Ivan Mazepa
Encyclopedia
Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa , Cossack
Hetman
of the Hetmanate
in Left-bank Ukraine
, from 1687–1708. He was famous as a patron of the arts, and also played an important role in the Battle of Poltava
where after learning of Peter I's intent to relieve him as acting Hetman of Ukraine and replace him with Alexander Menshikov, he deserted his army and sided with Charles of Sweden. The politicization of this desertion has held a lasting legacy in both Russian and Ukrainian national history.
Because of this, the Russian Orthodox Church
has laid an anathema
on his name since the beginning of the 18th century and refuses to renounce to this day. Everyone who opposed the Russian government in eighteenth-century Ukraine were derogatorily referred to as Mazepintsy (Mazepists). A similar pattern can be traced later into history with other Russian-given nicknames such as "Petlyurovtsy" and "Banderovtsy" (Banderites)
that are associated with Ukrainian national heroes. The alienation of Mazepa from Ukrainian history continued during the Soviet period as well as in the present day, an example of which is the refusal in 2008 of the Poltava city council to erect a monument of Mazepa in Poltava choosing instead a monument glorifying the defeat of Mazepa in the Battle of Poltava
.
, then a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
, into a noble Ruthenian
-Lithuanian family. His mother was Maryna Mokievska, and his father was Stefan Adam Mazepa. He was educated first in the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, then at a Jesuit college in Warsaw
. As a page
was sent to study "gunnery" in Deventer
(Dutch Republic
) in 1656-1659, during the time of which Mazepa traveled across the Western Europe
. From 1659 he served at the court of the Polish
king, John II Casimir on numerous diplomatic missions to Malopolska. His service at the Polish Royal court earned him reputation of being catholicized "Lyakh" which later was effectively used by the Russian Imperial government to discredit Mazepa. During that time has arose the legend of his affair with Madam Falbowska that inspired number of European Romantics, among which were Franz Liszt
, Victor Hugo
, and many others.
In 1663 Mazepa returned home as his father fell ill. After the death of his father in 1665 he inherited the title of the Czernihów
cupbearer. In 1669–1673 Mazepa served under Hetman
Petro Doroshenko
as a squadron
commander at the Hetman Guard, particularly during his 1672 campaign in Halychyna, and as a chancellor on diplomatic missions to Poland, Crimea, and Ottoman Empire. In 1674–1681 Mazepa served as a "courtier" of Doroshenko's rival Hetman Ivan Samoylovych
after was taken hostage on the way to Crimea
by Kosh Otaman Ivan Sirko
in 1674. In 1677-78 Mazepa participated in the Chyhyryn campaigns during which Yuri Khmelnytsky with the support from the Ottoman Empire
tried to regain power in Ukraine. A young educated Mazepa quickly rose through the Cossack
ranks and in 1682–1686, he served as a General-Yesaul
.
of the Left-bank Ukraine
, with the support of Vasily Galitzine
. At the same time Ivan Mazepa signed the Kolomak Articles that were based on the Hlukhiv Articles of Demian Mnohohrishny
.
Gradually, Mazepa accumulated great wealth, becoming one of Europe's largest land owners. A multitude of churches were built all over Ukraine during his reign in the Ukrainian Baroque
style. He expanded the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the primary educational institution of Ukraine at the time, to accommodate 2,000 students, founded schools and printing houses.
In 1702, the Cossacks of Right-bank Ukraine
, under the leadership of hetman Semen Paliy
, began an uprising against Poland
, which after early successes was defeated. Mazepa convinced Russian Tsar Peter I
to allow him to intervene, which he successfully did, taking over major portions of Right-bank Ukraine
, while Poland
was weakened by invasion of Swedish king Charles XII
.
