On October 11, 1653, a Zemsky Sobor was held in the Moscow Kremlin, which decided to annex Left-Bank Ukraine to Russia.

Zemsky Sobors were central estate-representative institutions in Russia in the mid-16th to 17th centuries. They included the tsar, the Boyar Duma, the Holy Synod in full composition, as well as representatives of the nobility and the upper class of townspeople, such as merchants and large traders, that is, representatives of the three estates. The regularity and duration of the Zemsky Sobors' sessions were not strictly defined and depended on the relevance and importance of the issues discussed.

The Sobor of 1653 was convened to make a decision about including Ukraine in the Moscow state.

In the 17th century, most of Ukraine was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a united Polish-Lithuanian state. The official language in Ukraine was Polish, and the state religion was Catholicism. The growth of feudal obligations and religious oppression of Orthodox Ukrainians caused discontent with Polish rule, which in the mid-17th century escalated into a liberation war of the Ukrainian people.

The uprising began in the Zaporizhian Sich in January 1648 under the leadership of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. After a series of victories over Polish troops, the rebels captured Kyiv. After concluding a truce with Poland, Khmelnytsky sent his representative to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in early 1649, requesting to bring Ukraine under Russian rule. Although this request was rejected due to the complicated internal situation and unpreparedness for war with Poland, the government began to provide diplomatic assistance and allowed the import of food and weapons into Ukraine.

In the spring of 1649, Poland resumed military actions against the rebels, which continued until 1653. In February 1651, the Russian government first declared at the Zemsky Sobor its readiness to accept Ukraine into its subjects to exert pressure on Poland.

After lengthy negotiations and correspondence between the Russian government and Khmelnytsky, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich agreed in June 1653 to the transition of Ukraine to Russian subjects.

On January 18 (8), 1654, in Pereyaslavl the Great, the council unanimously expressed support for Ukraine's accession to Russia and entered into war with Poland for Ukraine. As a result of the Russo-Polish War of 1654-1667, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth recognized the reunification of Left-Bank Ukraine with Russia (the Treaty of Andrusovo).

The Zemsky Sobor of 1653 became the last one convened in full composition.