Page 178 - 6421

In 1385 Poland and Lithuania signed the Krevska Union, which
initiated their political unification. It was completed in 1569 by the
signing of the Lublin Union, which united Poland and Lithuania into
one state – Rzeczpospolita Polska. As a result, the Ukrainian

population was in a worse situation than in the previous period. One
of the forms of protest was the formation in the XV century a separate
social group – the Ukrainian Cossacks.

In the middle of the XVI century a special military-territorial
organization of the Ukrainian Cossacks were formed at the Dnipro
rapids – the Zaporozhian Sich. In the military sense, the Zaporozhian
Sich was divided into 38 kurens, and territorially – into 5-10

phalanxes. The supreme governing body was the general military
council, which chose the Cossack majors (starshyna): commander of
Cossack camp (koshovyi otaman), the military judge, the clerk, and so

on.
In 1648-1654 years there was a war of liberation, as a result of
which the Ukrainian lands were freed from the power of the

Rzeczpospolita Polska and fell under the influence of Russia. On
March 21, 1654, a request was made to the Russian Tsar about the
future status of Ukraine – "March Articles", which consisted of 11

points.
The territory was subject to the Ukrainian Hetman (Hetmanate)
and included 10 regiments, which were divided into hundreds and
kurens. The administrative-territorial division of the Hetmanate

coincided with the military one, and the bodies of military
management exercised all administrative power. By tradition, the
general military council was considered to be a general body of the

Hetmanate, but a hetman has the actual power and he was elected for
life. Ukraine maintained its own judicial system, but the Lithuanian
statutes remained the important source of law. In 1764 Hetmanate was
abolished. In 1775 Zaporozhian Sich was destroyed. The remnants of

Ukrainian autonomy were eliminated. At the end of the eighteenth
century Rzeczpospolita Polska has ceased to exist, and Right-Bank
Ukraine has been joined to Russia. Transcarpathia, Galicia and

Bukovyna became part of Austria-Hungary.
During this period in 1710 (April 5), the Constitution of Pylyp
Orlyk was written – a document on the future of the state system of

Ukraine. On May 10, 1710, it was confirmed by the Swedish King

178