The meaning of Ivan Stepanovich Mazepa in a brief biographical encyclopedia. Hetman Mazepa Ivan Stepanovich biography briefly

Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine

Sevastopol National Technical University

Department of Philosophical and Social Sciences

Essay

topic: “Hetman Ivan Mazepa”

Student of the MO-12d group, Faculty of Economics and Management

Polkovnikov Yuri Vladimirovich

Head: Associate Professor Pyotr Timofeevich Firov

Sevastopol

Introduction.

I. I. Mazepa as a person. The path to power.

II. Domestic policy of Hetman I. Mazepa. His relationship with the Zaporozhye Sich.

III. Activities of I. Mazepa in the years Northern War(1700 – 1709).

IV. Hetman I. Mazepa - a traitor or a fighter for national liberation?

Conclusion.

Introduction.

The topic of the essay interested me because the main figure, the figure of Ivan Mazepa, is one of the most mysterious in Ukrainian history, which greatly inspired me and directed me to a detailed study of the personality of Ivan Mazepa and the atmosphere surrounding him. The Hetman was loved and hated, respected and feared, valued and feared, glorified and condemned both during his rule of Ukraine and later, in subsequent centuries. This continues to this day.

The personality of I. Mazepa was of interest to many writers and poets, however, their poetic images are often far from historical reality. He was different, but on the whole he was the son of his class and his time, reflecting in himself all the contradictions of his era. He came to us from his time with the stigma of a traitor and anathematized by the Orthodox Church, “damned Mazepa,” as the Ukrainian people themselves called him. Our time has changed its sign to the opposite. No longer a traitor and a pathetic fugitive who ingloriously ended his days in the depths, but a hero of the Ukrainian people, a fighter for the unity of the Ukrainian land, its defender, who gave his life for the freedom of his people and for the dream of a “great independent independent Ukrainian state.”

My task is to analyze and compare all the facts surrounding this mysterious person. And based on this, draw your own conclusions. Understand why he betrayed and what he sacrificed, and what it was all for.

I . Ivan Stepanovich Mazepa as a person. The path to power.

I. Mazepa was born in 1639 in the Kiev region, in the family of a Ukrainian nobleman. He received an excellent education - first at the Kiev-Mohyla College, he was a specialist in artillery, so he spoke several languages, wrote poetry, and mastered musical instruments. He was simply a very talented person. While serving at the court of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth king John Casimir in 1659 - 1663, he carried out important diplomatic assignments in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. He spent his youth at the Polish court as a page: later he was used for diplomatic assignments in Ukraine. In the 1660s, he left court service, presumably as a result of a highly publicized romantic adventure.

In 1669, having returned to the Right Bank, I. Mazepa entered the service of the Hetman of the Right Bank of Ukraine Doroshenko. However, his first diplomatic mission here ends with him being captured by the Cossacks, who hand him over to the Left Bank Hetman Samoilovich. Mazepa was in mortal danger, but, being a subtle politician, he emerged victorious from this situation. Having conquered Samoilovich with his impeccable manners and diplomatic experience, he became a confidant of the Left Bank hetman. The same qualities soon helped Mazepa establish close ties with high-ranking tsarist officials. I. Samoilovich, knowing Mazepa since the time of negotiations for the annexation of the Right Bank to the Left Bank, brought him closer to himself and repeatedly entrusted his nominee with important diplomatic missions to Moscow. A few years later, the talented right banker becomes the chief captain.

In 1687, after the unsuccessful First Crimean Campaign, thanks to the actions of the opposition elders who wanted the redistribution of governments and the new hetman Vasily Borkovsky, Ivan Samoilovich was removed. He was replaced by none other than Mazepa, with the support of Russian nobles. The absurd legend that V. Borkovsky allegedly lent Mazepa 10 thousand rubles to bribe V. Golitsin is far from the truth, if only because the general convoy hardly had such a sum, because his annual income was only 200 rubles.

The new hetman, like his predecessor, was a very dubious acquisition for the Hetmanate in its then very serious situation. A capable and ambitious man, but too evasive and cautious, a bureaucrat and diplomat by mentality and temperament, he was little suited for the independent, responsible role of a ruler.

Arriving in August 1689 on a visit to Moscow, Mazepa prudently avoided participating in Princess Sophia's conspiracy against Peter I; the hetman, in strengthening his power, placed his main emphasis on the elders, the gentry, and the clergy. He transferred thousands of peasants from free military villages into the possession of his supporters, but he also forbade the transfer of Cossacks to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth estate. Mazepa himself owned more than 120 thousand peasants, mostly high-ranking ones.

Mazepa's policy was no different from the traditional policy of the Left Bank hetmans.

In order to establish himself in office and gain the trust of Moscow, during the 21 years of his hetmanship, Mazepa impeccably carried out all the instructions and orders of Tsar Peter I: he participated in the Crimean and Azov military campaigns, fought against Poland and Sweden, suppressed the uprisings of I. Bolotnikov, S. Palia, P. Ivanenko in Russia and Ukraine. With his actions, Mazepa impressed Peter I, and the tsar made him one of the first knights of the newly established Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. To please Peter, the Polish King Augustus sent Mazepa his Order of the White Eagle. Thanks to the tsar's constant gifts, the hetman acquired more than 20 thousand estates.

II .Domestic policy of Hetman I. Mazepa. His relationship with the Zaporozhye Sich.

In internal relations, the new hetman at first quite clearly outlined his political course with bloody repressions, which pacified the riots against the elders that erupted during the overthrow of Samoilovich, and, in the words of a modern chronicler, “silence and fearless people there were restored.” With the hetman's strength and authority, Mazepa, like his predecessor, supported with all his energy the prestige of the foreman and her claims in relation to the “subject” population and helped the elder to consolidate into a cohesive hereditary-privileged class. In this regard, Mazepa's reign was, as in foreign policy, a direct and continuous continuation of the reign of Samoilovich.

As if, in order to dispel prejudice against his person as a stupid person, Mazepa, from the very first years of his reign, with unprecedented energy and generosity, created a whole series of luxurious and majestic buildings for his time. A zealous champion of Orthodoxy, Mazepa built many churches throughout the Hetmanate, designed in that ornate style, which is sometimes called Cossack, or Mazepa, Baroque. At his expense, new buildings of the Kyiv Academy were erected, and the number of its students reached 2 thousand. In addition, he founded many new schools and printing houses, “so that Ukrainian youth could enjoy the benefits of education to the fullest extent of their capabilities.” All these generous sacrifices and the lush praises and panegyrics they evoked were unable to reconcile the lower strata of the Ukrainian population with the policy of the Hetman government, which so palpably made itself felt by all the “rabble”, Cossack and non-Cossack.

Long, continuous annual campaigns in wars that did not affect the interests of Ukraine at all and were completely new for Ukraine. His servility to the feudal lusts of the elders extremely armed the people against him. The whole unsightly situation of Peter's soldiers aroused strong displeasure in Ukraine not only against the Moscow government, but also against its zealous henchman, the hetman.

Denunciations against Mazepa, starting from the first years of his hetmanship, almost did not stop throughout his reign. And a characteristic symptom of the people’s attitude towards him is the agitation of the last Ukrainian demagogue Petrik Ivanenko. Peter I himself did not believe, and their authors in Moscow or Baturin were subjected to terrible torture and executed.

Mazepa gave a powerful impetus to senior elitism and the further he went, the more he antagonized the ordinary Cossacks of the Hetmanate, as well as the principled Cossacks. In 1692 Ukraine was already on the verge of a social explosion when the clerk Petro Ivanenko-Petryk fled to the Sich to raise an uprising against the hetman there.

The Sich, both under Samoilovich and under Mazepa at the end of the 17th century, was hostile to the hetman and elder rule and to the Moscow government, on which the new system relied. Koshevoy, the Zaporozhye Gusak, complained in letters to Mazepa that now in the Hetmanate the poor people were worse off than under the Poles, since no one needed it, and he got himself subjects so that they would carry him hay and firewood, heat the stoves, and clean the stables ( exactly the same complaints that were heard against the Polish regime before the Khmelnitsky uprising).

Petrik, knowing the mood of Zaporozhye, hoped to raise the Cossacks and, in addition, receive help from the Crimean Khan. Khan recognized Petrik as the Ukrainian hetman and promised help for the liberation of Ukraine, so that the principalities of Kiev and Chernigov with the entire Zaporozhye army and the Little Russian people, with Slobozhanshchina and the Right Bank would become a separate state; Crimea will protect it from enemies, and for this the Cossacks will not prevent the Crimeans from attacking Moscow lands.

To the Cossacks, Petrik said: “I stand for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, for the poor and simple - B. Khmelnitsky freed the Little Russian people from Lyadskaya captivity, and I want to free them from new captivity: from the Muscovites and their lords.” He promised that the entire Ukrainian people would rise up with him.

From these news about Petrik, rumors spread throughout Ukraine, seriously alarming the hetman and the foreman. The people boasted: when Petrik comes with the Zaporozhye army, we will approach him, beat the foreman, the tenants, and do the old thing so that everyone will be Cossacks and there will be no lords.” Mazepa was worried and asked to send the Moscow army, as he feared that if he moved himself, an uprising would begin. But the fears were not justified. The Cossacks had no great desire to go with Petrik to Ukraine; In addition, the idea of ​​becoming allies of the Crimeans was abhorrent. In the summer of 1692, Petrik received help from the khan and went to Ukraine with the Tatars. He also invited the Cossacks to go to liberate Ukraine from Moscow. But the Sich “companionship” did not join Petrik, they only allowed those who wanted to go, and there were only a few of them. Petrik’s appeals, sent to the Ukrainian border cities, also had no effect: the hetman’s troops were already standing on the border, and when the population saw with what weak forces Petrik was coming against them, they did not dare to rise. Petrik was forced to return from the border itself, and after this unsuccessful start, faith in the possibility of an uprising among the people fell even more. In 1693 and 1696, Petrik again made attempts to raise Ukraine, but had only Tatars with him. And in the last campaign, one Cossack killed him in order to receive the reward promised by Mazepa for Petrik’s head—a thousand rubles.

