The final breath of freedom: how the "hungry wolf" Catherine II ultimately eradicated Ukraine's autonomy.

The gradual yet relentless process of transforming Ukraine into Little Russia (or the annexation of Ukrainian lands by Moscow) continued for over a century. The Pereiaslav Council of 1654 opened Pandora's box, and thereafter, step by step, invaders from Moscow established their rule over our most fertile lands in the world…

Absolute power of the monarch over their subjects can only be ensured when the government, all officials, and even the slightest hint of autonomous status for any part of the state are under their control (in this case, the Russian Empress Catherine II). The "starving she-wolf," as precisely defined by Taras Shevchenko, gained power after a bloody coup in early July 1762, which ended with the abdication and subsequent "royal murder" of her legitimate husband Peter III, marking yet another chapter in the history of Moscow-Russia.

Among those who effectively brought the former princess from the tiny principality of Anhalt-Zerbst in Germany to absolute power in the vast Russian Empire was the Hetman of Ukraine, Kyrylo Razumovsky – the younger brother of Oleksiy Razumovsky.

The Reformist Hetman

Oleksiy, a handsome singer from a simple family of registered Cossack Hryhorii Rozum, found himself in St. Petersburg and became the lover of Peter I's daughter – the future Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. He actively participated in the palace coup of 1741, which brought "Peter's daughter" to the throne. The following year, he entered into a morganatic marriage with her, secretly getting married…

By that time, Ukraine had already become a powerless province. After the death in January 1734 of the penultimate Hetman Daniil Apostol, during the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, it seemed that Ukraine had definitively lost hope for freedom or even autonomy.

However, in 1744, the Ukrainian elite appealed to Oleksiy Razumovsky's wife to appoint a new Hetman. Her response was positive. "However, she postponed the matter because the candidate she had in mind – Oleksiy's younger brother Kyrylo – was only 16 years old, and before taking this position, he needed to gain experience. Kyrylo was sent to study at universities in Western Europe. Meanwhile, Russian troops were withdrawn from the Hetmanate, and the 'Governing Hetman Government' was gradually dissolved. Upon his return from Europe, Kyrylo was appointed president of the Imperial Academy of Sciences", wrote Ukrainian-Canadian historian Orest Subtelny in his book "Ukraine: A History". On May 5 (16), 1747, a decree was issued "On the Existence of a Hetman in Little Russia According to Previous Customs and Traditions".

Thus, on March 4 (February 22 in the old style) 1750, at a council of elders in Hlukhiv, by the order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, Kyrylo Razumovsky was elected Hetman of Left-Bank Ukraine (remotely), just a month before he turned 22. The event was marked by extraordinary solemnity, attended by many hundreds of elders, colonels, and ordinary Cossacks, as well as the highest Orthodox clergy.

The initial steps of the new Hetman of Left-Bank Ukraine reflected his worldview regarding the role of authority in the spirit of the European doctrine of "enlightened governance." A whole series of reforms began – in the judicial system, the structure of government, with the introduction of regular convocations of elder councils and the gradual reintroduction of the old term "nobility," dating back to the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the field of education, and more. Internal duties were abolished, and Ukrainian merchants were granted the right to free trade beyond the borders of the Russian Empire. The separation of the executive and judicial branches of autonomy was established. By the early 1760s, the idea of hereditary monarchy in the Razumovsky lineage was being promoted in the spirit of enlightened absolutism.

"Russian emissaries left the Hetmanate, freeing it from their paralyzing interference in internal political affairs. The liquidation of the Economic Commission, which had taken control of free military estates and encroached upon ranks, contributed to the strengthening of the political influence of the elite in the region, as now no one dared to infringe upon its leading political positions or incite the Cossacks and peasants against the order of the Hetmanate," wrote Ukrainian historian Oleksiy Strukevych. The Hetman sought to limit the Orthodox Church's interference in public life, especially since the clergy's upper echelons were largely Russified or had Russian roots. This meant they opposed even the slightest manifestations of the national liberation struggle of the Ukrainians.

Kyrylo Razumovsky provided significant support to the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and in 1760 developed a project for a secular Baturyn University (the capital of the Hetmanate returned from Hlukhiv to Baturyn, which had been literally destroyed by Peter I's soldiers in 1709 along with its residents and Cossack garrison). By the design of the St. Petersburg architect of English descent Charles Cameron, a beautiful palace in the classical style was built in Baturyn at the Hetman's request; the Italian Antonio Rinaldi laid out a luxurious park next to the palace. The palace housed one of the largest libraries in the empire, known throughout Europe.

Of course, these steps taken by Kyrylo Razumovsky met with resistance from the Russian bureaucracy, whose representatives constantly urged Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and the government to take more decisive actions to limit the autonomy of the Hetmanate. In 1754, the metropolitan government took control of the Hetmanate's budget; customs borders between the Hetmanate and Russia were abolished.

"So that forever the name of the Hetmans will disappear…"

The situation became even more complicated after Catherine II came to power. In a secret instruction from February 1764 to the newly appointed Prosecutor General of the Senate, Alexander Vyazemsky, she outlined her views on the institution of hetmanate in Ukraine and insisted on the liquidation of the peculiarities of the local governance in autonomous Left-Bank Ukraine: "…Little Russia, Livonia, and Finland are provinces governed by confirmed privileges, and it would be very indecorous to violate them by abolishing them all at once; however, to call them foreign and to treat them on such a basis is more than an error, and can be justly called foolishness. These provinces, including Smolensk, should be brought to the point of 'Russification' in the easiest way, so that they cease to look like wolves at the forest. This can be easily approached if reasonable people are chosen as leaders in those provinces; when there is no Hetman in Little Russia, efforts should be made so that forever the name of Hetmans disappears, not only should a person be appointed to that dignity…"

The Empress had no desire to rule over a state resembling a confederation like the Netherlands or Switzerland, where these autonomous entities would have any special rights or privileges. Russification in Ukraine also aligned with the policy of unifying the lands of the empire.

Ultimately, the Empress began an assault on the rights of the Hetmanate. The catalyst was a meeting in the summer of 1763 in Hlukhiv, where the elite decided to go all in but miscalculated: their representatives desired a return to the times when there were contractual relations between the royal power and the Cossack state. Moreover, the elite insisted on securing hereditary rights in the hetmanate for the Razumovsky family…

The Empress's patience wore thin, and in January 1764, she summoned the Hetman to St. Petersburg. "Just before, the Empress had familiarized herself with the so-called 'Note on the Disorders in Little Russia, which arise from the abuses of rights and customs confirmed in charters.' It was drafted by Catherine II's secretary, Grigory Teplov, who had lived in Ukraine for several years after his protégé was confirmed as Hetman. The 'Note' treated the Hetmanate as an organic part of the Russian state territory, forcibly separated, and later lawfully returned under the scepter of the Tsar. The critical edge of the 'Note' was directed primarily against the elite, whose abuses, in Teplov's opinion, thrived due to the imperfection of 'Little Russian laws,' especially the 'confused Polish Statute,' the provisions of which, 'established for republican governance, had become very uncharacteristic and inappropriate for the Little Russian people, who remained under autocratic rule' (Natalia Yakovenko. A Sketch of the History of Medieval and Early Modern Ukraine).

On November 21, 1764 (November 10 in the old style), the position of Hetman was officially abolished. The administration of the Ukrainian (Little Russian) provinces was transferred to the Little Russian Collegium, headed by "President" Pyotr Rumyantsev. He moved to the former Hetman capital, Hlukhiv, for a long