Ivan Barabash is the claimant to the Cossack Hetmanate.
He is based on a real person who was a Military Yesaul who lived in the late 1600's and headed the Cossack diplomatic mission to the Polish Royal Court. He opposed Bogdan Hmelnitski's support for the Polish king Władysław's (before Jan Kasimir) war against the Crimean Khanate.
Ivan Barabash plays a part in the Cossack main storyline quest The Secret of the Black Mace, where the player has to rebel against Bogdan Hmelnitski and then fight against the Muscovite Tsardom. It is also possible to be loyal to Hmelnitski and fight against the Polish Commonwealth instead.
Dialogue[]
My name is Ivan Barabash. Aye, the Hetman whom all believe long dead.
A Cossack by blood, I am. I was the yesaul of the regiment, then a Colonel, then acting Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host. In all ages I tried to live in peace with the Polish gentry... Yet the field secretary, Bogdan Hmelnitski, stirred up the Zaporozhians of the Sich and began a rebellion. The serving Cossacks under my leadership helped the crown forces to quell the rebels, but before the Battle of Yellow Waters, Hmelnitski managed to draw all the chiefs to his side.
The night before the battle, they entered the hetman's tent, but I was warned beforehand, and escaped with my life. They thought I was dead, once they saw a body cut to pieces. But it was only the body of my servant. You know what I say? Hmelnitski does not have the future of our people in mind, he is moved by vainglory and revenge. He spells the end Ukraine -- of this I have no doubt.
Once I become hetman once more, I can settle matters with the Polish Commonwealth, and Ukraine shall prosper anew among brotherly nations!
Reporting back to Hetman Bogdan Hmelnitski[]
Ivan Barabash has long since sold out to the damned Poles. Became the field marshal and levied unbearable taxes on the Cossacks to curry favor with the Polish king -- and then helped spread the Catholic faith. That traitor shall lead Ukraine right back into Polish serfdom.
The Pereyaslav Council ordered all Cossacks to swear homage to the Tsar of Moscow. Only under the wing of an Orthodox nation would our people be truly free. And believe me, the future of our land lies not in a union with Catholic Poland. Only a hetman who lost his mind would make war against Russia...
Trivia[]
- His full name is Ivan Dmitriyevich Barabash (Russian: Иван Дмитриевич Барабаш, Ukrainian: Іван Барабаш, Polish: Iwan Barabasz).
- The historical Ivan Barabash, the Cherkassy colonel of the Zaporozhian Host, was executed in 1648 after the Battle of Zhovti Vody for supporting the Polish rulers.
- His relative, Yakiv Barabash, became the Host Ataman of the Zaporozhian Sich in 1657, and together with Martin Pushkar opposed the reign of Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky. The claimants' rebellion, however, was without success and in 1658 Barabash was executed at Vyhovsky's court.
- In the novel With Fire and Sword, Hmelnitski invites Barabash to a dinner, and during this visit Hmelnitski sends agents to steal documents from Barabash's home.