Політичний шлях до Гадяцької угоди: основні аргументи і мотивації державних еліт Польщі (1657 рік – літо 1658 року)

The purpose of the article is to analyze the prerequisites of the Treaty of Hadiach for the then leaders of the Polish higher authorities. The contemporary realities and prospects of relations with the Zaporizhian Host in the Polish Crown and the goal pursued by the supreme leadership of this state during the preparation for its signing, as well as the perception of Ukraine in Poland, the ideas of Polish politicians about the contemporary realities and prospects of relations with the Cossack state, have been clarified. Different visions of the political elites of this state regarding the need to conclude agreements with the Ukrainian Cossacks were studied. Fundamental disagreements between the representatives of the ruling elite of the Polish Crown on the issue of agreements with the Zaporizhian Host, as well as the main inhibiting factors that stimulated or restrained the signing of the Hadiach Agreement in Poland, were clarified. The historical significance for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of practical efforts aimed at the implementation of the Treaty of Hadiach is characterized. The conclusions highlight the main foreign policy, domestic policy and other factors influencing the decisions of the ruling elites of Poland regarding the conclusion of the Agreement of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the Zaporizhian Host. It has been clarified that the initiatives of the King of Poland were especially important for accelerating the development of the Treaty of Hadiach project, which, however, for a certain time were inhibited or at least restrained by representatives of the pro-Moscow nobility. It is asserted that situational external challenges and threats to the state security of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth became the determining factors that prompted the Senate, Diet and other centers of important political decision-making to support the idea of concluding an agreement with the Zaporizhian Host. Under the influence of the king of Poland, the vast majority of senators of the Commonwealth supported the idea of restoring the alliance with the Zaporizhian Host and more or less clearly changed their pro-Moscow orientation and showed readiness for political rapprochement with the Ukrainian Cossacks – moreover, even those of them who, from 1648, took active participation in the war against the Zaporizhian Host. As a result of this, the first, preparatory stage for the conclusion of the Treaty of Hadiach, ensured the formation of favorable conditions for the approval by the Polish political elites of the previous points and the first version of the future agreement in Hadiach.

Poland, Ukraine, the Zaporizhian Host, political elites, the Treaty of Hadiach.