However, threats continued to be heard from the Sich that the Sich would go to Ukraine to beat the lords and tenants, and Mazepa admitted to the tsar that “the Cossacks are not as terrible as the entire Ukrainian commonwealth,” all imbued with a willful spirit, not wanting to be under the hetman’s power and every minute ready to go over to the Cossacks.

The population also went beyond the Dnieper to the Pali Cossacks, who in 1689 began to rise up against the neighboring gentry, threatening to “drive the Poles across the Vistula so that they would not set foot here.” The Poles tried to pacify these Cossacks. But Paliy and the other colonels did not obey, captured the most important Polish fortresses in this area - Nemirov and Bila Tserkva - and were seriously planning to fight with Poland. And this attracted people who were dissatisfied with the order in the Hetmanate. Mazepa wrote to Moscow: “Both the Cossacks and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are all angry with me, they all shout with one voice: we will be completely lost, the Muscovites will eat us.”

Probably, Mazepa did not look very hopelessly at the state of affairs in Ukraine and believed that with Moscow’s help and his companions he could hold on without worrying about the mood of the people. Meanwhile, his faithful service to the Moscow government really imposed unbearable burdens on the Cossacks and the entire Ukrainian people, and because of this, the people not only “lost their hearts for the great sovereign” - as contemporaries said, that is, all trust and disposition towards the Moscow government disappeared, but People's irritation and anger arose against the hetman, a faithful servant of the Muscovites.

The new Moscow government of Tsar Peter resumed the war with Turkey and Crimea in 1695, and for four years the Cossack army had to go on campaigns year after year on the instructions of the tsar, either against Turkish cities or against the Tatars, and at the same time Ukraine suffered greatly and from Tatar attacks due to this war. But, as it turned out later, this was not the worst. Then things got worse. Having ended the war with Turkey, Tsar Peter joined the war with the Swedes in order to open the road to the Baltic Sea for Moscow.

Summing up Mazepa’s internal policy, we can say that he relied on the elders, and with a number of laws singled out the Cossacks as a separate class (not the best). Promoting the strengthening of the elders, reforms in the field of legal proceedings and taxation testified to the hetman’s desire to create a national aristocracy in Ukraine in order to rely on it in the struggle for complete autonomy of Ukraine.

As for Mazepa’s relations with the Zaporozhye Sich, she was hostile to the hetman and, naturally, also to the elder rule. One gets the feeling that Mazepa himself treated the Sich as a foreign people. His only concern was that the entire Ukrainian people could at any time go over to the side of the Cossacks.

III .Activities of I. Mazepa during the Northern War (1700-1709)

Starting in 1700, the Northern War lasted for 21 years. The main opponent of Peter I in this grueling battle for access to the Baltic Sea was his peer, the young Swedish king Charles XII, a gifted commander. Peter demanded unconditional submission to the central government; his officials controlled all aspects of people's lives.

In such conditions, the ancient autonomy of the Hetmanate, the inviolability of which Peter’s father promised the Ukrainians in 1654, was also in danger.

During the war, the tsar made unheard of demands on Ukraine. The Cossacks - for the first time in their entire history - had to fight exclusively for the interests of the sovereign. Instead of defending their own land from their original enemies, the Poles, Tatars and Turks, they had to fight the Swedes in distant Livonia, Livonia and Central Poland. During these campaigns, it became absolutely clear that the Cossacks could not cope with the regular European army. The Ukrainian Cossacks suffered serious losses in heavy battles with the well-trained troops of Charles XII, suffered from the harsh northern climate, diseases, and poor food supplies. Since the Cossack units belonged to irregular troops, the loss of personnel (50-60 percent or more) did not worry the command of the Russian armed forces, which also consisted largely of foreigners.

From all sides there arose “crying and lamentation” of the Cossacks and the entire people, and even the most submissive people to Moscow’s rule began to declare that this could not continue much longer.

In the summer of 1704, Peter instructed Mazepa to go to the right bank regions to ruin the magnates who were holding on to the Swedish army. At this moment, Mazepa was thinking about taking over Right Bank Ukraine. But he was afraid that Paliy might turn out to be a dangerous opponent, due to his popularity among the Cossacks. Mazepa, making a cunning move, grabbed Paliya.

Thus, Mazepa took possession of Right Bank Ukraine. This was the first case where he dared to diverge so sharply from the royal will, but at first this divergence did not cause complications. Mazepa justified himself that as long as the Swedish party remained in force in Poland, the right-bank lands should not be given to the Poles, and the tsar accepted this explanation.

The morale of the Cossack army dropped significantly after in 1705, Peter I, in order to better coordinate the actions of his armies, placed Russian and German officers at the head of the Cossack regiments.

At the end of 1705, Moscow's position in the Swedish War began to deteriorate greatly. During this time, the Swedish king put an end to the other participants in the war, the Danish and Polish kings. Having defeated the party of King Augustus in Poland, he achieved the election of his protege, and forced Augustus to renounce the Polish crown (1706), and so Peter was alone against this terrible enemy, who acquired the glory of an invincible warrior.

When the threat of occupation by the troops of Stanislav Leszczynski (Polish ally of Charles XII) loomed over Ukraine, Mazepa turned to Peter for help. But the king, who at that time was expecting the Swedes to attack, replied: “I won’t give even ten soldiers. Defend yourself as you know.”

By breaking the tsar's promise to defend Ukraine from the hated Poles - a promise that formed the very basis of the agreement of 1654 - Peter I thereby freed the Ukrainian hetman from his obligations.

Until 1708, all proposals from supporters of a bloc with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as S. Leshchinsky’s intentions to push Ukraine towards Swedish protection, were rejected by I. Mazepa. Moreover, he, as a rule, reported them to Peter I, who, largely for this reason, did not believe the denunciations against the hetman, which reported I. Mazepa’s intention to betray the Russian crown (about twenty of them were received).

Anxiously following Karl's successes, Mazepa had already secured himself on both sides for quite some time: continuing to lead the line of a faithful Moscow servant, he maintained relations with the Swedish party through his acquaintances, and through them in 1707 he started negotiations with the new Polish king installed by Karl. Mazepa conducted these negotiations in great secrecy. Peter didn’t even suspect anything.

In the spring of 1708, military judge Kochubey, irritated with Mazepa for the romantic story with his daughter, sent with his relative, Colonel Iskra, a denunciation to the tsar and revealed Mazepa’s relations with the Swedish party; but the king did not believe the denunciation and handed over Kochubey and Iskra to a military court, which condemned them to death. All this did not bring much benefit to Mazepa’s plans.

King Charles XII of Sweden, after victories in Poland, which was Russia's ally in the Northern War, decided to turn his main forces towards Moscow. In the summer of 1708, a fifty-thousand-strong Swedish army launched an attack on Moscow through Belarus. Peter's army, without engaging in a decisive battle, continuously crushed individual detachments of the Swedes, inflicting significant damage on the enemy. The local population also resisted the enemy. It abandoned its homes, stole livestock, hid or destroyed food, destroyed bridges, etc.

In such conditions, Charles XII, in the early autumn of 1708, was forced to abandon the attack on Moscow, through Belarus, and turn his army to Ukraine. He was also prompted to make this decision by the fact that he was counting on help from Hetman Mazepa, with whom he was already conducting secret negotiations. The essence of the negotiations was to unite the forces of Sweden and Ukraine in the fight against Russia and the creation of an independent Ukraine. Karl also hoped to provide his troops in Ukraine financially and strengthen them at the expense of the Cossack regiments.

The logic of the thoughts of the hetman and the part of the elders opposed to Peter I, apparently, was as follows: if tsarism had won in the Swedish-Russian war, the Ukrainian lands (from the summer of 1704 to the beginning of 1708, the Right Bank was actually under the rule of I. Mazepa) could have been divided between Russia and its ally the Polish king Augustus II. In the event of a victory for Sweden, on whose side was the contender for the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth S. Leshchinsky, Ukraine could become part of Poland. Not late summer In 1707, I. Mazepa began to strengthen the idea of ​​leaving Moscow protection and moving to the camp of Charles XII.

In October 1708, when Charles XII deviated from Putin's direct approach to Moscow and turned his troops to Ukraine, Mazepa, quite openly, hoping above all to save his country from devastation, went over to the side of the Swedes. He was followed by 3 thousand Cossacks and many prominent elders.

This step was largely due to the fact that the hetman and part of the Cossack elders from the very beginning of the Northern War were convinced that the tsarist government did not take into account the interests of Ukraine and was pursuing a course aimed at eliminating the political autonomy of the Ukrainian lands. Under these conditions, they were looking for a way out in order to preserve the statehood of Ukraine and their power. Ultimately, Mazepa came up with a plan to liberate Ukrainian lands from Russian rule with the help of the Swedes.

Similar relationships were typical for that time in Europe. If the overlord did not fulfill his obligations regarding the vassal, then the latter left his patron overlord and came under the protection of another.

In 1708, Mazepa signed an agreement with Charles XII, which stated the following: 1) the Swedish king pledged to defend Ukraine, which was to become an independent power with the title of a principality; 2) the territory of independent Ukraine should have consisted of Ukrainian lands conquered from Russia; 3) the hetman and all classes of Ukrainian society retained their rights; 4) Mazepa was recognized as the ruler of Ukraine for life, and after his death the General Rada had the right to elect a new hetman; 5) for the duration of the war, the following cities were transferred to the Swedes: Poltava, Gadyach, Baturin, etc.

During the campaign, Mazepa addressed the people of Ukraine with an appeal. The essence of the appeal:

The continuation of the war will negatively affect the situation in Ukraine. If Sweden wins, then Ukraine may be returned to Poland. If Peter I wins, he will finally eliminate the autonomy of Ukrainian territories.

