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At the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the original version of Pylyp Orlyk’s Constitution was delivered to Ukraine for temporary display as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of independence.
UA reports this, citing the Office of the President of Ukraine.
Everyone has a chance to see the historical document starting August 16 till November 14, 2021 in St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.
The Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk (1710) arrived to Ukraine for the first time in 311 years since its creation.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy had set a corresponding task for Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Negotiations lasted for many months, as the Swedish side was ready to provide only copies of the document.
Thanks to the persistent work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Kingdom of Sweden, and the Ministry of Culture, the National Archive of Sweden has agreed to lend the original Latin version of the Constitution, written by Pylyp Orlyk.
As noted, this document is considered one of the first constitutions in Europe.
“It actually proclaimed an independent republic in Ukraine with a protectorate of the Swedish king instead of loyalty to the tsar, which was a big step forward in the political thought of the time. Although the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk did not gain real force, as it was drafted abroad, and its creators were not able to return home, it remained an original legal historic monument, which justifies the existence of a parliamentary democratic republic for the first time in Europe”. They noted in the Office of the President.
The first Ukrainian Constitution was adopted at a meeting of the Cossacks near the town of Tiahynia on the right bank of the Dniester River on April 5, 1710. It contains a preamble, 16 articles and an oath of the hetman. Pylyp Orlyk’s Constitution was drafted in two copies: in Ukrainian and Latin and has two Old Ukrainian editions. The original, written by Pylyp Orlyk himself, is kept in the Swedish National Archive in Stockholm.