lost significant territory in the Great Northern War
, Peter I decided to reform the Russian army and to centralize control over his realm. In Mazepa's opinion, the strengthening of Russia's central power could put at risk the broad autonomy granted to the Cossack Hetmanate
under the Treaty of Pereyaslav
in 1654. Attempts to assert control over the Zaporozhian Cossacks included demands of having them fight in any of the tsar's wars, instead of only defending their own land against regional enemies as was agreed to in previous treaties. Now Cossack forces were made to fight in distant wars in Livonia
and Lithuania
, leaving their own homes unprotected from the Tatars
and Poles
. Ill equipped and not properly trained to fight on par with the tactics of modern European armies, Cossacks suffered heavy losses and low morale, as their commanders were Russians and Germans who did not value their lives or their specific military abilities. The population of Ukraine had to bear the presence of the Russian army, which was accused of disrespectful behaviour and looting in Ukrainian cities where it was stationed. The Hetman himself started to feel his post threatened in the face of increasing calls to replace him with one of the abundant generals of the Russian army.
The last straw in the souring relations with Tsar Peter was his refusal to commit any significant force to defend Ukraine against the Polish King Stanislaus Leszczynski, an ally of Charles XII of Sweden
, who threatened to attack the Cossack Hetmanate
in 1708. Peter expected that king Charles of Sweden was going to attack and decided he could spare no forces. In the opinion of Mazepa, this blatantly violated the Treaty of Pereyaslav
, since Russia refused to protect Ukraine's territory and left it to fare on its own. As the Swedish and Polish armies advanced towards Ukraine, Mazepa allied himself with them on October 28, 1708. However, only 3,000 Cossacks followed their Hetman, with rest remaining loyal to the Tsar. Mazepa's call to arms was further weakened by the Orthodox Clergy
's allegiance for the Tsar. Learning of Mazepa's treason, the Russian army sacked and razed the Cossack Hetmanate capital of Baturyn
, killing most of the defending garrison and many common people. The Russian army was ordered to tie up the dead Cossacks to crosses, and float them down the Dnieper River
all the way to the Black Sea
. This was done for the purpose of intimidating the Mazepa loyalists who lived downstream along the Dnieper.
Those Cossacks who did not side with Mazepa elected a new hetman, Ivan Skoropadsky
, on November 11, 1708. The fear of other reprisals and suspicion of Mazepa's newfound Swedish ally prevented most of Ukraine's population from siding with him. Surprisingly, the only significant support which he gathered came from the Zaporizhian Sich
, which, though at odds with the Hetman in the past, considered him and the nobility he represented a lesser evil compared with the Tsar. The Sich Cossacks paid dearly for their support of Mazepa, as Peter I ordered the Sich to be razed in 1709 and a decree was issued to execute any active Zaporizhian Cossack.
The Swedish and Russian armies spent the first half of 1709 maneuvering for advantage in the anticipated great battle, and trying to secure the support of the local populace. Finally in June the Battle of Poltava
took place. It was won by Russia, putting an end to Mazepa's hopes of transferring Ukraine into the control of Sweden, which in a treaty had promised independence to Ukraine. Mazepa fled with Charles XII
to the Turkish
fortress of Bendery, where Mazepa soon died.
. However others argue that it was Imperial Russia who broke the treaty, because it failed to even try to protect the Cossack homeland while busy fighting abroad while Ukrainian peasants had complained about the conduct of local Muscovite
troops, Cossacks had died while building Saint Petersburg
and the Tsars planned to deploy Cossack troops far from their homeland.
The image of a disgraceful traitor persisted throughout Russian and Soviet history. The Russian Orthodox Church
anathema
ised and excommunicated
him for political reasons. Until 1869 his name was even added to the list of traitors publicly cursed in Russian churches during the Feast of Orthodoxy
service, along with Pugachev, Razin and False Dmitry I. Later on a positive view of Mazepa was taboo in the Soviet Union
and considered as a sign of "Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism
". During the years of Perestroika
, however, many historical works saw light which viewed Mazepa differently. After Ukraine
's independence in 1991, Mazepa was proclaimed a national hero in Ukraine's official historiography and mainstream media, because he was the first post-Pereyaslav Treaty hetman to take a stand against the Tsar, who failed to ratify that Treaty. This view however is still disputed by pro-Russian factions. According to an April 2009 survey by the Research & Branding Group
30 percent of the population of Ukraine views Mazepa as "a man who fought for the independence of Ukraine", while 28 percent view him "as a turncoat who joined the enemy's ranks".
