The Pototski - Polish family of the
arms Piliava, which later has received a count title. The arms Piliava represents two
crosses in a light-blue field, 
the third
cross is represented in half. According to a legend, this arms was given by the king
Vladislav Kucheriaviy to the knight Zaroslav, the ancestor of the Pototski's. This family
got political power in the middle of XVIth century, when four brothers - Jakob, Jan,
Stephan and Andjey P. were close to the royal court yard with the help of the chancellor Jan Zamoyskiy. Actually, soon the Pototski's and
Zamoyski quarreled, and two families were at enmity for many decades. The brothers
Pototski actively distributed the authority on Podillia and Bratslavshchina. Jan, Stephan
and Jakob in different years occupied a post of the governor of Bratslav province, besides
Jakob Pototskiy as well as Anjey was a
Kamenetskiy kashtelian. The following generation of the Pototski's gave two great crown
hetmans. One of them - Mikolay Pototskiy - showed himself as a skilful warrior. He was at
war with Turkish army near Bush and Cecora
(1620), and got into captivity. After the release he was a commander of Polish army on
Podillia and in 1627 he defeated a tatar group near Bar.
Six years after M. Pototskiy has won a heavy fight with tatars near Kamenets. In 1646 he became a great crown hetman, and
being on this post he collided in two years with a rebel army of Bogdan Khmelnitskiy.
Cossacks commanders appeared to be more skilful on a field of fight - and the army of
Mikolay Pototskiy did not exist any more after that battle and Mikolay himself was
captured. The military career of Pototskiy actually finished after that. Mikolay's cousin
- Stanislav Pototskiy by the nickname Revera was luckier. This representative of the
family of Pototski's won 46 battles in his life. On a post of the governor of Bratslav
province and Kamenetskiy kashtelian he protected from the 
enemies the towns of Bar and Khmelnik. Subsequently for his merits for a Crown he was
granted a post of the Head of Bar, Kamenets and Letichiv. In 1654-1667 Stanislav Revera
Pototskiy headed the army of Rich Pospolita. The sons of Stanoslav Pototskiy - Anjey and
Shchensniy (Felix) - Kazimir did not lag behind the father. Anjey at the end of XVIIth
century occupied the posts of Kiev governor and crown hetman. Among his achievements there
was a victory over tatar cavalry in Podillia - near Gusiatin, Chortkiv, Jagelnitsa.
Shchensniy Kazimir also fought not only in one battle, in particular, in 1683 near Nemiriv
he defeated groups of Nagays. In 1702 Shchensniy became the great crown hetman, but he
died in three days after the assignment. The representative of the following generation of
the house of Pototski - Juseph, mister in Stanislav and Nemiriv - is the founder of
hetmanor (Tulchin) line of the family, so called Silver Piliava. We shall tell about three
figures of this branch of the Pototski. So, Juseph Pototskiy, the governor of Kiev, was
the supporter of Saxon kings on the Polish throne. In August, 1737, in a whirlwind of
Turkish war, he received the diplomats of Russia, England, Austria, Holland, Turkey in his
castle. In the diplomatic documents this action was named as Nemirivskiy congress.
Gradually Juseph Pototskiy began to carry 
out the
independent policy, was at conflicts with the royal court yard and Sejm and even tried to
adjust separate relations with the Turkish government. After the death of Theodor
Pototskiy (1738), the representative of a line of Gold Piliava, Juseph together with his
brother Mikhaylo became the head of the family of Pototski. His son Frantishek- Salezi was
already named "The little Ukrainian king". One of the most powerful men, he
managed to attach to his riches the considerable grounds of the family of Kalinovski. Since 1751 Frantishek headed the
"house" of the Pototskis. A complete title of Frantishek-Salezi Pototskiy is:
the owner of Kristinopol and Kitaygorod, Tartanov, Dukla, Nestervar, Bratslav, Mogilyov,
Kosiv, Vitkov, Lesichi, Perespe, Braylov, Voriazh, Strusa, Uman, Khorostkov, Stojan,
Vizhgorod and so on. The captain of hussar flag, the colonel of crown forces, the Head of
Belsk, Sokalsk, Gaysin, Zvenigorod, Riabchik, Bar and Jablonovsk; tenutariush in Muntava,
Furmanivka,
Pshevrot,
Opalin, Reklinka, Serebrin, Klusov and Stelmenka; the great royal carver, the crown clerk,
the Volynsk and Kiev governor, the holder of White Eagle. At the end of the 60's of
XVIIIth century Frantishek Pototskiy took active participation in Bar confederation; he
died in 1772. Stanislav Shchensniy Pototskiy was the last influential state figure of
Tulchin line of the family of Pototski. In 1789 he became the crown general of artillery,
was elected a messenger of Bratslav province to Four-years Sejm. Stanislav Shchensniy
always asserted freedom and Polish - gentry republic, therefore he did not apprehend the
ideas of the Polish Constitution of 1791. All this led him to Targovetska confederation,
the act of which was accepted on May 19, 1792 in Tulchin.
On a post of Marshalok of Targovetska confederation Pototskiy left the significant
hand-written inheritance, that enables to understand the essence of his activity rather
well. The further political destiny of S. Pototskiy appeared to be unsuccessful. He acted
as the admirer of division of Poland and it's joining the Russian empire. As the result
Stanislav Shchensniy lost the political authority in Warsaw and did not get it in St.
Petersburg. The last years of the life of this "uncrowned king" were spent in
the manors in Uman and Tulchin,
where he died in 1805. Certainly, it wasn't our task to tell about all figures of a huge
family of the Pototskis, we gave you just short items of information about some of them,
who was connected with Podillia and Bratslavshchina. Let's note, that the family of
Pototski did not disappear; among them in XIX-XX centuries there were many talented people
- scientists, airmen, businessmen. However, it is another story.
