Cherkasy regiment

Cherkasy regiment (Черкаський полк; Cherkaskyi polk). One of the loci of the early Cossack military bases for the Zaporozhian Cossacks in the sixteenth century. It was one of six core regiments of registered Cossacks in the early seventeenth century. From 1648 the Cherkasy regiment was a military and administrative-territorial unit of the Hetman state (see Regimental system). In 1649 the regimental territory encompassed 18 Right-Bank and Left-Bank companies with 2,996 registered Cossacks: 14 companies from Right-Bank Ukraine (13 companies [2,006 men] from Cherkasy, one from a Right-Bank company, Moshny), and four from Left-Bank Ukraine (Pishchane, Domontiv, Zolotonosha, and Bohushiv). The regiment took part in most major battles of the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Uprising (see Cossack-Polish War), including the Battle of Velykyi Zamok (1648), Battle of Berestechko (1651), and Battle of Batih (1652). During the period of the Ruin battles between contending Cossack hetmans occasionally took place on the territory of the Cherkasy regiment, such as battles between the forces of Hetman Petro Doroshenko and Hetman Ivan Samoilovych in 1674. In 1679 the regiment was abolished and the majority of its population was transferred to the Left-Bank by Semen Samoilovych. According to the Treaty of Bakhchysarai, the regimental territory was supposed to remain unpopulated, but a revival of the regiment took place despite this agreement. After the Battle of Poltava the regiment supported the struggle of Hetman Pylyp Orlyk. It was finally abolished in 1712. The best known Colonel of the Cherkasy regiment was Petro Doroshenko. Other notable colonels were M. Hamaliia, I. Voronchenko, I. Parkhomenko, and A. Odynets.

[This article was written in 2005.]