During an event in Mazepyntsi to mark the 370th birthday (March 20, 2009) of Hetman Mazepa, President
Viktor Yushchenko
called for the myth about the alleged treason of Mazepa to be dispelled. According to Yushchenko the hetman wanted to create an independent Ukraine and architecture
was thriving in Ukraine over the years of Mazepa's rule, "Ukraine was reviving as the country of European cultural traditions
". The same day around a hundred people held a protest in Simferopol against the marking of the 370th birthday of Mazepa. The protesters held posters with slogans as: "Dog Mazepa, damn you and your ideological followers!", "Eternal shame on the sickly Judas - Ivashka Mazepa and his followers!" and "Ukraine's future is in alliance with Russia". They also held flags of Russia, as well as portraits of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
, and Russian Emperor Peter the Great. In May 2009 the Russian foreign ministry stated in an answer to Ukraine's preparations to mark the 300th anniversary of the battle of Poltava and plans to erect a monument to Mazepa that those were attempts at an "artificial, far-fetched confrontation with Russia. We would like to remind the leaders of Ukraine that playing games with history, especially with hidden nationalist motives, has never led to any good."
Mazepa's portrait is found on the 10 hryvnia (Ukrainian currency) bill.
Late August 2009 Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
demanded the resuming of a halted construction of an Ivan Mazepa monument in Poltava. A monument to Mazepa will be erected on Slava Square in Kiev
in 2010 to fulfill a decree of Yushchenko.
After researching his genealogy in 2009 (then) President of Ukraine
Viktor Yushchenko
did not rule out that his family is connected with the family of Ivan Mazepa.
In August, 2009, a monument to the hetman was unveiled in Chernihiv.
The street in Kyiv
which runs past the Pechersk Lavra
, formally named Ivan Mazepa Street, was changed to Lavrska Street in July 2010. The move was met with protests.
(translation by Dimitri Horbay in the newspaper Svoboda March 22, 1958)
While all for peace sincerely preach,
Not all in one direction reach.
Some right, and some left do range,
Yet all are brothers, how very strange.
There is no love, nor does harmony rank
Since we quenched our thirst at the Zhovti's bank
.
Through disagreement, non are saved.
By our own endeavor have we become enslaved.
Aye, brothers, 'tis time to see
That we all cannot masters be!
Not all are grace with knowledge wide
Enough, to over all preside.
...
The historical events of Mazepa's life have inspired many literary and musical works:
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
Hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
of the Hetmanate
Cossack Hetmanate
The Hetmanate or Zaporizhian Host was the Ruthenian Cossack state in the Central Ukraine between 1649 and 1782.The Hetmanate was founded by first Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Khmelnytsky Uprising . In 1654 it pledged its allegiance to Muscovy during the Council of Pereyaslav,...
in Left-bank Ukraine
Left-bank Ukraine
Left-bank Ukraine is a historic name of the part of Ukraine on the left bank of the Dnieper River, comprising the modern-day oblasts of Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy as well as the eastern parts of the Kiev and Cherkasy....
, from 1687–1708. He was famous as a patron of the arts, and also played an important role in the Battle of Poltava
Battle of Poltava
The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...
where after learning of Peter I's intent to relieve him as acting Hetman of Ukraine and replace him with Alexander Menshikov, he deserted his army and sided with Charles of Sweden. The politicization of this desertion has held a lasting legacy in both Russian and Ukrainian national history.