In the current situation, it will be beneficial for Ukraine to avoid a battle. This is possible if the Cossacks stop supporting the tsar and go over to the side of the Swedes, but it is not necessary to fight on their side. This transition will force Peter I to enter into peace negotiations.

If peace is signed, Ukraine will be able to achieve independence, which Sweden recognizes and Germany and France are ready to support.

Mazepa emphasized that he was not looking for any personal benefit in this. Most of the Cossacks did not understand Mazepa’s plans, left the hetman and went to join the army of Peter I. Several thousand people remained with the hetman.

In October 1708, Mazepa, the general foreman, 7 of 12 colonels and 4 thousand Cossacks went over to the Swedes’ camp.

Peter I, of course, was very surprised and in response, in a manifesto to the Ukrainian people, accused Mazepa of treason, allegedly in his intention to return Ukraine to Polish rule. At the same time, the tsar called on the population of Ukraine to fight against the Swedish invaders. A few days later, the commander of Russian troops in Ukraine, Prince Menshikov, attacked the hetman's capital Baturyn and massacred all 6 thousand of its inhabitants, including women and children. Rumors of the Baturin massacre and the campaign of terror carried out by Russian troops throughout Ukraine (the slightest suspicion of sympathizing with the “rebel” could lead to arrest and execution) changed the plans of many alleged Mazepa supporters. Meanwhile, Peter I ordered the elder who did not follow Mazepa to elect a new hetman, and on November 11, 1708, I. Skoropadsky became him.

One way or another, many Ukrainians did not follow Mazepa. Baturin's terrible fate frightened them. The only major force that immediately and unconditionally went over to the hetman’s side, oddly enough, were the Cossacks: the hated elitist Mazepa still seemed to them less evil than the even more hated tsar. And they paid dearly for their decision. In May 1709, Russian troops destroyed the Sich. The Tsar issued a permanent decree: every Cossack caught should be executed on the spot. Some of the Sich saved themselves by founding the New Sich in the Oleshki tract, controlled by the Crimean Khanate.

The clergy anathematized Mazepa, following the instructions of Peter I. All these measures of the tsarist government were aimed at the destruction of Ukrainian separatism and the final conquest of the population of Ukraine.

Charles XII's hopes of providing rest for his troops in Ukraine, providing them with everything they needed and strengthening them with Cossack troops did not materialize. The bulk of the Cossacks, peasants and townspeople did not understand and did not support Mazepa’s intentions. Moreover, they started guerrilla warfare against the Swedes, together with Russian troops they defended cities and villages.

In the spring of 1709, Charles XII decided to launch an attack on Moscow through Kharkov and Kursk. Poltava became a serious obstacle on this path. The Battle of Poltava, one of the most decisive battles in all of European history, was won by Peter I. Russia, having gained access to the Baltic Sea, began to turn into one of the great European powers. Regarding the Ukrainians, the Battle of Poltava put an end to their attempts to break with Russia. From now on, the complete absorption of the Hetmanate by the growing power of the Russian Empire was only a matter of time.

The events that took place over the past six months destroyed all the hopes of I. Mazepa.

Mazepa and Charles XII with the rest of their troops were forced to flee to Moldavian soil. Here, in Bendery, on September 22, 1709, the seriously ill 70-year-old Ivan Mazepa, dejected by the misfortunes that befell him at the end of his life, died.

Thus, the war placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the working people, was, in its content and goals, completely alien to the interests of Ukraine, and destroyed its economic potential, especially trade. It can also be said that the numerous reforms carried out by Peter I also had a positive impact on the development National economy Ukraine. And the appearance of the Swedes on Ukrainian lands and their defeat near Poltava became a turning point in the Northern War in favor of Russia. At the same time, the Battle of Poltava became a disaster for Mazepa, the collapse of his plans to achieve the independence of Ukraine.

IV Is Hetman I. Mazepa a traitor or a fighter for national liberation?

The Russian government used Mazepa's alliance with the Swedish king as a convenient excuse to speed up the liquidation of Ukrainian autonomy, as a justification for drastic and decisive actions that did not take into account any rights or claimants.

For this reason, Mazepa’s political step was inflated as an unprecedented and extraordinary act. But in reality, there was nothing extraordinary, nothing new in this act of Mazepa and his associates. This was just one of the very numerous attempts of the Ukrainian autonomists to find support in some kind of external force to free himself from the shackles of Moscow centralism. Sweden was among those powers that Ukraine tried to rely on even under Khmelnitsky, only thanks to the long break in this policy, which followed the thirty-year loyalty of the Ukrainian elders of the Hetmanate, the act of Mazepa and his comrades could seem like something special.

Representatives of the central government tried, perhaps, to inflate this event in order to take advantage of it to pronounce a death sentence on the entire old system of the Hetmanate, its autonomy and Cossack self-government, which allegedly discredited itself with Mazepa’s “treason.” In reality, this “betrayal” only discredited the centralist policy of the government, which endlessly tested the patience of even the most undemanding representatives of the Ukrainian elders and the Ukrainian population in general. There was no shortage of deeper reasons and immediate motives for Mazepa’s action.

Essentially, what is treason? The dictionary of ethics gives a definition - this is a violation of the oath, loyalty to class and national interests, going over to the side of the enemy, betraying his comrades. We could go on and on, but I don't think there's any point. And it is so obvious that Mazepa had no such plans, and he was thinking about something completely different.

The Hetman of Ukraine dreamed of liberating his region from tsarist despotism and was looking for allies for this. The Ukrainian people, who for half a century “bowed” under tsarism, also waited for liberation and more than once rebelled against their robbers, first the Polish, then the tsarist feudal lords. Mazepa’s actions did not violate the class and national interests of the Ukrainian people, although he was unable to defend them. Mazepa was convinced that in the composition Russian Empire Ukraine will not return, will not renew its autonomy, will lose the language and values ​​of the national culture, and the Ukrainian people will ultimately be Russified.

This is what prompted the hetman to conclude an agreement with the Swedes. Let us not interpret his retreat from Tsar Peter I, the strangler of the Ukrainian people, as treason.

Tsar Peter, continuing the policy of his predecessors, enslaved Ukraine more and more, robbed the Cossacks, which was the reason for Mazepa’s decision to join Charles XII, together with Swedish troops to oppose Tsarist Russia.

Thus, we can say that Mazepa is not a traitor or a self-lover, but a man who followed the voice of the people, gave everything, like his like-minded people, for the “bright ideal of national independence.”

When Mazepa died, the idea of ​​creating a Ukrainian, independent state died with him. The performance of the Mazepoites showed Muscovy that Ukraine is not a province where governors can rule. This is a Cossack region. And here they respect freedom, traditions, take up arms, and if they ignore them, human rights are destroyed.

Conclusion.

Mazepa is a talented person and a subtle politician. None of the hetmans did as much as Mazepa for the development of the culture and spirituality of the Ukrainian people. The hetman’s desire to wrest Ukraine from under the Moscow yoke and realize great idea independence, the independence of the Ukrainian state, was not crowned with success, but throughout those centuries this desire, this idea glimmered in the hearts of the best sons of the Ukrainian people.

The roots of modern independent Ukraine lie entirely in Mazepa's great idea. The name of Mazepa after his death remained for future generations a symbol of the struggle for the independence of Ukraine.

Mazepa was simply tired of putting up with the way Peter I continued the policies of his predecessors, enslaving Ukraine more and more, robbing the Cossacks. And this was precisely the reason for Mazepa’s decision to join Charles XII, together with Swedish troops, to oppose Tsarist Russia.

The hetman's tragedy was that his plan was not understood and supported by all the Cossacks.

Bibliography:

1. Grushevsky M. Illustrated history of Ukraine. – Kyiv, 1997.

2. Grushevsky M. Essay on the history of the Ukrainian people. – Kyiv, 1991.

3. Semenko V., Radchenko L. History of Ukraine. – Kharkov, 1999.

4. Subtelny O. Ukraine: history. – Kyiv, 1994.

5. Noskov. Course of lectures on the history of Ukraine.

6. Hetmans of Ukraine. – Kyiv, 1991.

1.Plan………………………………………………………………………………… 2

2.Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..3

3.1.I. Mazepa as a person. The path to power……………………………………………………..4

3.2. Domestic policy of Hetman I. Mazepa. His relationship with the Zaporozhye Sich…………………………………………………………...5

3.3.The activities of I. Mazepa during the Northern War (1700-1709) …………………..9

3.4. Hetman I. Mazepa – a traitor or a fighter for national liberation?.................................................... ........................................................ ........................14

4. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….....17

5. References………………………………………………………………...18

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For me personally, there is no “question” in this matter - everything is clear. Mazepa is a traitor. Why? Yes, because, having been appointed “chief of Little Russia” by Peter I, he betrayed his sovereign, violated his oath and ran over to the side of another sovereign - the Swedish king Charles XII. Therefore, if we abstract from the country of action, from the situation, then we see betrayal in its crystalline form. pure form. It is no coincidence that Peter ordered the creation of the “Order of Judas” especially for Mazepa.
Everything else around Mazepa is a layer of politics.
This is an article by a website resource correspondent living in Little Russia-Ukraine.

Mazepa – hero or traitor?

There is a good Chinese wisdom: do not trust spoken words - words can deceive. Don't trust actions - actions can also deceive. Look for the motives that force a person to speak and perform certain actions. It is motives that determine the essence of a person.

Let's, relying on this Chinese wisdom, try to take a closer look at the personality of Hetman of Ukraine Ivan Mazepa; in whose honor streets, squares and avenues are now so diligently renamed in Ukraine.

In the Russian Empire, Mazepa was considered a traitor. The Soviet historical school also considered Mazepa a traitor. The modern “independent” Ukrainian government considers him a national hero. In 1996, the national currency unit – the hryvnia – was introduced into circulation in Ukraine. And on the 10 hryvnia bill, completely unexpectedly for the vast majority of citizens, a portrait of Mazepa appears.

