In 1863, Semen Hulak-Artemovsky wrote his libretto Zaporozhets za Dunayem in Saint Petersburg to commemorate the exodus of Zaporizhian Cossacks to the Danube, an area of Silistra Eyalet.

[1] By the late 18th century, the combat ability of Zaporozhia was greatly reduced, especially after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and the Russian annexation of Crimea, when the need for the Host to guard the borders was removed.

This meant that militarily the Zaporozhian Sich was becoming increasingly superfluous, but at the same time their existence caused friction with Imperial Russian authorities who wanted to colonise the newly acquired lands that the Cossacks inhabited.

These Cossacks were joined by numerous Ukrainian peasants fleeing from Russian Serfdom and lived on the left bank of the Danube river (Budjak) then part of the Ottoman Empire, who allowed them to settle there.

By 1778, they numbered 12 thousand men, and the Turkish Sultan decided that they would have much more use as a Cossack Host, and allocated them the land of Kuchungary (modern Transnistria) in the lower Dniester where they swore loyalty to the Ottoman Empire.

The new location was much poorer for fishing and resulted in a group of 500 Cossacks, led by Kosh Pomelo to return to Russia.

In 1800, the Balkan Peninsula erupted in uprisings led by Osman Pazvantoğlu who rebelled against the new Turkish Sultan Selim III.

In the end the rebellion was put down, the Zaprozhians where rewarded by the Brailov Nazir, who allowed then to return to Katerlez in 1803.

After a very brutal conflict, which shocked even the Turkish authorities, Zaporozhians captured the Nekrasovite capital Upper Dunavets (modern Romania) in 1814 .

The social structure also began to fragment; instead of the former equality of all Cossacks, many fishing, tradesmen and landowners became the Rayah.

In 1825, Kosh otaman Lytvyn promised to send another expedition to Greece but fled the Sich without any trace.

Learning of this, the head (Hradonachalik) of Izmail S.A. Tuchkov entered into secret negotiations with Kosh Vasily Nezmayevsky (1827).

With the outbreak of the new Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829), the Russian Army under command of Field-Marshal Peter Wittgenstein advanced.

On 30 (18) May 1828,[3] Hladky along with 218 Cossacks and 578 Rayah crossed the Danube with all the Sich regalia, treasury and prized possessions.

After landing on the left bank, they were taken to the Russian headquarters where they knelt before Emperor Nicholas I himself, who was quoted saying: God will forgive you, the Motherland forgives you, and I too forgiveThe Danubian Cossacks were fully pardoned for their past, and managed to win over the Tsar's trust, which was confirmed when the Russian Army Crossed the Danube, as Nicholas was in the same boat that Hladky had initially came over in, with Kosh Polkovnyks rowing.

The Tsar let the Danubians form a new Special Zaporozhian Host (Отдельное Запорожное Войско), with Hladky as the appointed Ataman.

Despite the small number of men, they soon became a prized asset due to their knowledge of the complicated Danube Delta.

Learning of Hladky's betrayal, the Sultan called upon the Janissary corps to raze the Sich, massacre its population and burn down its church.

It was based in the many historical refuge areas, where over the previous decades many Cossacks fleeing from Turkey found sanctuary such as Akkerman.

The remaining Cossacks who managed to escape the Sultan's vengeance, but did not return to Russia moved to the Danube Delta, where in 1830 they numbered 1,095 families.