Hetman Ivan Mazepa—Traitor or National Hero?

Ivan Mazepa, the Russian-appointed Cossack Hetman (“headman” or “general”) of Eastern Ukraine, was one of the wealthiest men in Europe. He was one of those outsider rulers who realized you could achieve profitable stability through respect for culture.

He was also an opportunistic politician. In 1687, he accused his Hetman predecessor of anti-Russian sympathies, and got him toppled. The Tsar liked to see such pro-Russian sentiments, and appointed him the next Hetman. Mazepa then began to amass land and wealth, and to dispense largesse. He built countless Orthodox churches. He expanded the Kyiv University.

Then, in 1702, Polish-Cossack Hetman Semen Paliy in the western provinces revolted against their Polish overlords, and Mazepa persuaded Tsar Peter I to let him help his fellow Cossack. Permission granted, Western Ukraine reverted to Cossack-Russian rule. Subsequently, however, Tsar Peter refused to send Russian reinforcements when the Polish threatened to take it back again in 1708. So, Mazepa decided to drop Russia and join the Swedish-Polish alliance.

Mazepa was killed in battle. The Cossacks were slaughtered in a widespread ethnic cleansing. The Russian Orthodox Church anathematized Mazepa, and that curse has never yet been lifted. In Russian eyes, Mazepa will always be a traitor to the Rodina.

Mazepa became a default martyr to the Ukrainian people. Ukrainians remember him as a leader who united Ukraine and died for it. The Russian curse is still in place, but loyal Ukrainians revere Mazepa as a hero. The Communist Party always portrays him as an arch-villain. It is only recently that statues of Mazepa have started to be installed in public places in Ukraine.