Everyone possible ways The slogans are being propagated to the people: “Mazepa is a fighter for the people’s share!” And: “Mazepa is a fighter for the independence of Ukraine from the Russian yoke!” Moreover, based on the fact that his portrait is placed on the 10 hryvnia banknote, and the portrait of Yaroslav the Wise, Prince Vladimir and Bogdan Khmelnitsky on smaller denominations, the average person subconsciously concludes that Mazepa’s contribution to the struggle for the people’s share and independence is much more significant than Yaroslav the Wise. The situation with the modern Ukrainian political elite is even worse. Unfortunately, she was unable to advance beyond the slogan thrown out by Kuchma “Ukraine is not Russia.” For the simple reason that it is simply not profitable. Otherwise, we would have to somehow explain why, under Yaroslav the Wise, Prince of Novgorod, Prince of Rostov and Prince of Kiev, a set of laws of Russian law was compiled in Kiev, which went down in history as “Russian Truth”, according to which the territory of present-day Ukraine then lived.

Just imagine: Yaroslav the Wise, under whom Kiev, like the rest of Rus', lived according to the “Russian Truth”, some seer says that Mazepa will soon be born not far from Kiev, near the White Church, who will fight for the liberation of Rus' from the Russian yoke ...Or even better: for the liberation of Ukraine from the Russian yoke! Yes, Yaroslav the Wise wouldn’t even understand what we were talking about!

By the way, have you ever wondered why, in 25 years of so-called “independence”, in Western Ukraine, which considers itself an outpost of “independence”, not a single monument to Mazepa has appeared? The candidacy is excellent: he was friends with a real European - King Charles, “courageously” fought for the independence of Ukraine from the Russian tyrant Peter; and was even awarded the Order of Judas by him. But I never received a monument from the champions of “independence.” It's a shame. But Mazepa’s backbreaking labors in the field of winning independence were fully appreciated by, guess who?

I’ll give you a hint: the most “democratic” state on our planet. Yes, yes, yes, it was the United States that fully appreciated Mazepa’s works, naming as many as four in honor of the Ukrainian hetman settlements: Mazepa (Pennsylvania).

Mazepa (Minnesota), Mazepa (a township in Wabasha County, Minnesota) and Mazepa is a town located in Grant County, South Dakota.

So, let's go back to Chinese wisdom: don't trust spoken words - words can deceive. Don't trust actions - actions can also deceive. Look for the motives that force a person to speak and perform certain actions. It is motives that determine the essence of a person.

What finally made Mazepa go over to the side of the Swedish King Charles?

In my opinion, the first thing you need to pay attention to is Mazepa’s unique, enormous wealth. Mazepa, during his service to Princess Sophia and then Peter I, became one of richest people not only in Little Russia, but also in Russia. He was the owner of 19,654 households in Little Russia and 4,117 households in Russia (that’s more than 100,000 souls). Mazepa was the richest hetman in the entire history of Ukraine - Little Russia. (here I do not take into account only Hetman Kirill Rozumovsky /1750-1764/, since he was the brother of the favorite of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna Alexei Rozumovsky and therefore it would not be entirely tactful to compare them) So the fact remains: among the hetmans, Mazepa was the richest; leaving all the hetmans far behind. For comparison: (in descending order) Mazepa - 23,771 households, Hetman Skoropadsky - 18,882, Hetman Apostol - 9,103 households... Etc....

Second: it was Mazepa who introduced panshchina in Little Russia. Ukrainian historians, when posing the question directly, emphasize that under Mazepa the panshchina was “humane” - only two days a week. Only a third of the lordship of Polish and Russian villagers. But, surprisingly honestly, York University professor Orest Subtelny noted in his “History of Ukraine,” which in the West is considered the best presentation of the history of Ukraine in English language:

“... After just one generation, the panshchina increased to 4-5 days.”

I don’t believe that modern Ukrainian young reformers, who have been molding Mazepa into a “national folk hero and martyr” for 25 years, do not know that it was Mazepa who introduced and legitimized the panshchina. If only because most of them studied the history of Ukraine in institutes precisely from the works of O. Subtelny, who directly indicates that it was under Mazepa that two panshchina per week were legalized.

Third: It is a well-known fact that Mazepa financed the construction of Orthodox cathedrals, churches and bell towers. The bell tower of St. Sophia Cathedral was also built with Mazepa’s money. According to the testimony of historians doctors historical sciences Y. Motsika and S. Pavlenko, at their own expense, Mazepa built 26 churches. From what I have been able to study, this figure is approximately true. But, returning to the stated goal: to look for motives, let's pay attention to these facts. First: in all the churches built by Mazepa, at his request, ceramic plates with a coat of arms and an inscription were laid that the church was built on the initiative and at the expense of Ivan Mazepa, which in itself is already interpreted as exorbitant pride and selfishness. And secondly, most importantly, Hetman Mazepa was betrayed Orthodox Church anathema not only for violating the oath given in the Gospel to the Russian Tsar, not only for his inclination “to vice and immorality,” since “he indulged in the sin of fornication, starting from the time of his youth, when he cohabited with the wife of a Polish nobleman, and until old age, when he seduced his goddaughter Matrona", but also for that , which allowed Swedish soldiers who were allowed into Southern Rus' to desecrate Orthodox churches.

So, what were the true motives that motivated Mazepa, who first built churches with money squeezed out of the people, decorating them with his coat of arms; and then calmly contemplated how these same temples were destroyed by the Gentiles???

The following things I would like to draw your attention to: Mazepa swore to Karl that he would be supported by at least 50,000 Cossacks. But in reality, he seized the treasury and ran over to Karl, according to some sources with 1.5 thousand, and according to others with 3 thousand Cossacks. But most sources still point to 1.5 thousand Cossacks. Swedish historians add another 7,000 Cossack chieftain Gordienko. I do not dispute the very fact that part of the Cossacks under the command of Gordienko went over to the side of the Swedish king, but the number given by Swedish historians does not correspond to reality. At least by the fact that, according to eyewitnesses, when introduced to Karl in Budishchi, Kostya Gordienko boasted that “he would have up to 600 such fellows.” 7000 or 600 is a big difference. In addition, pay attention to the fact that all historians agree that there were still more Cossacks on the side of the Russian army. The numbers vary greatly, but the fact remains a fact, and none of the historians has refuted or disputed it. An indirect confirmation of this is the manifesto of Peter I of March 11, 1710, which forbade insulting the “Little Russian people” by reproaching them for Mazepa’s betrayal, otherwise threatening cruel punishment and even the death penalty for important offenses.

And lastly, pay attention on July 8, 1709, the Swedes suffered a crushing defeat near Poltava. Mazepa fled with Karl to Bendery (Moldova). And literally two months later Mazepa dies. Yes, he died, by today's standards at a respectable age - 70 years old. But, all historical sources indicate that Mazepa’s health was “ho-ho-ho” - the young man would be jealous, and here you have such a sudden death. Since there is no exact historical data about Mazepa’s death, I will allow myself to put forward my hypothesis. Before the Battle of Poltava, Mazepa possessed untold wealth, property, honor and glory (the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called alone, the highest order of the Russian Empire, is worth something), and in one day he lost everything “acquired by back-breaking labor.” All the property and slaves of whom he enslaved, squeezing out all the juice from the people for the sake of enrichment, remained in the territory that, before the betrayal, was considered his homeland. In one day he literally lost everything. From his point of view, by going over to the side of the Swedes, he did the right thing. Neither the oath of the Gospel, nor Peter’s complete trust, nor the interests of his people, nothing could keep him from betraying. I think he believed in Karl's invincibility. After the Swedish victories over Saxony and Poland, after the crushing defeat of the Russians near Narva, all of Europe recognized Charles as invincible - “the new Alexander the Great.” And Mazepa chose, from his point of view, a win-win option - he took the side of the “invincible Charles.” Based on everything mentioned above, Mazepa’s motive is extremely simple and understandable: as the richest, he sought only to preserve his untold wealth and power. Therefore, to paraphrase Taras Bulba, he died, disappeared ingloriously, like a vile dog!

I’ll give you a real-life example; surely, if you look closely, you’ll find something similar in your experience... This was back in the USSR. The neighbor on the landing, working as a miner in a mine, saved up some money and bought a second-hand Volga on three roads, second-hand. I cherished it, washed it every day, and only went out on holidays. And then the opportunity arose to go “north” to earn money. A year later he returned. First of all, I ran to the garage to the Volga I had acquired through back-breaking labor... I opened the garage and died - a heart attack. It turned out that before leaving, he washed it thoroughly, and then for some reason he covered it with a cover, and even wrapped it with oilcloth on top (apparently he didn’t study well at school, he didn’t know what condensation was) And within a year the car simply rotted. Neighbors and eyewitnesses said that he just unwound the oilcloth, saw a rotten car, grabbed his heart, and immediately died... The scale of his neighbor’s losses, of course, is incomparable with Mazepa’s losses, but the essence is the same.

The gentlemen who came up with the “independent Ukraine project” were not mistaken when they placed a portrait of Judas Mazepa on paper bills. But, “local comrades” have convinced themselves of the invincibility of the overseas masters, and announced that “Ukraine is not Russia!” are following the path already taken by Mazepa.

I am sure they cannot help but understand the true motives of Mazepa’s actions. I admit that, reveling in the wealth squeezed out of the people, they do not realize the humiliation of the path they have chosen, but I do not believe that they are so primitive as not to see the cause-and-effect relationship between Mazepa’s life and death.

S. Mikhailichenko

Mazepa Ivan Stepanovich - hetman of Little Russia who betrayed Russia and Peter I. Mazepa came from a Ukrainian noble family. His father, as one might think from some sources, joined the Cossacks and before the Khmelnitsky uprising was the Belo-Tserkov ataman, and then received the title of Chernigov commander from the Polish king. The year of Mazepa’s birth is determined differently: 1629, 1633 or 1644. Ivan Mazepa began his education, as they say, at the Kyiv Academy, and then was placed at the court of King John Casimir as a chamberlain (a rank corresponding to the German chamber cadet) and sent to complete your education abroad. In 1663, Mazepa, continuing to serve the Poles even after the Khmelnitsky uprising, carried out the king’s orders in Ukraine. That same year, for unknown reasons, he left the court and remained in obscurity for 6 years.

