Petro Konashevych Sahaidachny

Petro KonashevychSahaidachny was a Ukrainian political and civic leader, Hetman of Ukrainian Zaporozhian Cossacks from 16161622, a brilliant military leader both on land and sea. While being a Cossack Hetman, he transformed the Cossack Host from the erratic military formation into regular army. Under his leadership the cossacks, the Orthodox clergy and peasants had been begun to emerge as the united nation. His troops played a significant role in the battle of Khotyn against the Turks in 1621 and prince Wadysaws attempt to gain the Muscovy throne in 1618.

Petro Konashevych was born in PolishLithuanian Commonwealth in the village of Kulchytsy three miles away from Sambir in the Ruthenian Voivodeship into a Ukrainian Eastern Orthodox noble family. His fathers surname was Kononovych. He graduated the school at the Ostroh Academy in Volhynia. His school mate was Meletiy Smotrytskyi, author of the Hramatyka book, by which many generations of Ukrainians, Russians, and Belarusians learned the Slavic language grammatics. From an early age he learnt the weapon and horsemanship skills. He joined to the cossacks of Zaporozhian Host and took a part in cossaks military expeditions to Moldavia in 1600 and Livonia in 1601. His talent in a military strategy, courage and ability to show leadership under great adversity and hardship were acquired by cossacks leader Samiylo Kishka. Later, Sahaidachny moved to Lviv, and after to Kiev, where he became the assistant and the tutor in of the Kievan judge I. Aksak family.

Source: Wikipedia