Not Catherine the Great: How the Cossacks Shaped the South of Ukraine and the Future Odesa

The history of Odesa has much deeper Ukrainian roots than is commonly believed and dates back to long before the official date of the city's foundation. Cossack figures, such as Semen Paliy and Petro Kalnyshevsky, played a key role in shaping the territory of the modern Odesa region.

Lieutenant Colonel Serhii Tsehotskyi spoke about the importance of the Cossack era for the city's history.

According to him, the last Cossack ataman Petro Kalnyshevsky 's connection with the southern lands of Ukraine is complex: military, economic, and cultural.

Also, the figure of Semen Paliy has a much deeper connection with the territory of modern Odesa than is usually imagined. Although the official date of the city's name is 1795, a century before that, Cossack units were active in the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region, laying the groundwork for the future development of the region. That is why today one of the highways and a street in Odesa are named after him.

Even before Khadzhybey, which later became Odesa, was annexed by the Russian Empire, Kalnyshevsky, as a Cossack leader, took an active part in the wars against the Ottoman Empire. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, Cossack detachments operated in the territory of the modern Odesa region: they raided Turkish fortifications, including Hadzhibey and Adzhider (now Ovidiopol), conducted reconnaissance, and weakened the enemy's positions.

These actions largely paved the way for the subsequent capture of the region. At the same time, Kalnyshevskyi proved himself not only as a military officer, but also as a strategist and politician. He understood the importance of access to the Black Sea for economic development and helped to form trade routes to the south. Under his leadership, the Cossacks actually mastered the steppe corridor to the coast, including these territories in the sphere of influence of the Zaporozhian Sich.

After the destruction of the Sich in 1775 and Kalnyshevsky 's arrest, his associates, Anton Holovaty and Zakhar Chepiga, formed the Black Sea Cossack Army. It was these units that took part in the storming of Khadjibey under the leadership of Jose de Ribas in 1789. Historians emphasize that without Kalnyshevsky's military school and organizational experience, this success could have been much more difficult.

Today, the figure of the Cossack Ataman is increasingly seen as a symbol of Odesa's Ukrainian roots. He has been canonized as St. Peter the Great, and in the churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine he is honored as the patron saint of soldiers and the Cossacks.

Nevertheless, the issue of the full perpetuation of his memory in Odesa remains controversial. In particular, in 2010, the initiative to erect a monument on Shevchenko Avenue was blocked by the city council. At the same time, as part of the current decolonization processes, the issue of restoring historical justice and rethinking the role of the Cossacks in the history of southern Ukraine is gaining relevance again.

Currently, Odesa already has a street named after Kalnyshevsky, which symbolizes the gradual return of the Ukrainian historical narrative to the urban space. Historians emphasize that it was the Cossacks who fought for these lands for decades, forming the basis for the development of the region long before imperial projects.

Also recently, Odesa talked about a figure who was ahead of his time and left behind one of the first European constitutions. The story of Pylyp Orlyk came to life through facts, little-known details, and human traits that are rarely mentioned in textbooks.

Анна Літман