The Cossacks gradually grew into a power to be reckoned with. They revolted against the Poles in 1648, under Hetman Bohdan Khmelnystsky, and founded the state of Cossack Hetmanate in today’s central Ukraine. However, it lasted only about a century. The Russian empress Catherine the Great abolished the state and annexed the whole Cossack territory to the Russian empire. The Cossacks were happy to be part of the Russian empire, as many privileges were offered to them. This annexation was part of the early efforts of Russia to expand into the Balkans and the Black Sea region.
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