Hordiienko studied at the
Kyiv-Mohyla Collegium and later joined the
Cossack army. He was a Cossack of the Platnyriv
kurin of the
Zaporozhian Sich. Twelve times he was elected
Kish otaman of Zaporozhian Sich. He held this position in 1702, from December 1703 to May 27, 1706, and from December 1707 to April 1709. In 1710–1728, he was the Kish otaman of Kamianka and Oleshky Sich. Kost Hordiienko openly spoke out against the
Russian oppression, openly defended the rights and freedoms of the Cossack army before
Peter I, thus earning the trust and respect of the few Ukrainian Cossacks, who were not loyal to Russia In 1702 Hordiienko sent a letter to the Russian Tsar Peter I, in which he wrote about the ownership of lands in
Samara to the Ukrainian Cossacks, especially after the construction of the Kamianyi deluge fortress near
Chortomlyk Sich. The refusal to swear allegiance to Peter I and the attempt together with the
Crimean Khan Devlet II Giray to act against Moscow were motivated by the same. For this purpose, an embassy headed by Steblevskyi was sent to the Crimean city of
Bakhchysarai. However, the
Ottoman grand vizier Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha did not approve of these plans, contributing to the overthrow of the Khan from the throne. Peter I sent his henchmen to
Ukraine to persuade the Cossacks to depose Hordiienko, and in 1703 was elected instead. Despite his personal dislike of
Hetman Ivan Mazepa, in 1709 he supported him and joined his side together with the Cossacks. During the meeting with the Swedish King
Charles XII, Hordiienko delivered a speech in Latin. He consistently advocated for the Swedish-Ukrainian union and against the attack of the Russians on the Ukrainian lands. After the death of Ivan Mazepa in the city of
Bendery, he participated in the drafting of the
Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk. Kost's son, Vasyl Hordiienko, was captured by the Russians after the
Sacking of Baturyn and died shortly after his release. After the
Battle of Poltava, the Russians intended to arrest him again, but, not being able to do so, they dug up and beheaded the corpse, after which it was hanged on a tree. In 1711, Kost Hordiienko joined
Pylyp Orlyk in a
massive military campaign to liberate Ukraine from Muscovite occupation. Supported by a large force from the
Crimean Khanate led by Khan
Devlet II Giray, the coalition successfully rallied local Cossack regiments on the Right Bank who viewed Orlyk as the legitimate defender of their
Volnosti and the true Hetman. This maneuver was part of the broader
Pruth River Campaign, during which the combined Ottoman, Tatar, and Cossack forces completely encircled
Peter I and his entire army. While the liberation of the Right Bank ultimately stalled due to the withdrawal of Tatar forces and effective Muscovite
religious propaganda, Peter I was only spared total defeat by negotiating the
Treaty of the Pruth, which involved massive bribes to Ottoman officials that forced him to return key territories and dismantle his southern forts. After the destruction of
Kamianka Sich by the Russian punitive expedition of
Sheremetev in 1711, Kost Hordiienko, together with the Ukrainian Cossacks, moved to the territory of the
Crimean Khanate (the land at the mouth of the Dnieper), where he settled in Oleshky and founded the Oleshky Sich, which he headed until 1728. After the exile of
Pylyp Orlyk, in 1714 Kost Hordiienko assumed the post of Hetman Dubossarskyi (a title of a person responsible for ). He repeatedly settled the conflicts of the Zaporozhians with the Crimean Khan and the Turkish
Sultan. of the Oleshky and
Kamianka Siches Kostiantyn Hordiienko". Since 1729, he did not take part in political activities, but with his authority he restrained the Zaporozhians from returning to the power of the Russian government. He was buried in the
Kamianka Sich. == See also ==