Bar Confederation in the context of Koliivshchyna

Catherine II (born Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica, Russian: Екатерина Алексеевна Романова; 2 May 1729 – 17 November [O.S. 6 November] 1796), commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after a coup d'etat against her husband, Peter III. Her long reign helped Russia thrive under a golden age under the Enlightenment. This renaissance led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres, along with large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe.

After overthrowing and possibly assassinating her husband and her subsequent rule of the Russian Empire, Catherine often relied on noble favourites such as Count Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Alexander Suvorov and Pyotr Rumyantsev and admirals such as Samuel Greig and Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the west, she installed her former lover to the throne of Poland, which was eventually partitioned. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was annexed following victories over the Bar Confederation and the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War. With the support of Great Britain, Russia colonised the territories of New Russia along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. In the east, Russians became the first Europeans to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America.

The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by the Habsburg monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, which divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures and annexations.

The First Partition was decided on August 5, 1772, after the Bar Confederation lost the war with Russia. The Second Partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and the Targowica Confederation when Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth and the partition treaty was signed during the Grodno Sejm on January 23, 1793 (without Austria). The Third Partition took place on October 24, 1795, in reaction to the unsuccessful Polish Kościuszko Uprising the previous year. With this partition, the Commonwealth ceased to exist.

Rejtan, or the Fall of Poland (Polish: Rejtan. Upadek Polski) is an oil painting by the Polish artist Jan Matejko, finished in 1866, depicting the protest of Tadeusz Rejtan (lower right) against the First Partition of Poland during the Partition Sejm of 1773. Tadeusz Rejtan was a member of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's Sejm, known for his opposition to the First Partition of Poland in 1773 by physically trying to prevent delegates from leaving the chamber to stop the ratification of the partition. The Sejm was heavily influenced by foreign powers, with delegates being bribed or threatened, while Russia, Prussia, and Austria justified their annexation of Polish territory as a response to the internal conflicts of the Bar Confederation.

Jan Matejko's composition depicts the scene in the manner of academic history painting, placing Rejtan in a central position with a dramatic gesture, surrounded by figures who appear complicit with the foreign demands, including members of the future Targowica Confederation and Russian ambassador Nicholas Repnin. Despite causing controversy and receiving mixed reviews at the time of its initial display to the public in 1866, Matejko's work was later recognized for its cultural significance in Poland, depicting themes of political resistance and critique. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria subsequently acquired the painting, which was displayed in Vienna until 1920.

The battle of Orzechowo (Orekhovo) took place on 13 September 1769, between the armed forces of the Bar Confederation and the Russian Empire. The Russian troops were led by Brigadier Suvorov and the Polish troops were led by Casimir Pulaski. The battle was decided by an attack by Sakharov's grenadier company and Rönne's 50 carabiniers (the latter were under the command of Captain Count Castelli). The Confederates lost up to 200 men in the battle, including 40 captured, while Russian losses were "very small" despite a significant numerical gap. The affair at Orzechowo put Suvorov in the first row of Russian commanders in Poland and brought him the rank of major general.

The first encounter at the site of the events, – the field combat of Lanckorona, – then the storming of the Lanckorona Castle (Polish: Obrona Lanckorony, lit. 'Defense of Lanckorona') and finally the second field engagement – namely the battle of Lanckorona (Russian: Лянцкоронское сражение; Polish: Bitwa pod Lanckoroną) – were three distinct clashes of the Bar Confederation that took place at Lanckorona Castle, on the plains before Lanckorona, and in the town ifself, a small settlement 27 km (17 mi) southwest of the de jure Polish capital Kraków (de facto capital was Warsaw). The first two engagements took place on 20 February 1771, and the third on 21 May of the same year. The clashes involved a detachment of the Russian army of Ivan Weymarn (ru) led by Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov and Polish force with other European troops under the command of the French envoy Charles François Dumouriez. The field encounters where Dumouriez was attacked ended successfully for Suvorov, but the Russian commander failed to take the castle by assault.

Alexander Suvorov had already fought the Confederates in a substantial battle the year before last — he gave a heavy defeat to Casimir Pulaski at Orzechowo. Here, in the battle of Orzechowo, possessing a detachment not reaching 400 men, Suvorov won against 2,000 Polish Confederates.