Because of this, the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
has laid an anathema
Anathema
Anathema originally meant something lifted up as an offering to the gods; it later evolved to mean:...
on his name since the beginning of the 18th century and refuses to renounce to this day. Everyone who opposed the Russian government in eighteenth-century Ukraine were derogatorily referred to as Mazepintsy (Mazepists). A similar pattern can be traced later into history with other Russian-given nicknames such as "Petlyurovtsy" and "Banderovtsy" (Banderites)
Stepan Bandera
Stepan Andriyovych Bandera was a Ukrainian politician and one of the leaders of Ukrainian national movement in Western Ukraine , who headed the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists...
that are associated with Ukrainian national heroes. The alienation of Mazepa from Ukrainian history continued during the Soviet period as well as in the present day, an example of which is the refusal in 2008 of the Poltava city council to erect a monument of Mazepa in Poltava choosing instead a monument glorifying the defeat of Mazepa in the Battle of Poltava
Battle of Poltava
The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...
.
Early life
Mazepa was likely born March 20, 1639 in Mazepyntsi, near Bila TserkvaBila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva is a city located on the Ros' River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine, approximately south of the capital, Kiev. Population 203,300 Area 34 km².-Administrative status:...
, then a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, into a noble Ruthenian
Ruthenian
Ruthenian may refer to:*Ruthenia, a name applied to various parts of Eastern Europe*Ruthenians, a historic ethnic group*Ruthenian Catholic Church, the sui iuris particular church united to the Bishop of Rome and the Roman Catholic Church...
-Lithuanian family. His mother was Maryna Mokievska, and his father was Stefan Adam Mazepa. He was educated first in the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, then at a Jesuit college in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. As a page
Page
-Position or occupation:* Page , a traditionally young male servant* Page * Page of Honour, a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom* A participant in any of the following programs:...
was sent to study "gunnery" in Deventer
Deventer
Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
(Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
) in 1656-1659, during the time of which Mazepa traveled across the Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. From 1659 he served at the court of the Polish
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
king, John II Casimir on numerous diplomatic missions to Malopolska. His service at the Polish Royal court earned him reputation of being catholicized "Lyakh" which later was effectively used by the Russian Imperial government to discredit Mazepa. During that time has arose the legend of his affair with Madam Falbowska that inspired number of European Romantics, among which were Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
, and many others.
In 1663 Mazepa returned home as his father fell ill. After the death of his father in 1665 he inherited the title of the Czernihów
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
cupbearer. In 1669–1673 Mazepa served under Hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Petro Doroshenko
Petro Doroshenko
Petro Dorofeyevych Doroshenko was a Cossack political and military leader, Hetman of Right-bank Ukraine and a Russian voyevoda.-Earlier life:...
as a squadron
Squadron
Squadron has different meanings:*Squadron , a cavalry or other unit that consists of a number of troops.*Squadron , a unit of aircraft that consists of three or four "flights", with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, depending on aircraft type and air force.*Squadron , a unit of 3-4 major naval vessels...
commander at the Hetman Guard, particularly during his 1672 campaign in Halychyna, and as a chancellor on diplomatic missions to Poland, Crimea, and Ottoman Empire. In 1674–1681 Mazepa served as a "courtier" of Doroshenko's rival Hetman Ivan Samoylovych
Ivan Samoylovych
Ivan Samoylovych was the Hetman of Left-bank Ukraine from 1672 to 1687. His term in office was marked by further incorporation of the Cossack Hetmanate into the nascent Russian Empire and by attempts to win the Right-bank Ukraine from Poland-Lithuania....
after was taken hostage on the way to Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
by Kosh Otaman Ivan Sirko
Ivan Sirko
Ivan Sirko was a Cossack military leader, Koshovyi Otaman of the Zaporozhian Host and putative co-author of the famous semi-legendary Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks that inspired a major painting by the 19th-century artist Ilya Repin.- Biography :...
in 1674. In 1677-78 Mazepa participated in the Chyhyryn campaigns during which Yuri Khmelnytsky with the support from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
tried to regain power in Ukraine. A young educated Mazepa quickly rose through the Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
ranks and in 1682–1686, he served as a General-Yesaul
Yesaul
Yesaul, or Osaul , , a post and a rank in the Ukrainian and Russian Cossack units.The first records of the rank imply that it was introduced by Stefan Batory, King of Poland in 1576.-Cossacks in Russia:...
.
