Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks

Ilya Repin worked on this massive canvas from 1880 to 1891, depicting a legendary event from 1676. The Zaporozhian Cossacks, having defeated Ottoman forces, received a demand to submit to Turkish rule. Instead, they composed a reply filled with insults and profanity, laughing uproariously as they dictated it.

Repin first heard the story when a historian read the Cossacks' letter aloud to a gathering of friends. The painter was instantly captivated by the scene's dramatic potential. He spent eleven years researching Cossack history, costume, and weaponry to achieve accuracy.

The models were friends and academics from Saint Petersburg University, including men of Ukrainian, Russian, Jewish, and Polish heritage. Tsar Alexander III bought the painting for 35,000 rubles, and it has hung at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg ever since. A second version exists at the Kharkiv Art Museum in Ukraine.