Forgotten Names of Ukraine: Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky

The uncrowned king of Ukraine

Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich Ostrozhsky. Artist: Teofil Kopystynsky (1886). Source of image: Wikimedia Commons

Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich Ostrozhsky (baptized Basil) was born on February 2, 1526 in Volhynia, the land which became the cradle of Ukrainian identity in the 16th century. The name of the Ostrozhsky family comes from their ancestral town — Ostrog. The Prince was originally baptized as Basil, from the mid-1540s he also bore his father’s name Konstantin. His father, Konstantin Ivanovich Ostrozhsky, was a great hetman of Lithuania and one of the richest magnates. He managed to significantly expand his possessions, mainly due to the Grand Ducal grants, which were given for military victories. Konstantin (Basil) Ostrozhsky also devoted his younger years to the protection of his parents’ lands.

Prince Konstantin Ivanovich Ostrozhsky (1463–1533), father of Prince Konstantin (Basil) Ostrozhsky. Source of image: Wikimedia Commons

Prince Ostrozhsky spent his childhood and youth in Turov. After the death of his father, he was brought up by his mother, Alexandra Semyonovna of the Olelkovich-Slutsky family. He received a fundamental education in the Orthodox spirit.

Politician and diplomat

Prince Ostrozhsky began his political career in 1550, having received from the Grand Duke…