The romantic adventures of Ivan Mazepa also date back to this time, one of which, according to legend, ended with the deceived husband tying Mazepa to the back of a steppe horse, frightened by blows and shots, and letting him go. Some time later, Mazepa married the daughter of the Belaya Tserkov colonel Semyon Polovts, the widow Fridrikevich, entered the service of the right bank (i.e., friendly to the Poles) hetman Doroshenko, became the person he needed and received the rank of general captain. Soon, however, Mazepa betrayed his patron and went over to the Left Bank hetman, subject to Russia. Samoilovich, at first without an official position. He soon gained the confidence of the new patron and in 1682 was appointed General Captain. Five years later, during Crimean campaign, Samoilovich fell victim to intrigue and was deposed, and Ivan Mazepa was elected to the place of hetman, giving a bribe of 10,000 rubles. to the then omnipotent Prince V.V. Golitsyn at the Moscow court of Princess Sophia. In 1689, Mazepa was in Moscow and managed to gain favor with the young Tsar Peter, who removed his sister Sophia from power.

Hetman Ivan Mazepa

For many years, Ivan Mazepa was an active assistant to Peter in his military enterprises and gained his full confidence, thanks to which he consolidated his possession of the hetman's mace. In Ukraine, Mazepa was not loved. His Polish upbringing and tastes made him alien to the masses. Mazepa surrounded himself with Polish immigrants, patronized the elders devoted to him, “enriched her, enriched himself. Dissatisfaction with the hetman was expressed in unrest, which was suppressed. At that time, denunciations were commonplace, and Mazepa was denounced more than once, but the denunciations turned out to be unfounded, and the tsar’s trust in Mazepa did not decrease. The denunciation of Kochubey, whose daughter was seduced by Mazepa, also had no consequences - a denunciation based on the hetman’s actual betrayal of the tsar.

It is difficult to establish when Mazepa thought about treason, at least as early as 1705–1706. Mazepa negotiated with the Polish princess Dolskaya and with King Stanislav Leshchinsky, who was placed on the Polish throne by the Swedes during the Northern War. Success Charles XII and Peter's predicament forced Mazepa to act more decisively. Assuring the tsar of his loyalty, Hetman Mazepa concludes a condition with the Swedes and Poles and negotiates for himself a vassal possession in Belarus. At the same time, he arouses fears among the Little Russian Cossack elders about Peter’s intentions to destroy the autonomy of Little Russia. Ivan Mazepa managed to hide his treason from the government for quite a long time, but the movement of Charles XII to southern Russia in the fall of 1708 forced the hetman to reveal his cards. He joins Charles with 1,500 Cossacks and calls for Little Russia to revolt. However, Mazepa's hopes did not come true. The Ukrainian people did not believe in the plan for the independent existence of the country promoted by Mazepa and were fundamentally afraid of returning to Polish rule. Only among those dissatisfied with the Russian government Cossacks there was sympathy for Ivan Mazepa.

Circumstances were against Mazepa. Menshikov took and burned the hetman's residence Baturin; the harsh winter made it difficult for the Swedes to march across the country, where the population was unsympathetic towards them. Deposed and anathematized by the church, Mazepa was replaced by Skoropadsky. Little Russia recognized the new hetman, and the most prudent accomplices of Ivan Mazepa were soon handed over to Peter. The Battle of Poltava on June 27, 1709 decided the fate of the campaign and Mazepa. Charles XII and the hetman barely managed to escape capture during it and escaped to Turkey. The Turks, despite Peter’s harassment, did not extradite Mazepa, but Mazepa’s senile body could not withstand the strong shocks. The hetman died on August 22 of the same 1709 and was buried in Galati.

Charles XII and Mazepa after the Battle of Poltava. Artist G. Cederström

Mazepa supporters of Hetman Ivan Mazepa were named, who joined the Swedes with him. Some of them, like Daniel the Apostle and Ignatius Galagan, broke with the rebellious hetman in time and managed to enter into favor with the king. Others went over to the tsar on the day of the Battle of Poltava, including Judge General Chuykovich, General Yesaul Maksimovich, Colonels Zelensky, Kozhukhovsky, Pokotilo, Anton Gamaleya, Semyon Lizogub, clerk Grechany and others. They paid with arrest and exile. Finally, others - general convoy Lomikovsky, general clerk Orlik, Prilutsk colonel Dmitry Gorlenko, Fyodor Mirovich, the Hertsik brothers, Mazepa's nephew Voinarovsky and others followed the hetman to Turkey, and after his death they continued to try to raise an uprising in Little Russia.

In Russian literature, the most detailed information about Ivan Mazepa is found in Kostomarova in "Ruin" and "Mazepa and the Mazepians." See also F. M. Umanets, “Hetman Mazepa” (St. Petersburg, 1897); Lazarevsky, “Notes about Mazepa” (“Kyiv Starina” 1898, 3, 4, 6). Mazepa's life often served as the subject of fiction.

At the end of the summer of 1709, in the small village of Varnitsa near Bendery, the former hetman of Ukraine Ivan Mazepa (Koledinsky) was dying in terrible agony. He constantly lost his mind from unbearable, hellish pain stemming from dozens of incurable diseases. And, regaining consciousness, after a long, absurd muttering, he whined heart-rendingly: “Otroot mani - torn off!” (“I’m poisoned, I’m poisoned!”)…

But since poisoning an Orthodox Christian even before a grave death was always considered an unforgivable sin, the elders and servants decided to act according to the old custom - to drill a hole in the ceiling of a peasant hut. In order, therefore, to make it easier for the sinful soul of a dying person to part with his mortal body.

How can one not remember the old belief: than more people sins during life, the more painful death awaits him. Indeed, in the foreseeable past and present of the then Little Russia, it was difficult to find a more insidious, evil and vindictive person than Mazepa. He was an example of a classic and complete villain for all times and for all peoples.

Even though the general morals of the Little Russian politicians of that time did not suffer from special gentry (nobility). This is understandable: people living surrounded by stronger and more powerful neighbors were constantly forced to solve a painful but inevitable dilemma - who would be more profitable to “follow”. Mazepa achieved unprecedented success in solving such problems.

By the hour of his death, he had managed to commit a dozen major betrayals and an immeasurable number of minor atrocities.

“In the moral rules of Ivan Stepanovich,” writes historian N.I. Kostomarov, whom one would never suspect of Russophileism, had the trait ingrained from his youth that, noticing the decline of the strength on which he had previously relied, he did not bother with any sensations or impulses, so as not to contribute to the harm of the declining strength that was previously beneficial for him. Betrayal of his benefactors had already been demonstrated more than once in his life.

So he betrayed Poland, going over to her sworn enemy Doroshenko; So he left Doroshenko as soon as he saw that his power was wavering; So, and even more shamelessly, he did with Samoilovich, who warmed him up and raised him to the height of the senior rank.

He now did the same with his greatest benefactor (Peter I. - M.Z),” before whom he had recently flattered and humiliated himself... Hetman Mazepa, as a historical figure, was not represented by any national idea. He was an egoist in the full sense of the word. A Pole by upbringing and methods of life, he moved to Little Russia and there made a career for himself, forging the Moscow authorities and not stopping at any immoral paths.”

“He lied to everyone, deceived everyone - the Poles, the Little Russians, the Tsar, and Charles, he was ready to do evil to everyone as soon as the opportunity presented itself to him to benefit himself.”

The historian Bantysh-Kamensky characterizes Mazepa this way: “He had the gift of words and the art of persuasion. But with the cunning and caution of Vygovsky, he combined in himself the malice, vindictiveness and covetousness of Bryukhovetsky, and surpassed Doroshenko in love of fame; but all of them are in ingratitude."

As always, A.S. exhaustively accurately defined the essence of Mazepa. Pushkin: “Some writers wanted to make him a hero of freedom, a new Bogdan Khmelnitsky. History presents him as an ambitious man, inveterate in treachery and atrocities, a slanderer of Samoilovich, his benefactor, a destroyer of the father of his unfortunate mistress, a traitor to Peter before his victory, a traitor to Charles after his defeat: his memory, anathematized by the church, cannot escape the curse of mankind.”

And in “Poltava” he continued: “That he does not know what is sacred, / That he does not remember goodness, / That he does not love anything, / That he is ready to shed blood like water, / That he despises freedom, / That there is no homeland for him "

Finally, an extremely accurate assessment of the villain belongs to the Ukrainian people themselves.
The expression “Damn Mazepa!” for centuries it applied not only to bad person, but also to any evil in general. (In Ukraine and Belarus, Mazepa is a slob, a rude person, an evil boor - outdated.)

A very remarkable detail. More than a dozen portraits of this historical figure and even several artistic canvases with his image. Surprisingly, however, there is no elementary similarity among them! It seems that this man had many mutually exclusive faces. And he had at least five birthdays - from 1629 to 1644 (it’s such a treat for the hetman’s political fans to celebrate his “round” anniversaries!). However, Mazepa has... three dates of death. It's so slippery. Everything about him was not like people...

I deliberately omit Mazepa’s childhood, adolescence and youth. For the devil himself will break his leg in that segment of his flawed biography. Although I will quote the following excerpt solely out of respect for the authority of the authors: “The one who held this post at that time was a Polish nobleman named Mazepa, born in the Podolsk palatinate; he was the page of Jan Casimir and at his court acquired a certain European luster. In his youth, he had an affair with the wife of a Polish nobleman, and the husband of his beloved, having learned about this, ordered Mazepa to be tied naked to a wild horse and set free.

