1649. The Khmelnytsky Uprising has changed everything. The Polish lords are gone — at least here, on the Pobereże. Aleksander Koniecpolski, the nominal owner, is somewhere far away. And at the stone ford across the Shumylivka stands a Cossack fortress, commanded by sotnyk (captain of a hundred) Mykhailo Zelenskyi.

The 1649 Register of the Zaporozhian Host

The 1649 Register of the Zaporozhian Host — the census of all Cossacks of the Hetmanate, taken after the Peace of Zboriv. The Bracław regiment was under the command of the legendary Danylo Nechai (killed in 1651 at Krasne). Within the regiment was the Miastkivka sotnia: 61 Cossacks in Miastkivka itself (253 together with the subordinate villages) — the largest sotnia in the region.

1649 Register of the Zaporozhian Host (p. 253) «СОТНЯ МІСТКОВСКАЯ» — Михаило Зеленскии сотник. First names: Стась Крамар, Каленикъ Стрълецъ, Жаданъ Зъжченко...

1649 Register (ed. Todiichuk et al., 1995), p. 253

No lords

To understand the 1649 register, one must understand what happened a year earlier. Fate's irony: the uprising that destroyed the Koniecpolskis' power on the Pobereże was provoked by their own family. Stanisław Koniecpolski — the founder of Miastkivka — had persecuted Bohdan Khmelnytsky for years, considering him dangerous. Before his death (1646) he ordered his son Aleksander «to find some accusation and rid the world of him». Aleksander obeyed: his deputy starosta (district governor) Daniel Czapliński seized Khmelnytsky's homestead of Subotiv, beat his son and dishonoured his wife. Khmelnytsky went to Warsaw to seek justice, but instead of a trial he was arrested. Then he spoke the words that became prophetic: «Until I have drawn my sabre — I can do nothing». Spring 1648 — the beginning of the uprising.

After the victories at Zhovti Vody and Korsuń (May 1648) the Cossack-Tatar army rolled westward. The Bracław region was one of the first territories where the Polish szlachta was expelled or killed. Estates were burned, stewards fled, administration vanished. By the end of 1648 no functioning Polish authority remained on the Pobereże.

The Peace of Zboriv (August 1649) formally allowed the szlachta to return to the Bracław and Kyiv regions. But in practice — no one returned. The territory was controlled by Cossack colonels and sotnyks. Magnates such as Aleksander Koniecpolski retained a titular right to their estates, but held no real power.

This is exactly what the register shows: not a single Polish lord. Neither Koniecpolski, nor his steward, nor a starosta, nor even a leaseholder. Aleksander Koniecpolski (1620–1659), voivode's son of Sandomierz, is somewhere in Poland — far from his «estates». In practice Miastkivka was run by the Cossack community led by sotnyk Zelenskyi. Its own court, its own administration, its own army.

This is not a village and not an estate — it is an autonomous military unit on the border of three states: the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (which barely exists here), the Hetmanate, and the Ottoman Empire (beyond the Dniester — Moldavia, a vassal of the sultan).

A border fortress

Why here — at the stone ford? The privilege of 1637 answers directly: «for the defence of the Kingdom upon the Kuczmański Trail».

Miastkivka stands at the junction of two routes, where the Kuczmański Trail crosses the Shumylivka. The stone ford is not just a crossing for merchants. It is a place where an army can cross swiftly from one bank to the other. Two slobodas (tax-exempt settlements) on both sides — these are not two villages, but two bridgeheads controlling the ford.

By 1654 (Paul of Aleppo) a «крѣпость» (fortress) will already stand here with wooden walls, ditches, two churches and the garrison of a colonel, who «watches the border of the Lakhs, of Moldavia and the land of the Tatars».

But that is the next chapter. In 1649 the fortress probably already exists, for 253 Cossacks require fortifications.

Structure of the sotnia

The register lists the Cossacks by settlement. The structure of the Miastkivka sotnia is unusual:

The geography is strange. The settlements are scattered over more than 100 km, whereas a typical Cossack sotnia measured 15–30 km across. Kankiv and Polkovtsi lie tens of kilometres from Miastkivka and closer to other sotnias of the Bracław regiment.

Another puzzle is the 70 Cossacks «without subdivision», recorded at the end of the sotnia with no settlement indicated. This is the largest group after Miastkivka itself. Analysis of surnames suggests they are not Miastkivka residents: not one of them is a Holubetskyi (whereas there are five in Miastkivka), not one Kosharynskyi (three in Miastkivka), not one Kuliavchenko. They may be Cossacks «in the field» — without a permanent base, assigned to the sotnia as the garrison of a border fortress.

