| Ivan Pidkova | |
|---|---|
 The only known portrait of Ivan Pidkova, printed in Polish album in the 17th century | |
| Prince of Moldavia | |
| Reign | November – December 1577 |
| Predecessor | Peter the Lame |
| Successor | Peter the Lame |
| Born | unknown |
| Died | 16 June 1578 |
| Religion | Orthodox |
Ivan Pidkova (Ukrainian: Іван Підкова) or Ioan Potcoavă (died 16 June 1578), also known as Ioan Crețul, and Nicoară Potcoavă among Romanians, was a prominent Cossack Ataman, and short-time ruler of Moldavia (November–December 1577). His moniker ("pidkova" in Ukrainian/"potcoavă" in Romanian – "horseshoe") is said to originate in the fact that he used to ride his stallions to the point of breaking off their horseshoes; another version says that he could break and unbend both horseshoes and coins with his fists. He is perhaps best known as the hero of Ukraine's bard Taras Shevchenko's poem Ivan Pidkova (1840). Celebrated as a Ukrainian hero[1] he led the Moldavian and Ukrainian struggle against Turkish domination.[2] In his poem on Pidkova, Shevchenko "lets his mind travel over the Ukrainian past,"[3] expressing his admiration for the Ukrainian Cossacks.[4]
- ^ William Richard Morfill (1880). Russia. S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. p. 78.
Many of the poems of Shevchenko celebrated the early history of the Ukraine, the national heroes, Ivan Pidkova, Nalivaiko, Doroshenko and others.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
xxwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ John Panchuk (1965). Shevchenko's Testament Annotated Commentaries. Svoboda Press via University of Michigan. p. 70.
Hamaliia, Ivan Pidkova, sections of the Haidamaky all breathe this truth and that is why Shevchenko when he lets his mind travel over the Ukrainian past glorifies the democratic manners of the hetmans and the Kozaks
- ^ Soviet Ukraine Publishers (1990). Ukraine. Soviet Ukraine Publishers. p. 24.
In such poems as Ivan Pidkova , Tarasova Nich , Haidamaks , Shevchenko expressed his infatuation with the romantic beauty and might of the former Cossack Ukraine.