Hetman
In 1687 Ivan Mazepa accused Samoylovych of conspiring to secede from Russia, secured his ouster, and was elected the HetmanCossack Hetmanate
The Hetmanate or Zaporizhian Host was the Ruthenian Cossack state in the Central Ukraine between 1649 and 1782.The Hetmanate was founded by first Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Khmelnytsky Uprising . In 1654 it pledged its allegiance to Muscovy during the Council of Pereyaslav,...
of the Left-bank Ukraine
Left-bank Ukraine
Left-bank Ukraine is a historic name of the part of Ukraine on the left bank of the Dnieper River, comprising the modern-day oblasts of Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy as well as the eastern parts of the Kiev and Cherkasy....
, with the support of Vasily Galitzine
Vasily Vasilyevich Galitzine
Prince Vasily Vasilyevich was probably the greatest Russian statesman of the 17th century. He belonged to the Galitzine family and his main political opponent was his cousin Boris Alexeyevich Galitzine.-Life:...
. At the same time Ivan Mazepa signed the Kolomak Articles that were based on the Hlukhiv Articles of Demian Mnohohrishny
Demian Mnohohrishny
Demian Mnohohrishny was the Hetman of Left-bank Ukraine from 1669 to 1672. See The Ruin His surname literally means "of many sins"....
.
Gradually, Mazepa accumulated great wealth, becoming one of Europe's largest land owners. A multitude of churches were built all over Ukraine during his reign in the Ukrainian Baroque
Ukrainian Baroque
Ukrainian Baroque or Cossack Baroque is an architectural style that emerged in Ukraine during the Hetmanate era, in the 17th and 18th centuries....
style. He expanded the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the primary educational institution of Ukraine at the time, to accommodate 2,000 students, founded schools and printing houses.
In 1702, the Cossacks of Right-bank Ukraine
Right-bank Ukraine
Right-bank Ukraine , a historical name of a part of Ukraine on the right bank of the Dnieper River, corresponding with modern-day oblasts of Volyn, Rivne, Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad and Kiev, as well as part of Cherkasy and Ternopil...
, under the leadership of hetman Semen Paliy
Semen Paliy
Semen Paliy was a Ukrainian Cossack polkovnyk . Born in Chernihiv region, Paliy settled in Zaporizhia at a very young age and gained fame as a brave fighter and Zaporozhian Cossack....
, began an uprising against Poland
Poland-Lithuania
Poland–Lithuania can refer to:* Polish–Lithuanian union from 1385 until 1569* Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 until 1795See also: Polish-Lithuanian...
, which after early successes was defeated. Mazepa convinced Russian Tsar Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
to allow him to intervene, which he successfully did, taking over major portions of Right-bank Ukraine
Right-bank Ukraine
Right-bank Ukraine , a historical name of a part of Ukraine on the right bank of the Dnieper River, corresponding with modern-day oblasts of Volyn, Rivne, Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad and Kiev, as well as part of Cherkasy and Ternopil...
, while Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
was weakened by invasion of Swedish king Charles XII
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
.
The Great Northern War
In the beginning of the 18th century, as the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
lost significant territory in the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
, Peter I decided to reform the Russian army and to centralize control over his realm. In Mazepa's opinion, the strengthening of Russia's central power could put at risk the broad autonomy granted to the Cossack Hetmanate
Cossack Hetmanate
The Hetmanate or Zaporizhian Host was the Ruthenian Cossack state in the Central Ukraine between 1649 and 1782.The Hetmanate was founded by first Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Khmelnytsky Uprising . In 1654 it pledged its allegiance to Muscovy during the Council of Pereyaslav,...
under the Treaty of Pereyaslav
Treaty of Pereyaslav
The Treaty of Pereyaslav is known in history more as the Council of Pereiaslav.Council of Pereyalslav was a meeting between the representative of the Russian Tsar, Prince Vasili Baturlin who presented a royal decree, and Bohdan Khmelnytsky as the leader of Cossack Hetmanate. During the council...
