The Truce of Andrusovo in 1667 fundamentally partitioned Ukrainian territories, ending the Russo-Polish War and establishing a division that would shape Ukrainian history for centuries. This agreement formalized the Cossack Hetmanate's split, with Left Bank Ukraine (east of the Dnieper River) and Kyiv falling under Russian control, while Right Bank Ukraine remained under Polish sovereignty. This partition created two distinct Ukrainian experiences, despite shared cultural and linguistic heritage.
Left Bank Ukraine's union with Russia, initiated by the 1654 Pereyaslav Agreement, initially preserved substantial autonomy under the Hetmanate structure. Cossack self-governance, traditional legal systems, and local administration continued, though increasingly constrained by Moscow's expanding control. The Hetmanate maintained its military organization, enjoyed tax privileges, and preserved Orthodox ecclesiastical independence. However, Russia gradually eroded these freedoms, viewing Ukrainian autonomy as temporary accommodation rather than permanent arrangement. Russian officials increasingly interfered in hetman elections, garrison placement, and fiscal matters, beginning the long process of administrative integration.
Right Bank Ukraine under Poland faced different challenges. Polish magnates reasserted control following years of Cossack rebellion and warfare, reimposing serfdom and Catholic influence. The once-powerful Cossack presence diminished dramatically, with Polish nobility repopulating devastated lands and restricting Orthodox privileges. The contrasting experiences—gradual Russian absorption versus Polish re-colonization—created diverging social and political trajectories within Ukrainian territories.
Sloboda Ukraine, the "Free Ukraine" region northeast of Left Bank Ukraine, developed unique characteristics. This frontier territory, stretching toward Kharkiv and beyond, attracted settlers fleeing both Polish oppression and Russian obligations. Moscow encouraged colonization to buffer against Tatar raids, offering tax exemptions and self-governance to Cossack communities establishing fortified settlements. Sloboda Ukraine developed distinct military-administrative structures, combining Cossack traditions with Russian frontier practices, creating a hybrid society neither fully autonomous like the early Hetmanate nor directly administered like Russian provinces.
The period 1650-1690 witnessed intense rivalry among Poland, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia for dominance over the Black Sea steppes and Ukrainian lands. The Ottoman Empire, controlling Crimean Khanate vassals, launched devastating slave raids northward, depopulating frontier regions and threatening all three powers. Poland struggled to maintain Right Bank Ukraine against both Ottoman pressure and renewed Cossack uprisings. Russia, expanding southward, confronted Ottoman power directly, beginning the long Russo-Turkish wars that would dominate eighteenth-century geopolitics.
This tripartite competition rendered Ukraine a perpetual battleground. The 1672 Ottoman conquest of Podolia demonstrated Turkish strength, while subsequent wars repeatedly devastated Ukrainian territories. By 1690, the partition remained unstable, with Ukrainian lands fragmented among competing empires, none willing to recognize Ukrainian aspirations for unified self-governance, establishing patterns of foreign domination that would persist for centuries.