The horse was from Ukraine and ran away there, dragging with it Mazepa, half dead from fatigue and hunger. He was sheltered by local peasants; he lived among them for a long time and distinguished himself in several raids against the Tatars. Thanks to the superiority of his intelligence and education, he enjoyed great honor among the Cossacks, his fame grew more and more, so that the tsar was forced to declare him Ukrainian hetman.” This is a quote from Byron, given in French, taken from Voltaire.

True, it’s hard not to marvel at how two outstanding European creators fell for a simple idea. Because this could not really happen by definition. And involuntarily you still think: it’s not in vain that such outstanding Europeans began to wax poetic about the “Khokhlatsky Judas” so long ago. They even claimed that “the king was forced.” That is, they put the upstart nobleman and the greatest monarch in the history of mankind on equal terms.

All Mazepa’s contemporaries unanimously claim that he was a “sorcerer.” This is probably why they thought so because it was difficult for them to explain in any other way the incredible ability of this talented rogue to impress people and inspire them to trust him.
Meanwhile, it was precisely such insidious abilities (he was a master of hypnosis!) that elevated Mazepa to the pinnacle of power

When Pavlo Teterya was the hetman of Right Bank Ukraine, Mazepa entered his service. Hetmans at that time changed like the gloves of a capricious lady. And Teterya was replaced by Petro Doroshenko. Naturally “charmed” by the young nobleman, he appoints him general clerk - personal secretary and head of his chancellery. At the same time, Hetman Doroshenko played a complex, triple game. Remaining a subject of the Polish king, he sent his secretary to the hetman of Left-Bank Ukraine Ivan Samoilovich with assurances that he wanted to serve the Russian Tsar.

But a few months later he sent the same Mazepa to the Turkish Sultan to ask for help from the eternal enemy of the Orthodox. And as a gift to the Turks he presented “yasyk” - fifteen slaves from the Cossacks captured on the left side of the Dnieper. Along the way, Mazepa and the “goodies” were captured by Zaporozhye Cossacks, led by the Kosh chieftain Ivan Sirko.

The same thing that he wrote with his Cossacks the famous letter to the Turkish Sultan Mohammed IV: “You are a pig’s face, a mare’s ass, a biting dog, an unbaptized forehead, mother…. You will not herd Christian pigs either. Now it’s over, because we don’t know the date, we don’t know the calendar, but the day is the same as yours, so kiss us on the ass!”

And now I’m asking myself a question that no one will ever be able to answer. Well, why didn’t Ataman Sirko, devoted to Samoilovich (and therefore to the Russian Tsar!), this frantic defender of the Orthodox, the sworn enemy of the Tatars and Turks, cut off Mazepa’s head on the spot because he, the bastard, was taking fifteen Russian souls into slavery? After all, Ivan Dmitrievich always mercilessly exterminated the busurman’s accomplices. And then he took and sent the “vile enemy” to Hetman Samoilovich. It was only Providence that intended to make sure how low and vile Mazepa’s soul was still capable of falling.

Here, on the Left Bank, something else is happening, almost incredible, in any case, difficult to explain - it is Mazepa, as his confidant, that Samoilovich sends to Moscow for negotiations. There, his broken envoy meets... Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself! And then he travels to the Russian capital many more times, now strengthening his own authority. Omitting the countless tactical and strategic moves of Mazepa, between which he successfully “merged” Samoilovich and his entire family, where he was almost a relative, we only note that on July 25, 1687, the cunning courtier received, by bribing the Russian bureaucratic elite, “kleinota” (symbols) hetman's power - a mace and a horsetail.
During the reign of Mazepa, the enslavement of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (as the peasants were then called) took on a particularly wide scale.

And the hetman became the largest serf owner on both sides of the Dnieper. In Ukraine (the Hetmanate at that time), he took control of about 20 thousand households. In Russia - many more than 5 thousand. In total, Mazepa had over 100 thousand serf souls. Not a single hetman before or after him could boast of such fabulous wealth.

And at this time, very serious tectonic shifts of the empire were taking place in Russia, as a result of which Peter I ascended the throne. You will laugh, but Mazepa almost immediately ingratiated himself into incredible trust in the young Tsar. Even now it’s hard to believe, but in 1700 Mazepa received the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called - the highest Russian award for No. 2! (Prince Ivan Golovin was the first to be awarded). Apparently, the Russian Tsar really liked the cunning hetman, although the age difference separating them was 33 years.
And it is not by chance that Mazepa wrote to Peter: “Our people are stupid and fickle. Let great sovereign does not give much faith to the Little Russian people, let him deign, without delay, to send a good army of soldiers to Ukraine in order to keep the Little Russian people in obedience and faithful citizenship.”

This, by the way, is about the delight of some historians about the longest Hetman rule of Mazepa - twenty-one years - and about his allegedly passionate desire for the independence of Ukraine at any cost. Not to mention the so-called Kolomatsky Articles, signed personally by the hetman upon his assumption of office. It states in black and white that Ukraine is prohibited from any foreign policy relations. It was forbidden for the hetman and elders to be appointed without the consent of the tsar. But they all received Russian nobility and the inviolability of estates.

And, excuse me, where is the “struggle for the independence of Ukraine”? Yes, for two decades Mazepa strictly carried out the will of Peter I. And he did the right thing. Only he did this solely for his own benefit. There’s not even a hint of “independence” here. It smelled later, when the hetman, flawed in all moral respects, for some reason believed that the invincible Swedish army would defeat the troops of the nascent Russian Empire.

It was then for the first time that Mazepa’s bestial, wolf instinct failed him. We know how long the rope can twist... But before we remind you of the final fall of the hetman as a politician, let us dwell on his ugliest human meanness...

The first song of Pushkin’s “Poltava,” who hasn’t forgotten, begins like this: “Rich and glorious is Kochubey.”

For many years they were almost the same age (Mazepa is a year older than Kochubey), they were friends - water is inseparable. And they even became related: the hetman’s nephew, Obidovsky, married Kochubey’s eldest daughter, Anna, and the youngest Kochubeevna, Matryona, became Mazepa godfather.

Here in Ukraine, nepotism has been revered since ancient times as a spiritual kinship. Godparents look after the godchildren until they get back on their feet, and then the godchildren must take care of the godparents as if they were their own. In 1702, Mazepa buried his wife and was widowed for two years.

At that time he was well over sixty, and Matryona Kochubey was sixteen (in “Poltava” she is Maria). The difference, according to the most conservative estimates, is half a century.

And the old man decided to marry the young goddaughter, although he had previously seduced her mother. The “sorcerer” used all the techniques of his seduction: “My little heart,” “my heartfelt kohana,” “I kiss all the penises of your little white body,” “remember your words, given to me under an oath, at the hour when you left my chambers." “With great heartfelt anguish I am waiting for news from Your Grace, but in what matter, you yourself know well.”

From Mazepa’s letters it is clear that Matryona, who responded to his feelings, is angry that the hetman sent her home, that her parents scold her. Mazepa is indignant and calls her mother a “katuvka” - an executioner, and advises her to go to a monastery as a last resort. Naturally, the parents resolutely opposed the possible marriage. The official reason for the refusal was the church ban on marriages between godfather and goddaughter.

However, the resourceful Mazepa would not have sent matchmakers if he had not hoped that the church authorities, superbly lured by him, would lift the ban for him. Most likely, the Kochubeys were well aware of the kind of “halepa” (attack) the treacherous and evil groom could lead their entire family into. Yes, over time, Matryona got rid of her misconceptions:

“I see that Your Grace has completely changed with your former love for me. As you know, your will, do what you want! You will regret it later." And Mazepa fulfilled his threats in full.

According to the direct (and this has been established for sure!) slander of Mazepa, Kochubey and Colonel Zakhar Iskra, the tsar’s subjects were sentenced to death and handed over to the hetman for an exemplary execution. Before his execution, Mazepa ordered Kochubey to be brutally tortured again so that he would reveal where his money and valuable property were hidden. Kochubey was burned with a hot iron all night before his execution, and he told everything.

This “blood money” entered the hetman’s treasury. On July 14, 1708, the heads of innocent sufferers were cut off. The headless bodies of Kochubey and Iskra were handed over to relatives and buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. The inscription was carved on the coffin stone: “Since death commanded us to remain silent, / This stone should tell people about us: / For loyalty to the Monarch and our devotion / We drank the cup of suffering and death.”

... And a couple of months after this execution, Mazepa betrayed Peter I

From the first steps of the Swedish troops on Ukrainian soil, the population offered them strong resistance. It was not easy for Mazepa to justify himself to Karl for the “unreasonableness of his people.” They both realized that they were mistaken - both in each other and in strategic calculations - each. However, Mazepa’s deceit, meanness and extreme lowliness had not yet been completely exhausted. He sent Colonel Apostol to the Tsar with a proposal, no more or less, to betray the Swedish king and his generals into the hands of Peter!

In return, he boorishly asked for even more: complete forgiveness and the return of his former hetman dignity. The proposal was more than extraordinary. After consulting with the ministers, the king gave his consent. For the blazer. He understood perfectly well: Mazepa was bluffing to death. He did not have the strength to capture Karl. Colonel Apostol and many of his comrades joined the ranks of the army of Peter I.

Order of Judas - Odessa Politikum As is known, after the historical Battle of Poltava, Mazepa fled with Charles and the remnants of his army. The Tsar really wanted to get the hetman and offered the Turks a lot of money for his extradition. But Mazepa paid three times more and thus paid off.

Then the angry Pyotr Alekseevich ordered the production of a special order “to commemorate the hetman’s betrayal.” The outlandish “reward” was a circle weighing 5 kg, made of silver. The circle depicted Judas Iscariot hanging himself from an aspen tree. Below is a pile of 30 pieces of silver.

The inscription read: “The pernicious son Judas is cursed if he chokes for the love of money.” The church anathematized Mazepa's name. And again from Pushkin’s “Poltava”: “Mazepa has been forgotten for a long time; / Only in the triumphant shrine / Once a year anathema to this day, / The cathedral thunders about him with thunder.”