in 1654. Attempts to assert control over the Zaporozhian Cossacks included demands of having them fight in any of the tsar's wars, instead of only defending their own land against regional enemies as was agreed to in previous treaties. Now Cossack forces were made to fight in distant wars in Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, leaving their own homes unprotected from the Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
and Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
. Ill equipped and not properly trained to fight on par with the tactics of modern European armies, Cossacks suffered heavy losses and low morale, as their commanders were Russians and Germans who did not value their lives or their specific military abilities. The population of Ukraine had to bear the presence of the Russian army, which was accused of disrespectful behaviour and looting in Ukrainian cities where it was stationed. The Hetman himself started to feel his post threatened in the face of increasing calls to replace him with one of the abundant generals of the Russian army.
Change of sides
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
, who threatened to attack the Cossack Hetmanate
Cossack Hetmanate
The Hetmanate or Zaporizhian Host was the Ruthenian Cossack state in the Central Ukraine between 1649 and 1782.The Hetmanate was founded by first Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Khmelnytsky Uprising . In 1654 it pledged its allegiance to Muscovy during the Council of Pereyaslav,...
in 1708. Peter expected that king Charles of Sweden was going to attack and decided he could spare no forces. In the opinion of Mazepa, this blatantly violated the Treaty of Pereyaslav
Treaty of Pereyaslav
The Treaty of Pereyaslav is known in history more as the Council of Pereiaslav.Council of Pereyalslav was a meeting between the representative of the Russian Tsar, Prince Vasili Baturlin who presented a royal decree, and Bohdan Khmelnytsky as the leader of Cossack Hetmanate. During the council...
, since Russia refused to protect Ukraine's territory and left it to fare on its own. As the Swedish and Polish armies advanced towards Ukraine, Mazepa allied himself with them on October 28, 1708. However, only 3,000 Cossacks followed their Hetman, with rest remaining loyal to the Tsar. Mazepa's call to arms was further weakened by the Orthodox Clergy
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
's allegiance for the Tsar. Learning of Mazepa's treason, the Russian army sacked and razed the Cossack Hetmanate capital of Baturyn
Baturyn
Baturyn , is a historic town in the Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine. It is located in the Bakhmatskyi Raion of the oblast, on the banks of the Seym River...
, killing most of the defending garrison and many common people. The Russian army was ordered to tie up the dead Cossacks to crosses, and float them down the Dnieper River
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
all the way to the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. This was done for the purpose of intimidating the Mazepa loyalists who lived downstream along the Dnieper.
Those Cossacks who did not side with Mazepa elected a new hetman, Ivan Skoropadsky
Ivan Skoropadsky
Ivan Skoropadsky was a Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks, and the successor to the famous Hetman Ivan Mazepa.- Biography:...
, on November 11, 1708. The fear of other reprisals and suspicion of Mazepa's newfound Swedish ally prevented most of Ukraine's population from siding with him. Surprisingly, the only significant support which he gathered came from the Zaporizhian Sich
Zaporizhian Sich
Zaporizhian Sich was socio-political, grassroot, military organization of Ukrainian cossacks placed beyond Dnieper rapids. Sich existed between the 16th and 18th centuries in the region around the today's Kakhovka Reservoir...
, which, though at odds with the Hetman in the past, considered him and the nobility he represented a lesser evil compared with the Tsar. The Sich Cossacks paid dearly for their support of Mazepa, as Peter I ordered the Sich to be razed in 1709 and a decree was issued to execute any active Zaporizhian Cossack.
Decisive battle
Battle of Poltava
The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...
took place. It was won by Russia, putting an end to Mazepa's hopes of transferring Ukraine into the control of Sweden, which in a treaty had promised independence to Ukraine. Mazepa fled with Charles XII
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
to the Turkish
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
fortress of Bendery, where Mazepa soon died.
Historical legacy
Mazepa's decision to abandon his allegiance to the Russian Empire was considered treason by the Russian Tsar and a violation of the Treaty of PereyaslavTreaty of Pereyaslav
The Treaty of Pereyaslav is known in history more as the Council of Pereiaslav.Council of Pereyalslav was a meeting between the representative of the Russian Tsar, Prince Vasili Baturlin who presented a royal decree, and Bohdan Khmelnytsky as the leader of Cossack Hetmanate. During the council...
