Today, April 5, 314 years have passed since the signing of the first Constitution of our country

On this day in 1710, a treaty was signed between Hetman Pylyp Orlyk, a Cossack foreman, and the Cossacks of the Zaporizhzhya Army, which was called "Pacts and Constitutions of Laws and Freedoms of the Zaporizhzhya Army."

You can find different names for this document: "Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk", "Agreement", "Charter", "Bender Constitution". The last name is connected with the fact that the document was concluded at the Cossack Council, which took place in Moldova, near the city of Bendery.

The document referred to a sovereign republic that was to retain the protectorate of the Swedish king. This choice was confirmed with a special diploma by the Protector of Ukraine - the Swedish King Karl.

The document limited the rights of the hetman, determined his duties and the future order of the state. The signatories of the document were hetman Orlyk, from the Cossacks - the chieftain of Kost Gordienko. According to the document, legislative power was vested in the General Council, which was also a parliament. The highest executive power belonged to the Hetman and the Council of General Foremen, responsibility for legal matters was borne by the General Court.

Until recently, the document was known only in its abridged copies published in Old Ukrainian and Latin languages. Even the existence of the constitution was in question. But in 2008, Ukrainian scientists found the original text of the document in the old Ukrainian language in the funds of the Russian state archive.

Today, issues related to the history of our state unite our citizens like never before. Quotations of famous Ukrainians, including our contemporaries, about Ukraine - see in the carousel.

According to the materials of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, ELLE Ukraine.