The legend of “Polubotok’s Gold” is one of the most famous Ukrainian historical mysteries. According to legend, before his arrest, the acting hetman Pavlo Polubotok allegedly transferred two barrels of gold to the Bank of England, depositing them “on behalf of the Zaporozhian Army” with the condition that the treasure could only be obtained by an independent Ukrainian state. The legend claims that over 300 years, interest turned the deposit into trillions of pounds sterling — enough to “give every Ukrainian 38 kg of gold.”
However, there is no documentary evidence of this deposit. All appeals to the Bank of England ended with the answer that the archives do not contain any mention of such a depositor. Historians agree that the legend arose due to the real wealth of Polubotka, which amazed contemporaries. He was one of the richest representatives of the left-bank elders, and his fortune was transformed in popular memory into "gold in London."
Polubotok's real wealth is explained by his economic activities. He inherited a considerable estate and actively expanded it, buying up land, receiving rank allotments from the state, building mills, taverns and forges, as well as owning dozens of industrial facilities on the Left Bank. An important source of income was potash - the "white gold" of the 18th century, critically important for the production of glass, soap and metallurgy. Polubotok also actively traded grain, wax, tobacco and other goods, establishing contacts with European merchants through the ports of Gdańsk and Holland.
Historians recall that Polubotok kept some of his gold in saltpeter vats, and documents confirm his deposits in Gdańsk banking houses. By 18th-century standards, his wealth was estimated at millions of ducats, placing him among the richest European magnates.
Polubotok was also a political figure: after the death of Hetman Skoropadsky, he became acting Hetman and demanded the return of autonomous rights to the Hetmanate. His active position on self-government caused discontent of Peter I, and in 1723 Polubotok was arrested, where he died. Popular memory added to his history myths about the curse of the tsar and the "treasure in London".
Modern researchers emphasize: although Polubotok could have kept some of the funds abroad, the deposit in the Bank of England is not documented. The legend of "Polubotok's trillions of pounds" has become part of the Ukrainian cultural code - a symbol of the struggle for freedom and justice. At the same time, the hetman's real economic activity demonstrates his influence on the Ukrainian and European economy of the 18th century.