For several centuries, the name of the despicable traitor was even considered indecent to mention in serious works

Only a few Ukrainian Russophobes, such as A. Ogloblin, tried to whitewash the “damned dog” (the expression of Taras Grigorievich Shevchenko). This, if I may say so, historian became the burgomaster of Kyiv during the period of fascist occupation. His reign was marked by mass executions at Babi Yar. After the war, Ogloblin fled to the United States. The fascist burgomaster wrote his main book, the monograph “Hetman Ivan Mazepa and His Reign,” on the 250th anniversary of the traitor’s death (how, however, all vile people tenaciously stick to each other!) In his opinion, the goals of the traitor hetman were noble, the plans bold. Just in case: “He wanted to restore the powerful autocratic hetman’s power and build a European-type power, while preserving the Cossack system.” I just wonder who would have allowed him to do this in those days?
And yet, in reality, on a statewide, so to speak, scale, the memory of the “Khokhlatsky Judas” was reanimated by another Judas - first the main ideologist of Leninism-communism in Ukraine, and then the first cooperator of market lawlessness, President Leonid Kravchuk

The nickname, by the way, was taken from his personal youthful poetic exercises: “I am Judas. Iscariot!

...I will never forget the summer of 1991. Then the largest part came under the jurisdiction of Ukraine Soviet army: 14 motorized rifle, 4 tank, 3 artillery divisions and 8 artillery brigades, 4 special forces brigades, 2 airborne brigades, 9 air defense brigades, 7 combat helicopter regiments, three air armies (about 1,100 combat aircraft) and a separate air defense army. The general centrifugal euphoric force of the collapse of everything and everyone also captured me, the then Soviet colonel. I’m a sinner, sporadic thoughts flashed through my inflamed brain, why shouldn’t I, a Ukrainian, go serve in Ukraine?

I thank God that I did not succumb to a spontaneous feeling.

But the philosophizing of the director of the Center for Ukrainian Studies of the Kyiv National University named after T.G. Shevchenko, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Historical Sciences Vladimir Sergiychuk. In Soviet times, this learned man modestly and quietly engaged in agriculture. And in Nezalezhnaya he became one of the first researchers of the activities of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the exploits of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA): “Yes, Mazepa betrayed the Russian Tsar, but he did it in the name of the Ukrainian people, in the name of Ukraine.

The condition that Charles XII would be the protector of our country, that is, would take Ukraine under his guardianship, was quite beneficial for Ukraine at that time. Mazepa was the real father of the Ukrainian nation! And nothing will help those downtrodden people who don’t want to be interested in their own history.”

Kiev political scientist Dmitry Vydrin became an even more “progressive” ideologist in this direction: “Our country was born from the totality of thousands of betrayals. We betrayed everything! We took the same oath and kissed the same banner. Then they betrayed this oath and banner and began to kiss another banner. Almost all of our leaders are former communists who swore by one ideal, and then cursed the ideals to which they swore. From all this cumulative action, where there were thousands of small, large and medium-sized betrayals, this country was actually born.

This is how Ukrainian politics, our worldview and morality were formed. Betrayal is the foundation on which we stand, on which we have built our biographies, careers, destinies and everything else.”

And we are still surprised: how can the brothers and sisters of Ukraine put up with the revelry of openly fascist Benderists; how the blood in their veins does not run cold from the Odessa Katyn; why do many Ukrainian mothers, instead of unitedly and sacrificially speaking out against the fratricidal war, complain to the president: our sons do not have body armor, they have little ammunition and they are poorly fed. Yes, this is all a direct consequence of the current “national Ukrainian idea: we, Ukrainians, are traitors, and this is our strength!”
It’s time for the long-decayed bones of Pan Mazepa to start dancing: “she ne vmerla” Ukraine in his understanding

She - not all of her, of course, but a significant part of her - honors and prays for him, despite all his outrageous atrocities. Truly, the Mazepia plague is now raging in Ukraine.

Woe to the people whose national heroes include such flawed individuals as Mazepa, Petlyura, Bandera, Shukhevych, etc. Their examples are good for growing maidanut gopniks.

When the “glorious deeds” of the bastard Mazepa are given to a fighter as a role model, the fighter will act accordingly. Don't they understand this? But they really don’t understand.

...After the release of the film “Prayer for Hetman Mazepa” by the famous film director Yu. Ilyenko, I met with my old friend, the late artist Bogdan Stupka, who played the title role. Our long-standing relationship (we knew each other since 1970) allowed for a serious degree of mutual frankness. And I, without further ado, asked: “Bodya, why did you take on Mazepa?” “Well, you’re a smart person and you should understand that there are no forbidden roles for an actor. The meaner the hero, the more interesting it is to play him.”

“I agree with you if this is Richard S. He is always outside the ideological framework. But in this case, you understood perfectly well that the ardent nationalist Ilyenko used both you and your name to spoil Russia with his movie nightmare. Okay, let's leave out the fact that Yura (we also knew each other for a long time) is the author of the script, director, cameraman, actor, and his son played young Mazepa. But there are also rivers of blood, heads are chopped off like cabbage, and Kochubey’s wife, Lyubov Fedorovna, masturbates with her husband’s severed head. Peter I rapes his soldiers. Didn't that bother you? And this episode: Peter I stands over Mazepa’s grave, the hetman’s hand appears from under the ground and grabs the Tsar by the throat - didn’t it also?

Bogdan Silvestrovich was silent for a long time and painfully. Then he said: “As they say: don’t rub salt in my wound. Soon I will play Taras Bulba at Bortko’s. So I’m rehabilitating myself in front of people.” A great, world-class actor, he, of course, understood that Yuri Gerasimovich simply “used” him as an old friend. And his role is a catastrophic failure. It couldn't have been any other way. Just like the film itself turned out to be a disastrous failure. It was sent to the Berlin Film Festival. However, there the film was shown only in the category of films... for people with non-traditional sexual orientation!

Then we continued talking about Mazepa. And we came to a common conclusion.

If the criminal Koledinsky had not been pulled by the ears by the current upstart Ukrainian politicians into the current ideology, then we would not remember him more often than other hetmans
And so his personality is unnecessarily demonized. Meanwhile, he was an elementary, albeit very evil, scoundrel. It’s a shame that the current Ukrainian authorities like him so much.

...You can talk, write and broadcast as much as you like about what an outstanding statesman Mazepa was, who left our mortal world 305 years ago. It’s enough to go to Ukrainian Wikipedia and see there a countless list of merits of the glorious patriot of “independent Ukraine” Ivan Stepanovich: he is a polyglot, and a philanthropist, and a temple builder, and a poet, and a lover, and a “sorcerer”, and...

But then you remember Pushkin: “However, what a disgusting object! Not a single kind, supportive feeling! Not a single consoling feature! Temptation, enmity, betrayal, deceit, cowardice, ferocity.” And everything falls into place.

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(b. 1639 - d. 1709)
Prominent Ukrainian statesman and military figure, Hetman of Ukraine, diplomat.
Participant of the Turkish (1677), Chigirin (1678), Crimean (1689), Tavan (1696) campaigns and the Northern War.
Awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

This man's life is like an exciting novel. Mazepa's personality is shrouded in romance and mystery. He is one of those who was loved and hated, rejected and exalted, dedicating literary and musical works to him, drawing his portraits. J. Byron, A. S. Pushkin, P. I. Tchaikovsky, V. Hugo, F. Liszt, I. E. Repin - these are just a few names from a long list of greats who tried to understand the mysteries of Mazepa’s life, love and career.

Exact date his birth is unknown. Historians disagree and believe that this happened between 1629 and 1644. But most call the date of birth March 20, 1639. The future hetman was born on the Mazepintsy family estate, not far from Bila Tserkva in the Kiev region. His father, Stepan-Adam Mazepa, came from the famous Orthodox noble family of the Mazep-Kaledinskys, and was a very wealthy and educated man. He took an active part in the War of Liberation under the leadership of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, although he did not support his rapprochement with Russia and was known as a supporter of a pro-Polish orientation. Mother, Marina, a highly educated woman from the Ukrainian noble family of Mokievsky, having become a widow in 1665, devoted her life to serving the church. She became a monk under the name of Mary Magdalene and from 1686 to 1707. was the abbess of the women's Pechersk Ascension Monastery.

The parents tried to give their son a good education, preparing him for a court career. First he studied at the Kiev-Mohyla College, and then at the Jesuit College in Warsaw, where he was introduced to the court of the Polish king John Casimir. Young Ivan possessed pleasant appearance and natural eloquence, which attracted the attention of the monarch, for whom he served as a page for some time. Jan Casimir annually sent him to study at Western Europe three talented young men, among them was Mazepa. In 1656-1659. he attended lectures at best universities Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands. There, in addition to Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and Latin (the language of diplomacy at that time), Mazepa mastered Italian and German.

Upon returning to Warsaw, brilliant prospects for a court career opened up for the young man. In the difficult international situation of that time, he repeatedly carried out secret and delicate diplomatic assignments for the king in various European countries. Mazepa learned to use natural cunning and subtle calculation in achieving his goal, and his attractive appearance and refined manners attracted women of different ages to him. He skillfully made love affairs and used them to solve the political problems entrusted to him. But sometimes such romantic interests seriously interfered with Mazepa.

Thus, the story with the wife of the Polish tycoon Falbovsky put an end to his career in Poland. The memoirs of a contemporary of Mazepa say that the deceived husband of Mrs. Falbovskaya ordered the young womanizer to be undressed and tied to a horse, placing him face to tail, after which he shot the poor animal in the ear. Crazy from pain and fear, the horse ran off into the forest and only a few days later local residents found the exhausted Ivan and came out. It was this episode (the reliability of which, by the way, raises some doubts) that inspired the English poet Lord Byron; and after him the great French writer Victor Hugo to create poems with the same name “Mazeppa”.

