Popovych, Ivan

Popovych, Ivan [Попович, Іван; Popovyč], b ? in Khodorkiv, Pavoloch regiment, d 15 June 1663 in Korsun, Korsun regiment (or Pavoloch). Cossack officer. He was a distinguished veteran of the Cossack-Polish War, particularly the battle for Homel (1651). He served as acting colonel of Pavoloch regiment in 1663. He opposed the pro-Polish policies of the hetman of Right-Bank Ukraine, Pavlo Teteria, and was arrested early in 1663 for organizing a rebellion. Fearing the potential repercussions of executing Popovych, Teteria allowed him to leave the Cossacks quietly and enter the priesthood. Popovych, however, sparked a rebellion a few months later and took over Pavoloch. When the city was besieged by Polish forces, he was captured, tortured, and executed.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]