Adam Stanisław Krasiński (1714–1800) was a Polish noble (szlachcic) affiliated with the Ślepowron coat of arms. The son of Polish nobleman Jan Krasiński, he served as bishop of Kamieniec from 1757 to 1798 and as Great Crown Secretary beginning in 1752. In 1759,

He was president of the Crown Tribunal in 1759 and was one of the leaders of the Bar Confederation (1768–1772).

Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski (Polish: [kaˈʑimjɛʂ puˈwaskʲi] ; March 4 or 6, 1745  – October 11, 1779), anglicised as Casimir Pulaski (/ˈkæzɪmɪər pəˈlæski/ KA-zi-meer pə-LAS-kee), was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called "The Father of American cavalry" or "The Soldier of Liberty". Born in Warsaw and following in his father's footsteps, he became interested in politics at an early age. He soon became involved in the military and in revolutionary affairs in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Pulaski was one of the leading military commanders for the Bar Confederation and fought against the Commonwealth's foreign domination. When this uprising failed, he was driven into exile.

Following a recommendation by Benjamin Franklin, Pulaski traveled to North America to help in the American Revolutionary War. He distinguished himself throughout the revolution, most notably when he saved the life of George Washington. Pulaski became a general in the Continental Army, and he and his friend, the Hungary-born colonel commandant Michael Kovats, raised Pulaski's Legion and reformed the American cavalry as a whole. At the siege of Savannah, while leading a cavalry charge against British forces, he was fatally wounded by grapeshot and died shortly after.

Michał Hieronim Krasiński (1712 – May 25, 1784) was a Polish noble known for being one of the leaders of Bar Confederation (1768–1772). He was cupbearer of Stężyca, podkomorzy of Różan, starosta of Opiniogóra, and envoy to many Sejms.

He was a captain in August III army. He was a member of parliament in 1748 and 1750 as a deputate from Sandomierz voivodeship and in 1756, 1758 and 1760.

Count Maurice Benyovszky de Benyó et Urbanó (Hungarian: Benyovszky Máté Móric Mihály Ferenc Szerafin Ágost; Polish: Maurycy Beniowski; Slovak: Móric Beňovský; 20 September 1746 – 24 May 1786) was a military officer, adventurer, and writer from the Kingdom of Hungary, who described himself as both a Hungarian and a Pole. He is considered a national hero in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

Benyovszky was born and raised in Verbó, Kingdom of Hungary (present-day Vrbové, Slovakia). In 1769, while fighting for the Polish armies under the Bar Confederation, he was captured by the Russians and exiled to Kamchatka. He subsequently escaped and returned to Europe via Macau and Mauritius, arriving in France. In 1773, Benyovszky reached agreement with the French government to establish a trading post on Madagascar. Facing significant problems with the climate, the terrain, and the native Sakalava people, he abandoned the trading post in 1776.

Rogatywka (Polish pronunciation: [rɔɡaˈtɨfka]; sometimes translated as peaked cap) is the Polish generic name for a peaked, four-pointed cap used by various Polish military formations throughout the ages. It is a distant relative of its 18th-century predecessor, the konfederatka (so-named because of use by members of the Bar Confederation), although similar caps have been used by light cavalry since the 14th century. It consists of a four-pointed top and a short peak, usually made of black or brown leather. Although rogatywka (derived from róg which means "horn" or "corner") in English seems to mean the same as czapka, the word czapka in Polish designates not only rogatywka, but all caps (not hats).

Beniowski is a poem written and composed by one of Poland's "Three National Bards", Juliusz Słowacki. The first section was published in 1841, however the remaining parts were written by Antoni Malecki after Słowacki's death in 1849.

The content of the poem summarizes the events that occurred during the infamous Bar Confederation; the fight against the Russians and rebellious Ruthenian peasants, which took place in the Eastern borderlands (Polish: Kresy) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It tells the story of Maurycy Beniowski, an impoverished nobleman and aristocrat in the region of Podolia, and his love to a wealthy lady living in a nearby castle with her intolerant family.