It was created on as a military district for the protection of the southern border of the empire and in preparation for the major military campaign of the
Russo-Turkish War. The governorate united the territories of
New Serbia,
Slavo-Serbia, and the Slobidskyi regiment (today in
Kirovohrad Oblast) which were the northern regions of Buhohard Palatinate (
Zaporizhian Sich). The governorate, centered in the fortress of Saint Elizabeth, initially was divided into three territories (polki) assigned to each regiment in the area: Elizabeth City Pikers Regiment, Black Hussars Regiment, and Yellow Hussars Regiment. As of the governorate also included the so-called
Ukrainian Line, a line of Russian built fortresses between
Dnieper and
Donets) that was administrated by the Dnieper and Donets Pikers regiments (based on the Habsburg's
Pandurs, the cossacks of Poltava, the
Myrhorod regiments), the
Slavo-Serbia with Luhansk Pikers Regiment, and the Raiko Preradovic and Ivan Sevic Hussars regiments (soon the later two were united into the Bakhmut Hussars Regiment) as well as the Samara Hussar Regiment (originally the Moldavian Hussars Regiment based in Kiev). The first capital of the governorate was the city of
Kremenchug (1765) with the fortress of Saint Elizabeth (today
Kropyvnytskyi) serving that administrative function previously (1764).
Pikers unrest In 1769–70 during the
1768–74 Russian-Ottoman War there was an uprising among the Dnieper and Donets Pikers regiments. The unrest started on territory of today's
Poltava Oblast and eventually spread across the lands of the
Zaporizhian Host. It was mercilessly put down by Russian Imperial forces and its instigators were punished by
knout or sent to
katorga. The Donets Pikers Regiment eventually was forcefully sent to the war where it played a key role in forcing
Syvash, taken of Perekop, Caffa (
Feodosiya).
Destruction of Zaporizhian Sich In June 1775 the
Russian Imperial Army razed the capital of the
Zaporizhian Sich, after which all its lands were annexed to the Novorossiysk Governorate. The following year,
Bakhmut Province and
Yekaterinoslav Province were transferred to the newly established
Azov Governorate. == Subdivisions ==