The theory proposed here: Cossacks from distant villages were assigned to Miastkivka as to a frontier garrison. The sotnia was formed not by geographical proximity, but by military need: whoever served in this fortress was enrolled in this sotnia, even if his home village lay 60 km away. Stina, Shpykiv, Kankiv were rear settlements that supplied Cossacks for service on the front line. But this is only a theory — there is no direct evidence.

What the surnames tell us

The 1649 register is not merely a list of names. 17th-century Cossack surnames often point to a person's trade, occupation or origin. Read the 60 names of Miastkivka residents carefully, and a portrait of the settlement emerges — its economy, the make-up of its population, its migration links.

Crafts and trade

At least 6 craftsmen out of 60 — a tenth of the roll. A merchant, two furriers, a weaver, a shoemaker — this is not a garrison, but a town with a market economy. For comparison: Stina (11 Cossacks) and Shpykivka (12) show not a single craftsman's surname. Those are villages. Miastkivka is a town.

Family clusters

Among the 60 Cossacks of Miastkivka there are at least 7 family pairs and groups:

18 of 60 — almost a third — arrived with their families, not alone. The five Holubetskyis are the largest clan in the sotnia; most likely a father with his sons, or brothers. The three Kosharynskyis are also a family. For a temporary military camp this is untypical. People came to Miastkivka with their families, to stay — the mark of a rooted settlement, where there is already something to defend.

Where they came from

Geographical surnames are the most valuable: they show whence people migrated to Miastkivka.

Miastkivka drew people from several sources: from other Koniecpolski estates (Kytaihorod), from neighboring Holubeche in the same cluster of settlements (the Holubetskyis, ~15 km away), from beyond the Dniester (the Voloshyns, Moldavia), and even from the steppe (Murzak — of Turkic origin). A border town at the crossing of trade routes acted as a magnet: the sloboda freed newcomers from taxes, the market provided earnings, the fortress gave safety.

An even more vivid picture appears in Rakhnivka (42 Cossacks): enrolled there are Turchyn (Mykyta) — a Turk or Turkic, Lytvyn (Ihnat) — a Belarusian, Voloshyn (Oleksa) — a Moldavian. And among the 70 Cossacks «without subdivision» are Braslavets (from Bracław, the capital of the voivodeship), Savranets (from Savran, ~100 km away), and the Moldavian names Krechun, Radul, Dumytrenko. The Pobereże of 1649 was a melting pot in which Ukrainians, Moldavians, Belarusians and Turkic peoples lived side by side.

253 Cossacks are only the men enrolled in the Zaporozhian Host. With their families, women, children and non-Cossack population (townsfolk, craftsmen, Jews), Miastkivka in 1649 could have held over a thousand inhabitants.

For a settlement roughly 12–15 years old, this is striking growth, explained by the sloboda (tax exemption) and its strategic position at the crossing of trade routes.

To understand this growth, one must think like a 17th-century chumak (salt-trader) or merchant. The Kuczmański Trail ran along a watershed — a narrow ridge between river basins.

This was no accident: the rivers of the Pobereże flow in deep, steep-sided valleys, and a wagon caravan simply could not cross them just anywhere. A route without rivers was the only logical way for freight transport.

But here a dilemma arises. All the settlements stood by the water — on rivers, at springs. The caravan travelled along the dry watershed, and to spend the night in a town it had to descend into the valley, cross the river — and then climb back up to the road. Not every crossing allowed this: a ferry or bridge was needed, and young slobodas had neither.

Kamionobrod solved this problem perfectly. A natural stone ford across the Shumylivka — a crossing without ferry or bridge. A settlement on both banks — drive in from either side. A market on Sundays (by the 1637 privilege) — restock supplies. And most important: the descent from the watershed and the climb back added no extra kilometres to the route — the trail ran through this point anyway. For a caravan travelling from Bar to Soroca or from Jampol to Bracław, Miastkivka was not merely a stop but the only convenient stop for tens of kilometres.