. However others argue that it was Imperial Russia who broke the treaty, because it failed to even try to protect the Cossack homeland while busy fighting abroad while Ukrainian peasants had complained about the conduct of local Muscovite
Muscovite
Muscovite is a phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula KAl22, or 236. It has a highly-perfect basal cleavage yielding remarkably-thin laminæ which are often highly elastic...
troops, Cossacks had died while building Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and the Tsars planned to deploy Cossack troops far from their homeland.
The image of a disgraceful traitor persisted throughout Russian and Soviet history. The Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
anathema
Anathema
Anathema originally meant something lifted up as an offering to the gods; it later evolved to mean:...
ised and excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
him for political reasons. Until 1869 his name was even added to the list of traitors publicly cursed in Russian churches during the Feast of Orthodoxy
Feast of Orthodoxy
The Feast of Orthodoxy is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent in the liturgical calendar of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Greek-Catholics...
service, along with Pugachev, Razin and False Dmitry I. Later on a positive view of Mazepa was taboo in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and considered as a sign of "Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism
Bourgeois nationalism
Bourgeois nationalism is a term from Marxist phraseology. It refers to the alleged practice by the ruling classes of deliberately dividing people by nationality, race, ethnicity, or religion, so as to distract them from possible class warfare...
". During the years of Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
, however, many historical works saw light which viewed Mazepa differently. After Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
's independence in 1991, Mazepa was proclaimed a national hero in Ukraine's official historiography and mainstream media, because he was the first post-Pereyaslav Treaty hetman to take a stand against the Tsar, who failed to ratify that Treaty. This view however is still disputed by pro-Russian factions. According to an April 2009 survey by the Research & Branding Group
Research & Branding Group
Research & Branding Group is a Ukrainian non-governmental marketing and sociological research company.Worked with Party of Regions during several latest elections....
30 percent of the population of Ukraine views Mazepa as "a man who fought for the independence of Ukraine", while 28 percent view him "as a turncoat who joined the enemy's ranks".
During an event in Mazepyntsi to mark the 370th birthday (March 20, 2009) of Hetman Mazepa, President
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
called for the myth about the alleged treason of Mazepa to be dispelled. According to Yushchenko the hetman wanted to create an independent Ukraine and architecture
Ukrainian architecture
Ukrainian architecture is a term that describes the motifs and styles that are found in structures built in modern Ukraine, and by Ukrainians worldwide. These include initial roots which were established in the Eastern Slavic state of Kievan Rus'. After the 12th century, the distinct architectural...
was thriving in Ukraine over the years of Mazepa's rule, "Ukraine was reviving as the country of European cultural traditions
Culture of Europe
The culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of North as opposed to South; West as opposed to East; Orthodoxism as opposed to Protestantism as opposed to Catholicism as opposed to Secularism; many have claimed to identify cultural...
". The same day around a hundred people held a protest in Simferopol against the marking of the 370th birthday of Mazepa. The protesters held posters with slogans as: "Dog Mazepa, damn you and your ideological followers!", "Eternal shame on the sickly Judas - Ivashka Mazepa and his followers!" and "Ukraine's future is in alliance with Russia". They also held flags of Russia, as well as portraits of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, and Russian Emperor Peter the Great. In May 2009 the Russian foreign ministry stated in an answer to Ukraine's preparations to mark the 300th anniversary of the battle of Poltava and plans to erect a monument to Mazepa that those were attempts at an "artificial, far-fetched confrontation with Russia. We would like to remind the leaders of Ukraine that playing games with history, especially with hidden nationalist motives, has never led to any good."
Mazepa's portrait is found on the 10 hryvnia (Ukrainian currency) bill.
Late August 2009 Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
demanded the resuming of a halted construction of an Ivan Mazepa monument in Poltava. A monument to Mazepa will be erected on Slava Square in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
in 2010 to fulfill a decree of Yushchenko.
