Kharkiv regiment

Kharkiv regiment [Харківський полк; Kharkivskyi polk]. An administrative and military unit in Slobidska Ukraine centered in Kharkiv (see Regimental system). It was formed in 1659–60 by Cossacks and peasants from Right-Bank Ukraine and Left-Bank Ukraine and occupied the sparsely populated territory between the Bakhmutka River, the Merlia River, the Udai River, and the Orel River. In 1685, a separate Izium regiment was detached. The regiment's territory was crossed by the Murava Road and was often raided by Crimean Tatars and Nogay Tatars. Kharkiv regiment comprised 18 companies (in 1680–15). In 1732 it had a population of 75,000 in 135 settlements. Its most prominent colonel was Ivan Sirko (1664–5 and 1667). The regiment fought in the Russo-Turkish wars and Russo-Swedish wars of the late 17th and 18th centuries. It was abolished in 1765 and its territory became part of Slobidska Ukraine gubernia. Some of the Cossacks were organized into a regular lancer regiment while the rest lost their remaining Cossack privileges. A mongraph about the regiment by E. Albovsky was published in 1895.

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