The great Ukrainian uprising of 1648 succeeded where most mass uprisings in early modern Europe had failed: it expelled a magnate-elite from most of the land and replaced it with a regime based on a native model.

But while this epochal event brought about a great many changes, much remained unresolved. Sharp differences arose among the Cossack leaders as to whether Ukraine should remain under Moscow or seek the overlordship of another neighboring power.

In the decades following Khmelnytsky’s death, bitter conflicts over these issues pitted Ukrainians against each other. Civil strife, foreign intervention, and further devastation of an already despoiled land ensued. In Ukrainian historiography, the tragic spectacle of Ukrainians dissipating the tremendous energy and resolve that had been generated by the 1648 uprising in seemingly endless, self-destructive conflicts is often called the Ruin (Ruina). Twenty years after Khmelnytsky’s death, the successes that had been scored against a common foe were cancelled out by the woeful inability of Ukrainians to unite towards a common goal. Their failure resulted in the loss of the promising opportunity created by the Khmelnytsky uprising to attain political self-determination.