Bila Tserkva regiment

Bila Tserkva regiment (Білоцерківський полк; Bilotserkivskyi polk). A military and administrative-territorial unit of Right-Bank Ukraine existing as an independent formation for two periods: 1648–74 and 1702–12. It was one of the six core regiments of registered Cossacks that existed before the formation of the Hetman state. Its notable Cossack leaders of this period were Kryshtof Kosynsky and Severyn Nalyvaiko. From 1596 it fell under Poland and its Cossacks were part of the Polish irregular troops. In 1648 it became part of the Hetman state. After the Treaty of Andrusovo (1667), the regiment recognized Petro Doroshenko as hetman. It was abolished in 1674. The territory was ruled by Semen Palii, inititally as Colonel of the Fastiv regiment. Upon defeating the Poles in 1702, Palii restored the Bila Tserkva regiment and made it the headquarters for all Right-Bank Cossacks. In 1712 the Right-Bank Cossack administration was abolished by the Treaty of Prut. In 1751 the western part of the Bila Tserkva regiment was made into the Pavoloch regiment. According to the Cossack register following the Treaty of Zboriv in 1649, the regiment had 2,990 registered Cossacks in 23 towns and villages. In 1654 the regiment had 3,048 Cossacks in 22 companies. Some of the notable colonels who achieved higher office in the Hetman state were Semen Polovets, Ivan Kravchenko, Samiilo Frydrykevych, and Antin Hamaliia. The best known Colonel of Bila Tserkva was Semen Palii.

[This article was written in 2001.]