After researching his genealogy in 2009 (then) President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
did not rule out that his family is connected with the family of Ivan Mazepa.
In August, 2009, a monument to the hetman was unveiled in Chernihiv.
The street in Kyiv
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
which runs past the Pechersk Lavra
Kiev Pechersk Lavra
Kiev Pechersk Lavra or Kyiv Pechersk Lavra , also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine....
, formally named Ivan Mazepa Street, was changed to Lavrska Street in July 2010. The move was met with protests.
Writings
DUMA(translation by Dimitri Horbay in the newspaper Svoboda March 22, 1958)
While all for peace sincerely preach,
Not all in one direction reach.
Some right, and some left do range,
Yet all are brothers, how very strange.
There is no love, nor does harmony rank
Since we quenched our thirst at the Zhovti's bank
Battle of Zhovti Vody
Battle of Zhovti Vody , was the first significant battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. The name of the battle derived from a nearby river.-Scope:...
.
Through disagreement, non are saved.
By our own endeavor have we become enslaved.
Aye, brothers, 'tis time to see
That we all cannot masters be!
Not all are grace with knowledge wide
Enough, to over all preside.
...
Cultural legacy
- Lord Byron - MazeppaMazeppa (Byron)This article is about the poem by Lord Byron, for other uses see MazeppaMazeppa is a Romantic narrative poem written by Lord Byron in 1819, based on a popular legend about the early life of Ivan Mazepa , a Ukrainian gentleman who later became Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks...
, poem (1818) - Alexander Pushkin - PoltavaPoltava (poem)Poltava is a narrative poem written by Aleksandr Pushkin in 1828-9 about the involvement of the Ukrainian Cossack hetman Ivan Mazepa in the Battle of Poltava between Sweden and Russia. The poem intertwines a love plot between Mazepa and Maria with an account of Mazepa's betrayal of Tsar Peter I...
, poem (1828–1829) - Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
- Mazeppa, poem (1829) - Juliusz Słowacki - Mazeppa, poem (1840)
- Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
- MazepaMazeppa (Symphonic Poem)Mazeppa, S. 100, is a symphonic poem composed by Franz Liszt in 1851. It is the sixth in the cycle of thirteen symphonic poems written during his time in Weimar. It tells the story of Ivan Mazepa, who seduced a noble Polish lady, and was tied naked to a wild horse that carried him to Ukraine...
, symphonic poem (1851); Transcendental etude #4. - Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
- MazeppaMazeppa (opera)Mazeppa, properly Mazepa , is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Victor Burenin and is based on Pushkin's poem Poltava....
, opera (1881–1883) - Michael William BalfeMichael William BalfeMichael William Balfe was an Irish composer, best-remembered for his opera The Bohemian Girl.After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to compose. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed 38 operas, almost 250 songs and other works...
- "The Page" Cantata. (1861). Performed at the University of Manitoba, March 2006. - Taras ShevchenkoTaras ShevchenkoTaras Hryhorovych Shevchenko -Life:Born into a serf family of Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko in the village of Moryntsi, of Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire Shevchenko was orphaned at the age of eleven...
- Kondraty Ryleyev
- A Ukrainian-language film loosely based on historical facts, called "A Prayer for hetman Mazepa" (Molytva za hetmana Mazepu) was released in 2002.
External links
- Mazepa article in online at Encyclopedia of Ukraine by Oleksander OhloblynOleksander OhloblynOleksander Ohloblyn, Ukr. Олександер Петрович Оглоблин was one of the most important Ukrainian emigre historians of the Cold War era.-Life and career:...
- Ivan Mazepa
- The Name of Ivan Mazepa (in Ukrainian)
- List of churches and monasteries in building of which invested Ivan Mazepa
- Re-Fighting the Northern War: The Celebration of the Battle of Poltava in Russia. Tatiana Tairova-Yakovleva, Professor, Department of History, St. Petersburg State University. Author: Joseph Dresen (Kennan Institute)