Full register of the Miastkivka sotnia (253 names) ▸

Miastkivka (seat of the sotnia) — 61

№	Name	Note
	Михаило Зеленскии	sotnyk
1	Стась Крамар
2	Каленикъ Стрълец
3	Жаданъ Зъжченко
4	Андрус Бокотыренко
5	Гарасим Убииконенъко
6	Сонуфрви Убииконенъко
7	Дахно Чернювъский
8	Педоръ Голенъко
9	Гринецъ Бородикъ
10	Иванъ Микулченъко
11	Костя Ткачъ
12	Галь Китаигородский
13	Семенъ Залювский
14	Гринецъ Залювский
15	Яков Копъевъскии
16	Дмитро Балинец
17	Семенъ Зубко
18	Иванъ Борисенко
19	Панъко Борисенко
20	Леско Кирносовъский
21	Марко Волошинъ
22	Супрунъ Политанский
23	Гавришенко Пилиновъский
24	Гавришъ Кошаринский
25	Нестеръ Кошаринскии
26	Павло Кошаринский
27	Иепа Нестеренко
28	Степанъ Кулявъченко
29	Ярема Кулявченъко
30	Хар Дъдовъ
31	Хар Педорченъко
32	Иванъ Поляник
33	Педор Близнюкъ
34	Прокопъ Гарасименко
35	Иванъ Кушнъръ
36	Мацко Кушнеренко
37	Марко Вичникъ
38	Сониско Вияник
39	Oгдор Вияникъ
40	Илляшъ Гуменский
41	Маликъ Мистковский	surname from the town's name
42	Васил Голубецкии
43	Петро Голубецкии
44	Юрко Голубецкии
45	Мороз Голубецкии
46	АндрЪй Голубецкии
47	Биль Китаигородский
48	Павло Лесенъко
49	Солексъи Шовернега
50	Юрко Даренко
51	Oедор Даренко
52	Oгдор Ворвол
53	Петро Швецъ
54	Улашин Барчания
55	Павло Цивский
56	Васил Мурзакъ
57	Мигал Заценко
58	Oгдор Лотвинелко
59	Иванашко Волошинъ
60	Васил Собцуцкии

Polkovtsi (Popkivtsi) — 20

№	Name
1	Яковъ Климченко
2	Тыринъ Климченко
3	Васил Карпенко
4	Балка Кудювъскии
5	Игнат Ласковъский
6	Лукян Милашенко
7	Oедор Илченко
8	Уласъ Матковский
9	Марко Кудювъскии
10	Семенъ Тороканъ
11	Иванъ Панютенко
12	Васил Солексъенко
13	Степанъ Бостромыенко
14	Стецъ Лазаренъко
15	Каско Солексъенъко
16	Степанъ Бужко
17	Степанъ Карпенъко
18	Васил Пацюнка
19	Мигал Пацюнъка
20	Яков Бушинский

Shpykivka — 12

№	Name
1	Сомелян Тесленко
2	Педоръ Стрълникъ
3	Гринец Тесленъко
4	Семенъ Савецкии
5	Михаило Семенъко
6	Педор Валигора
7	Угринъ Малененко
8	Дмитро Кабъка
9	Иванъ Педоренко
10	Юсипъ Шепътченъко
11	Васил Кованъченъко
12	Oилипъ Рахновский

Rakhnivka — 42

№	Name
1	Солекса Волошинъ
2	Солексъи Сиротка
3	Семенъ Дубоносъ
4	Васил Крупъка
5	Томашъ Улашиненко
6	Назарко Пикуличенко
7	Иванъ Юричъ
8	Oедор Притула
9	Марочко Вовчаръ
10	Максим Грабина
11	Гавришъ Следювъскии
12	Васил Шинкгиръаи
13	Гринецъ Радченъко
14	Анъдрушко Бобленко
15	Карпъ Евтушенко
16	Микита Турчинъ
17	Игнат Литвинъ
18	Степанъ Сергиенъко
19	Андрус Петренко
20	ЕремЪи Борешин зят
21	Педоръ Великий
22	Максим Лавриненко
23	Марко Козаръ
24	Павел Шостакъ
25	АнъдрЪи Лесняченко
26	Курило Лесняченко
27	Васил Шмат
28	Данило Солеиникъ
29	Юрко Сименъко
30	Степанъ Глусченко
31	Петро Емецъ
32	Романъ Савъченко
33	Васил Юрченъко
34	Грицко Сонисченъко
35	Семенъ Сименъко
36	ГордЪи Лесняченко
37	Кунашъ Глусченко
38	Штепа Зъънъченъко
39	АнъдрЪи Губъченко
40	Анъдрус Гринъченко
41	СергЪи Перетяченко
42	Васил Лукашенко

Stina — 11

№	Name
1	Васил Бараников зят
2	Романъ Чемерисъ
3	Иванецъ Качъмаевъский
4	Иванъ Шкуратенко
5	Солекса Василюв зят
6	Иванъ Шаповаленъко
7	Мартиян Баркусъ
8	Думитрашъко
9	Васил Нестеренко
10	Иванъ Убииконь
11	Григор Лукашенко

