THE MAIN TRENDS OF THE DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITY OF HETMANYCH GRYGOR ORLYK IN THE FRAMEWORK OF INTEGRATION OF THE COSSACK FACTOR TO FOREIGN POLICY OF THE KINGDOM OF FRANCE IN 1729–1759

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the Cossack factor in diplomatic activity of the son of exile hetman of Ukraine Pylyp Orlyk – hetmanych Grygor, in the period from 1729 till 1759 – the timespan of his military, political and diplomatic service in French Kingdom. The basic sources for this article are collected by the author in the materials of Diplomatic archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, as well as in the holdings of the State Library in Berlin and in private archive of Omeljan Pritsak, located in the archive collection of the National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”. All these sources have not yet been used in complex and have not become a basis of any scientific research in Ukrainian science on the history of international relations of the eighteenth century. The author is suggesting the periodization of the political activity of hetmanych Grygor Orlyk, and is trying to make a detailed depiction of the general scheme of the integration of the Cossack factor in political life of France in the timeline of Louis XV. The first stage of the three defined by the author lasted from 1730 till 1739. At this initial stage of his political activity the young officer was trying to help his father to activate the Cossack question in Poland, Turkey, Crimea and Sweden and to favour the creation of the anti-Russian coalition of European states, headed by France. The timespan of the second stage includes 1742 to 1749. Here the Cossack hetmanych and simultaneously the general of French army Grygor Orlyk created several very important memorandums which influenced the decision of Versailles to start the policy of constructive implementation of the Cossack factor in relations with the countries of Eastern Europe. The third and final stage of the political and diplomatic activity of hetmanych lasted from 1753 till 1756. At this stage, the efforts of Grygor Orlyk were aimed to liberate the Cossacks from the Russian oppression and to support his companions-in-arms F. Myrovich and F. Nachymovski to adjust military and political cooperation of France with Crimea and Turkey. G. Orlyk’s main ideas about Ukrainian question, Ukrainian-Polish and Ukrainian-Russian relations were directed in order to integrate the Cossack question into the whole structure of French eastern foreign policy on Swedish, Polish, Turkish, Crimean and Russian directions.