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• 1 2018-03-06T06:36:15-05:00 A letter from Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin to Feodor III in regards to the Treaty of Andrusovo 1 plain 2018-03-06T08:55:36-05:00 Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin negotiated peace with the Polish Empire at the end of Russo-Polish war of 1654-1667. In the Treaty of Andrusovo, Russia was ceded Ukrainian territory west of the Dnieper River, along with the city of Kiev. The Treaty was a great diplomatic victory for the Russian Empire, and upon returning to Russia Ordin-Nashchokin was granted Boyar status, making him the first person in Russia to achieve the rank based on personal achievement. The following letter is one between Ordin-Nashchokin and Tsar Feodor III as the Treaty is being signed. It details the advantages the Russian Empire gained from the Treaty and the challenges Russia would face in this new part of the Empire. 
  
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  January 30, 1667
  News from the front: the Polish Empire has finally succumbed to our demands and the thirteen year conflict will come to an end! With the end comes the most advantageous circumstance for the empire. All lands East of the Dnieper will be ceded to the Russian Empire, as well as the city of Kiev on the West Dnieper. The Hetman of Ukraine will be appointed to ensure an ally at the head of the state.
                           
  Kiev is an essential piece of the treaty. The city will serve well in building a trade empire, and for centuries the city has served as the meeting place between the Ottoman Empire and Scandinavia. Great opportunities could arise out of this advantageous position. Further, with the ceding of Kiev, the heart of Orthodoxy is now enclosed in the Russian Empire. No longer
   
  One note on the culture of the city: The city’s ruling elite is dominated by Poles, and all forms of culture, including the education system and literary culture, is dominated by the Polish language. Little Russian is spoken almost only by the peasantry. The century of Polish rule has had a significant effect on the culture of the city. But, as the Polish did a century ago, Kiev and the left bank Ukraine can be made Russian.
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  Indeed, the Polish influence on the city of Kiev would soon give way to Russian culture, especially as measures taken by Russian Tsars of the 18th century worked to suppress the Ukrainian language and install Russian as the educational and administrative languages of the city. 
  
  Lands ceded to the Russian Empire as a
  result of the Treaty of Andrusovo