Holovaty, Antin

Holovaty, Antin [Головатий, Антін; Holovatyj], b 1744 in Novi Sanzhary, Poltava regiment, d 19 February 1797. Military leader. Educated at the Kyivan Mohyla Academy, he served as chancellor of the Zaporozhian Host (an aide to the last Kish otaman, Petro Kalnyshevsky) and as a colonel of the Boh Cossack Army. In 1787 he helped organize the Army of Loyal Cossacks, which was renamed Black Sea Cossacks. His assistance to the Russian army in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–91, particularly in the capture of the Berezan Island fortress, gained him the tsar's favor. After the war Holovaty conducted the resettlement of the Cossacks to the Kuban region. In 1796 he was elected otaman of the Black Sea Cossacks and participated with two regiments in the Russian campaign against Persia. According to tradition, Holovaty was the author of a number of popular songs.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 2 (1988).]