Counter-Reformation (Catholic Reformation) in Europe Uniate Church began a persecution of Orthodox believers who would not convert, and perhaps thousands fled to the Sech Commonwealth of the Cossacks In 1645, Ladislas IV sought to involve the Cossacks, who by now were within the boundaries of Polish power, in war against the Ottoman Empire When his plans were revealed, the Cossacks feared becoming the scapegoats for the two countries In addition to the continued persecution of the Orthodox Church, the exposure of Ladislas’s secret treaty led the Cossacks under Bohdan Khmelnitsky to rise up against Poland in 1648, the very year that the Treaty of Westphalia sought to bring peace to Europe by ending the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48) Khemelnitski formed an alliance with the Tartars and the Zaporojie Cossacks and led an invasion of Poland Polish serfs rose up when Khmelnitski approached For six years, the rebellion ravaged Poland and the Ukraine Thousands of Poles and Jews were massacred in some of the most savage butchery ever seen in Europe Finally in 1654, seeing that the destruction of the Polish Kingdom was beyond his means, Khmelnitski took the irrevocable step of making an alliance with Czar Alexei, the second of the Romanov dynasty Tragically for the Cossacks’ love of freedom, Khmelnitski had exchanged one master for another, the Polish king for a Russian czar Under the Romanovs, the 17th century saw a tightening of the control of Russia over the Cossacks The Russians saw the Cossacks as excellent troops to be used against the Ottoman Turkish Empire The Cossacks carried out fierce raids against the Tartars and in 1663, Turkish sultan Mohammed IV sent a large army against the Zaporojie Cossacks Although the Zaporozhians were asleep after a drinking bout, one aroused himself in time to see the Turks approaching Incredibly, the Cossacks were able to fend off their attackers and force them to retreat Eventually, the tension between Russian rule and the Cossacks’ desire for freedom led to the rebellion of Stephan (Stenka) Razin in the last years of Czar Alexei’s reign Razin turned against the Russians in 1670, beginning what became a full-fledged Cossack revolt Although many Cossacks joined him, others allied themselves with the Russians, whose disciplined troops soon crushed Razin’s uprising at Simbirsk After undergoing torture in Moscow, Razin was beheaded in 1671 Ever after, he became a symbol of Russian resistance to tyranny The son of Czar Alexei, Peter I, or Peter the Great, recognized the military potential of the Cossacks, despite their rebelliousness In 1696, Peter seized the Black Sea port of Azov from the Turks, thanks to his 91 Cossack allies The greatest test of Peter’s reign came in the Great Northern War against King Charles XII of Sweden (1700–21) Ivan Mazeppa was the leading Cossack hetman at the time, and he reestablished the Cossacks as an important factor in eastern European affairs, balancing the ambitions of Poland and Russia When Peter decisively defeated Charles at Poltava in July, Mazeppa was forced to flee Mazeppa died of natural causes in September 1709, before Peter could catch him After Mazeppa, the Cossacks became a part of the Russian Army, even raiding Berlin in the army of Czarina Elizabeth during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63) against Frederick II of Prussia However, the Cossacks’ love of liberty would lead to one more rebellion before the close of the 18th century When Elizabeth died in 1762, her son Peter III was overthrown and killed in a palace coup by his wife, Catherine Catherine, who would be known to history as Catherine the Great, was faced in September 1773 with the rebellion of the Don Cossack Emelian Pugachev To the serfs of Russia, little better than slaves, Pugachev seemed to be their champion, as he fought against the oppressing landlords In March of 1774, Pugachev was defeated by Catherine’s troops at Orenburg; as was Razin, he was executed by beheading The rebellion of Pugachev was the last real defiance against the loss of the Cossacks’ liberty It is one of the great ironies of history that in later years, the Cossacks would become some of the most ruthless defenders of the Russian despotism against which they once had fought so bravely See also Mughal Empire Further reading: Erickson, Carolly Great Catherine: The Life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia New York: St Martin’s, 1994; Grant, R G Battle: A Visual Journey through 5,000 Years of Combat London: Dorling, Kindersley, 2005; History of Cossacks, Chereshneff, Colonel W.V., www.armymuseum.ru/kaz1_e.html (cited February 2006); Massie, Robert K Peter the Great: His Life and World New York: Ballantine Books, 1981; Ure, John The Cossacks: An Illustrated History New York: Overlook Press, 2002 John Murphy Counter-Reformation (Catholic Reformation) in Europe Beginning in the late 15th century, calls for reform of the Catholic Church “in head and members”—that is,