Kankiv (Kunka) — 37

№	Name
1	Степанъ Куцаненко
2	Степанъ Яловый
3	Степанъ Пискливец
4	Дмитро Старко
5	Иванъ Бурдюгъ
6	Иванъ Кутица
7	Тимко Пискливъченко
8	Oеско Колесник
9	Васил Курмазъ
10	Михаило Коцанъ
11	Гринь Микитенъко
12	Юрко Гуденъко
13	Хроля Волошинъ
14	Дацко Резникъ
15	Кглыкга Скоморот
16	Васко Товъпыченко
17	Игнат Масло
18	Лукашъ Химчичъ
19	Петро Шевъченко
20	Роиша Цикаленко
21	Панас Касчин зят
22	Семенъ Иванцювъ сын
23	Грицко Сливъка
24	Тимъко Улизаенко
25	Тимко Семаенъко
26	Мацъ Кушка
27	МатЪи Маленичъ
28	Юсь Шаповаленко
29	Иванъ Дюгтяренко
30	Мис Микитенъко
31	Иванъ Вяликъ
32	Степанъ Васюченко
33	Иванъ Кгожуна
34	Григор Состапенъко
35	Сохръмъ Кардашъ
36	Иванъ Мелникъ
37	Васил Костиненко

Without subdivision — 70

№	Name
1	Дугушъ Думитренко
2	Яковъ Какало
3	Савъка Рудченъко
4	ЯремЪи
5	Михаило Кгордигеский
6	Васиянъ Старыш
7	Кгора Савранецъ
8	Каско
9	Народинъ
10	Иванъ Пустовоить
11	Конъдрат Голованъ
12	Гринецъ Глъбченъко
13	Иванъ Кичберъ
14	Кречунъ Бордусъ
15	Бъланъ Кобенъко
16	ГоръдЪи Череватый
17	Oедорашко Кашка
18	АртемЪи Кгерманенко
19	Костикъ Кабакъ
20	Куз Мелникъ
21	МатЪи Кудринскии
22	Михаило Калиненко
23	Анъдрушко Хвиленко
24	Солексъи Кульченко
25	Тимъко Детиненко
26	Иванъ Пилипенъко
27	Петро Цапъковъ шурин
28	Иванъ Бутченъко
29	Солексъи Рабъченко
30	Семко Ратушный
31	Васил Пасченъко
32	Васил Попенъко
33	Oгдор Заец
34	Васил
35	Гавришко
36	Дема Карисченко
37	Манко Сомеляненко
38	Лукянъ Кривоносенко
39	Скубъ Служка
40	Радул Маръченко
41	Михаило Довбенченъко
42	Гринь Дрища
43	Яковъ Грабъченко
44	Стась Зосим
45	Петро Гриценко
46	Григоръ Яковъцовъ зят
47	Игнат Солодчанъко
48	Иванъ Продченъко
49	Панасъ Стрълецъ
50	Гринецъ Браславецъ
51	Петро Пташниченко
52	Васко Ткаченко
53	Сема Куриленко
54	Сема Хоменъко
55	Васил Мултяненко
56	Васил Маценко
57	Степанъ Андрусченко
58	Иванъ Каръпенко
59	Васил Пунякъ
60	Гринецъ Руц
61	Семенъ Oединич
62	Триба
63	Лесь Ивасченко
64	Савъка Вовъчар
65	Степанъ Oиленко
66	Васил Голосченко
67	Oалендышъ
68	Вандя
69	Гринь Кучурявый
70	Педор Гармачченъко

1649 Register of the Zaporozhian Host (ed. Todiichuk et al., 1995), pp. 253–257

A town at the ford

Cossack Miastkivka is neither a village nor an estate. It is a fortified border town at the stone ford across the Shumylivka. The seat of a sotnia (253 Cossacks), a junction of two routes, a Sunday market, craftsmen and merchants, two slobodas on each bank, a fortress to control the Kuczmański Trail. No lords — the Cossack community governs itself.

For now all that is known about Miastkivka comes from registers and maps: lists of names, a count of hearths, a point on a map. No description of how this town looked. But in January 1654 a Muscovite stolnik (pantler) will set down in his roll, opposite Miastkivka, a single word — «пуста» («deserted»). And five months later a Syrian deacon will see it with his own eyes and describe the walls, the ditches, the churches, and the colonel who «watches the border of the Lakhs, of Moldavia and the land of the Tatars». What happened between those two entries — the first eyewitness testimony about this town.