Hetman Mazepa – who he was. Work of pupils of 8A class Kofman Mark and Nikita Ejov

At first I want to represent you the portrait of Ivan Mazepa

The person of Ivan Mazepa is one of the most mysterious in the Ukrainian history. The Gethman was loved and hatred, valued and bewared, extolled and blamed, in the past as well as years later. It has been going this way for centuries.

First plan is king Yan Kazimir Left from Yan Kazimir is Ivan Mazepa He was a very talented man. During the beginning of his service to the king of Retch Pospolita Yan Kazimir in 1659-1663 he participated in the important diplomatic mission in France, Italy, Germany and Spain. First plan is king Yan Kazimir Left from Yan Kazimir is Ivan Mazepa

Order of the White Eagle. The king of Poland August rewarded Mazepa with the order of the White Eagle.

Karl XII and Mazepa The participation of Mazepa in the war with Sweden.   In summer 1704 Peter ordered Mazepa to go to the area of the Dnepr to ruin the magnates supporting the Swedish army. Up to the end of 1705 the position of Moscow became dangerous. Seeing the success of Karl XII, Mazepa ensured himself from two sides: to continue to be the devoted servant of Moscow and to have the relations with Swedish through his familiars Mazepa began the talks with the new Polish king in 1707. Mazepa tried to conduct negotiations as a great secret from Moscow. It looked like Peter didn’t suspect anything.

The campaign of terror which the Russian troops made all over the Ukraine changed the plans of many supporters of Mazepa. Meanwhile Peter I ordered: “The troops who didn’t follow Mazepa, must vote for a new Gethman”

New Sech Anyway, many Ukrainians didn’t follow Mazepa. In May 1709 the Russian troops ruined Sech. The Tsar published the edict that every citizen of Zaporogye had to be killed. A part of the citizens of Zaporogye saved themselves and founded New Sech.   Mazepa was cursed by Clergy, according to the order of Peter I. The Poltava battle became the catastrophe for Mazepa, for his plans of achieving independence of Ukraine.

Is hetman Mazepa a traitor or a fighter for national liberation?   The Ukrainian version of those events is that Mazepa was convinced that Ukraine be a part of the Russian empire will lose its autonomy, its language and values of the national culture.

Karl XII Mazepa was not a traitor and that he only was doing what people supported and what he wanted himself.

The Russian version: Mazepa was forever embodied in the national memory of the Russian people as a traitor and a deserter. During the Poltava battle Mazepa together with his bodyguard and the Cossacks wanted to the Swedish thus having changed to interests of Ukraine and having forgotten the oath given to the Russian tsar Peter the Great.

The historic Kostomarov had devoted an extensive monography to Mazepa in the end of the life. Here is what it represents: “Hetman Mazepa as a historic figure represented no national idea. The right definition of this person will tell us the incarnate lie. He deceived everybody: the Poles and the Russians, both the tsar and Karl.”

THE CONCLUSION According to the Ukrainian version, Mazepa is a talented person and an astute politician.  Mazepa’s name remains for the further generations of the Ukrainians a struggle symbol for independence of their country.

The tragedy of the hetman was that the Cossacks had not understood his plan and had not supported him.

Sword of Ivan Mazepa However according to the Russian version Mazepa had no representative or national idea as a historic figure. I cannot assert that Mazepa was nor a traitor, neither a hero. What he was in reality is to be solved by you. I have given the information to you.

List of used literature:   1. Grushevskii M. Illustrated history of Ukraine. – Kiev, 1997. 2. Grushevskii M. Sketch of history of Ukrainian nation. – Kiev, 1991. 3. Semenko V., Radchenko L. History of Ukraine. – Kharkov, 1999. 4. Subtelny O. Ukraine: history. – Kiev, 1994. 5. Noskov. Course of history of Ukraine – Kiev, 2004 6. Hetmans of Ukraine – Kiev, 1991. 7. Polkovnikov Y. Hetman Ivan Mazepa. – Sevastopol, 2004. 8. Kostomarov N. History of Russia in biographies of it main figures. 9. Ivanov-Ostoslavsky P. Ivan Mazepa – the history of professional traitor. 10. Plutagarev I. – Moscow, 2009