Having lost all prospects and having no choice, Ivan Stepanovich went to the Right Bank, where since 1669 we see him in Chigirin, surrounded by Hetman Petro Doroshenko. Here he marries the daughter of the transport general Semyon Polovets Anna, a very wealthy widow of the Belaya Tserkov colonel Samuil Fridrikevich. In Chigirin, Mazepa began serving as captain of the court banner (commander of the hetman's personal guard), and soon he was entrusted with one of the highest positions in the Cossack army - general captain.

Together with P. Doroshenko, in alliance with the troops of the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Muhammad IV, Ivan Mazepa commanded Cossack regiments during the campaign against Kamenets-Podolsky and Lviv in 1672. But his main task is diplomacy. He headed embassies to the Crimean Khan Selim-Girey in 1673, and at the beginning of 1674 - to the hetman of the Left Bank Ivan Samoilovich, with whom he established friendly relations. Fulfilling Doroshenko's next order to the Crimean Khan, Mazepa in 1674 was captured by the Zaporozhye ataman Ivan Serko (Sirko), who did not share the Turkish orientation of the hetman of the Right Bank. Serko transfers Mazepa and the entire embassy into the hands of Samoilovich. He, remembering the pleasant impression made on him by the young diplomat, offers him service, and Ivan Stepanovich, knowing difficult situation Doroshenko, anticipating his imminent fall, agrees. With Samoilovich, he is also engaged in diplomatic work, conducts all negotiations with Moscow, makes the necessary acquaintances among the boyars, and enters into the trust of Princess Sophia and her favorite, Prince Vasily Golitsyn. He does not avoid military duties, in particular, he participates in the maneuvers of the Cossack-Russian troops during the Turkish Chigirin campaigns of 1677 and 1678.

In 1682, Mazepa, now on the Left Bank, received the responsible post of captain general. One of Hetman Samoilovich's campaigns against the Crimean Khanate in May-June 1687 ended in failure. According to the official version, this was the reason for his removal. And according to undocumented data, Samoilovich became a victim of denunciation by a Cossack elder with the participation of Mazepa, who was striving for the hetman’s mace.

Clever in matters both public and personal, Ivan Stepanovich never missed the opportunity to take care of his material well-being. He soon became one of the richest people in Ukraine at that time. There were legends about his supposedly countless treasures that disappeared without a trace after his death. In particular, according to legend, he allegedly ordered part of his treasures to be thrown into the Dnieper near the village of Mishurny Rog during the crossing, and buried the other in Baturin. Until now, some optimist treasure hunters hope to find this “Mazepa’s hiding place”, but so far without success.

Many researchers note that the opportunity to make expensive offerings to the Moscow court favorably influenced the outcome of all missions and future career Mazepa. This, as well as the popularity of Ivan Stepanovich among the leaders of the Left Bank in the 1680s, predetermined his election as hetman on June 26, 1687. In particular, when the Cossack Rada recommended him to V. Golitsyn as the new ruler of Ukraine, Mazepa supported its decision with a generous donation to the temporary worker. With the help of his personal guard, he brought a barrel of gold to Golitsyn’s tent. 11 thousand gold rubles and more than three pounds of silverware were not the last arguments in favor of his candidacy.

On the day of his election to the hetmanship, Mazepa signed the so-called Kolomak Articles, which limited the self-government of Ukraine. Thus, the Cossack register was determined at 30 thousand, it was forbidden to remove colonels without a royal decree and to maintain independent diplomatic ties with other states. These articles made Ukraine even more dependent on Moscow. But Mazepa hatched plans to unite the Ukrainian lands under his mace.

The coming to power of Peter I and the overthrow of Sophia only benefited Ivan Stepanovich. He conquered the young king with his education, European polish and expensive offerings, quickly gained confidence in the autocrat, giving good advice regarding the stability of the situation throughout the entire space from the Dnieper to the Don. And during the Crimean campaign of the united Russian-Ukrainian army in 1698, Mazepa put forward a strategic plan that brought victory to the army. He proposed to conduct the offensive gradually, building a base fortification as he advanced, and also to capture the Lower Dnieper fortresses, thereby strengthening his right flank. Under the leadership of Mazepa, the Ukrainian army captured Kazikerman in 1695, took part in the siege and capture of Azov in 1696 and in the subsequent Taman campaigns of the second half of the 1690s.

But the hetman’s reign was not only marked by military victories. Being a highly educated man with extraordinary talents for music and literature, Mazepa did a lot for the development of Ukrainian culture and education. He provided material support to scientists, artists, and writers. The hetman paid special attention to the church, especially to the revival of old churches and the construction of new ones: with his money they rebuilt the monastery in the Lavra, the Church of St. Nicholas, and revived the cathedral in Pereyaslavl. During the period of Mazepa's rule, Kyiv turned into a large church and educational center. The only thing that the hetman cared little about was the life of the working people.

Meanwhile, endless wars depleted the Ukrainian lands, did not allow the economy to develop, and the discontent of ordinary people grew - all this only pushed Mazepa to quickly solve the problem of unifying Ukraine. He thought of Ukraine as an aristocratic state with an absolute monarch, where aristocrats are representatives of the elders, and the monarch is himself. To achieve his goal, Mazepa needed an ally, preferably not one of his adherents, but from the opposite camp. After all, in order to rule, you will then need to get rid of all possible competitors. Such an ally was Semyon Paliy, who, unlike Mazepa, relied on the masses.

Now the only problem was how to circumvent the peace treaty between Poland and Russia, according to which neither side could lay claim to someone else’s piece of Ukraine. The decision came naturally. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth suffered severe defeats in the Northern War that began in 1700. Therefore, in view of the increasing anarchy on Polish territory, I. Mazepa, by order of Peter I, moved to the Right Bank in the spring of 1704, and here his ally Paliy helped the hetman with the seizure of power. Palius was almost immediately accused of having relations with the enemies of Russia and Poland - the Swedes - and after the usual cruel interrogation for Peter's times, he was exiled to Siberia.

Thus, in the summer of 1704, Mazepa united the Left Bank and the Right Bank under his mace, and he was a vassal of Russia only on the Left Bank, and on the Right Bank he was a completely independent ruler. The hetman's hopes of creating a monarchy were partially realized. Now all that remained was to reconquer the Left Bank without arousing suspicion from Peter I.

Mazepa continued to send the king generous gifts and endless assurances of loyalty, often in the form of denunciations against people he disliked. Peter did not skimp on signs of attention: in 1705, Mazepa was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, he was granted possession of the Krupitskaya volost and Sevsky district. In the same year, the hetman handed over to the tsar a letter sent to him from the Swedish protege on the Polish throne, Stanislav Leshchinsky, in which he convinced Mazepa to come over to his side. After this, Peter I no longer believed any denunciations against the hetman, although their number increased every year. And the complainants were subjected to cruel punishments by the autocrat. This is exactly the fate that befell Judge General Vasily Kochubey, who was executed by decision of a military court.

This tragic event occurred due to a passionate feeling that flared up between 68-year-old Mazepa and Kochubey’s seventeen-year-old daughter Motrey. The hetman was captivated by his youth and beauty, and the girl was captivated by the subtlety of his nature, talent and European charm. In addition, Mazepa's wife died in 1702, leaving him no children. But he was going to become a monarch and transfer power by inheritance. This problem could be solved by marriage with a new, young wife. And in 1707, Ivan Stepanovich asked Motry’s hand in marriage. But he was refused due to the church ban on marriages between godfather and goddaughter. Motrya fled from her home to her beloved, but he, like a true nobleman, returned her to her parents. His tender, poetic letters to the girl, which history has preserved, tell a lot about Mazepa’s love experiences. Just as she preserved the complaint sent against him to the king by the angry Kochubey. It contained 33 points that proved the hetman’s infidelity to the Russian Tsar.

But despite the obvious danger, Mazepa still maintained contact with Leshchinsky, while veiling the true addressee of the negotiations - Charles XII. The outcome of the Northern War was unknown, and the hetman wanted to cover his rear. In the event of clear superiority and victory of the Swedes, he could count on the creation of an independent Ukraine in a strategic alliance with Charles XII. However, Mazepa did not dare to openly oppose the Russian Tsar, and he persistently demanded the help of the Cossack army.

The defeat of General Levengaupt's corps at the Battle of Lesnaya on September 8, 1708 changed the plans of the Swedish king. Instead of the intended route through Smolensk or Bryansk, the army of Charles XII was forced to turn to Ukraine, where, according to Mazepa’s assurances, supplies of food and ammunition awaited them. In the current situation, the hetman had no time to think. Therefore, on October 24, 1708, with a detachment of five thousand and part of the faithful foreman, Mazepa crossed the Desna and openly went to join forces with Karl, hoping for the support of all the Cossacks and the civilian population, motivating his transition by an uprising against the oppression of the Russian state.

Alexander Menshikov, who was near the Ukrainian borders, quickly reacted by blocking crossings across the Desna and releasing a manifesto to the Ukrainian people on October 28. In it, he branded the hetman as a traitor to his homeland and faith, who wanted to give the Orthodox flock to the Uniates. On November 2, Menshikov captured Baturin and staged a terrible pogrom there, destroying the entire population of the town, and four days later in Glukhov, I. Skoropadsky was elected hetman in place of the deposed Mazepa.

Meanwhile, hostilities continued and it seemed that all was not lost for Mazepa, although the situation was becoming more and more difficult. On June 27, 1709, a decisive battle took place near Poltava, in which nothing depended on the hetman. Charles was defeated and forced to flee with the remnants of the army to Turkey. Mazepa had to follow him.

The trials of recent months sharply undermined the health of the elderly hetman, and on the night of September 21-22, 1709, he died in the village of Varnitsa near Bendery. Then the deceased was transported to Galati and buried there in the ancient monastery of St. George.

Peripeteia life path Mazepa urges not to give him unambiguous assessments. He was a man of his era, perfectly aware of the vulnerabilities of his opponents and using cunning and calculation, rather than feigned heroism. All this allows us to consider him one of the iconic figures in Ukrainian history.