velychko.