Semen Paliy
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Semen Paliy depicted on Ukrainian Obolon beer label |
Semen Paliy (
Ukrainian: Семен Палiй) (circa
1645-
1710) was a
Ukrainian Cossack polkovnyk (colonel). Born in
Chernihiv region, Paliy settled in
Zaporizhia at a very young age and gained fame as a brave fighter and
Zaporozhian Cossack. In
1685 Paliy moved to the
right-bank Ukraine and joined the service of Polish king
Jan Sobieski. During his years in Polish service Paliy proved himself as an able Cossack commander in wars against
Crimean Tatars and
Ottoman Turks. Among other military deeds his men successfully raided Turkish fortress of
Ochakov.
In the
1690s Semen Paliy, however, became wary of Polish overlordship of Ukraine and sent several requests to
Moscow asking the Russians to help him free right-bank Ukraine from
Poland.In
1702 after new Polish king
Augustus II disbanded Cossack militia and signed peace with Ottoman Turkey, Paliy started an open rebellion against the crown. Together with a number of other Cossack polkovnyks Paliy and his rebels captured
Bila Tserkva,
Fastiv,
Nemirov and few other towns. Rebellious Cossacks massacred Polish
szlachta, Catholic priests and Jews in the area they controlled. On
October 17,
1702 Paliy and his Cossacks defeated Polish army near the town of
Berdychiv, gaining hold over most of
Podolia.Russian Tsar
Peter I and Ukrainian
hetman Ivan Mazepa who were allied with Poland against
Sweden at the time ordered Paliy to surrender Bila Tserkva, but he and his men refused.Mazepa convinced Russian Tsar Peter I to allow him to intervene, which he successfully did, taking over major portions of right-bank Ukraine, while Poland was weakened by invasion of Swedish king
Charles XII. Fearing the popularity of Paliy, Mazepa had him exiled to Siberia in
1705. In
1709 after Mazepa switched sides and joined the Swedes against Russia, Paliy together with other enemies of Mazepa was freed from the exile.During the
Battle of Poltava he fought against Mazepa and Charles XII in the ranks of loyal to Russia Cossacks.
After his death Paliy became a
folk hero of many Ukrainian songs and legends. A church in the city of Fastiv (still preserved) was named
Tserkva Paliya after him.
Semen Paliy is portrayed in later fictional literature describing his times, most notably in the Cossack series by
Volodymyr Malyk.
*
Brockhaus-Efron entry 
