Ivan Pidkova

Ivan Pidkova (Ukrainian: Іван Підкова) or Ioan Potcoavă (died 16 June 1578), also known as Ioan Crețul, and Nicoară Potcoavă among Romanians, was a prominent Cossack ataman, and short-lived Voivode (Prince) of Moldavia (November–December 1577). His moniker ("pidkova" in Ukrainian/"potcoavă" in Romanian – "horseshoe") is said to originate in the fact that he used to ride his stallions to the point of breaking off their horseshoes; another version says that he could break and unbend both horseshoes and coins with his fists. He is perhaps best known as the hero of Ukraine's bard Taras Shevchenko's poem Ivan Pidkova (1840). Celebrated as a Ukrainian hero he led the Moldavian and Ukrainian struggle against Turkish domination. In his poem on Pidkova, Shevchenko "lets his mind travel over the Ukrainian past," expressing his admiration for the Ukrainian Cossacks.