Ivan Bohun
Ukrainian Cossack leader (died 1664)
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Ivan Bohun (Ruthenian: Іванъ Богун;[1] Ukrainian: Іван Богун; died 1664) was a Zaporozhian Cossack colonel. A close associate and friend of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, he opposed both the pacts with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Treaty of Hadiach of 1658) and with the Tsardom of Russia (Pereiaslav Agreement of 1654).
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Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1640–1648) 
Zaporozhian Host (1648–1649) 
Cossack Hetmanate (1649–1664)Ivan Bohun | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Yan Madeyevskyi in 1884 | |
| Born | Around 1618 |
| Died | 17 February 1664 |
| Allegiance | Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1640–1648) Zaporozhian Host (1648–1649) Cossack Hetmanate (1649–1664) |
| Service years | 1640–1664 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands | Mohyliv Regiment Kalnyk Regiment Pavoloch Regiment |
| Conflicts | |
| Children | Tymofiy Bohun Hryhoriy Bohun |
Biography
Bohun was born into a Cossack-Ruthenian noble family.[citation needed] In 1637, he captured the Azov Fortress in a joint campaign with Don Cossacks and later took part in the subsequent Azov sitting.[2] He took part in the Khmelnytsky Uprising against Polish rule in Ukraine, leading Cossack troops in Bratslav Voivodeship.[3] In June 1651 he was elected colonel of Vinnytsia Regiment and took part in the Battle of Berestechko against Polish troops led by King John II Casimir Vasa, taking command over Cossack forces in the absence of hetman Khmelnytsky.[3]
Surviving the defeat at Berestechko, he regathered his forces and in June 1652 took part in the battle of Batih, which ended in Cossack victory over the forces of Marcin Kalinowski and future hetman Stefan Czarniecki, with the former dying as a result. The Polish defeat was complete and allowed the Cossack forces to start a successful offensive and effectively gain control over large parts of the Ukrainian lands. Until 1657 Ivan Bohun also led his forces in minor skirmishes against Polish forces, notably at Bratslav and Uman. He also fought against the formerly allied Crimean Tatars who had switched sides in the effect of the Treaty of Zboriv of 1649, joining the Commonwealth side.
Initially Bohun opposed the Pereiaslav Agreement of 1654. After the Battle of Konotop, he led an armed uprising against his former ally Ivan Vyhovsky near Konotop and defeated his army in the autumn of 1659. Opposed to both Polish and Muscovite rule, Bohun condemned the Pereyaslav Articles of Yuri Khmelnytsky. After being captured by the Poles, in 1662 Bohun was imprisoned at Marienburg Fortress.[3] In 1663 he was offered freedom in exchange for taking part in a new military campaign led by Right-bank hetman Pavlo Teteria and allied Polish forces against the Tsardom of Russia. During the retreat after the disastrous Siege of Hlukhiv, in February 1664 Bohun was executed by a firing squad near Novhorod-Siverskyi after being accused of handing over important military information to the besieged Russian garrison. It is suspected that Teteria had a role in his execution.[3]
Legacy
Ivan Bohun became a popular Ukrainian folk hero, immortalized by Henryk Sienkiewicz in the novel With Fire and Sword, where the character Jurko Bohun was loosely based on him. In the film based on the novel, directed by Jerzy Hoffman, Bohun was played by Aleksandr Domogarov.
Ivan Bohun is also well described in Bohun, a modern, historical novel about Polish-Cossack wars, written by Jacek Komuda.
