Hetman Ivan Mazepa

He hailed from a noble family and received a remarkable education. He served both in the royal court and the Cossack army. During Mazepa's tenure as hetman (1687–1709), Cossack autonomy was economically strengthened, its elite was formed, and culture was flourishing. In order to preserve Cossack's autonomy and rights, he opposed Tsar Peter I in 1708, who planned to abolish them. Following the defeat of the Swedish-Cossack army at Poltava, he fled to Bender in Moldavia, where he passed away.

The Hetman's reign was marked by the standartization of the functions of the principal governmental institutions of the Zaporozhian Host - the General Military Court, the Chancellery, and the Treasury.

As befitting a pragmatic benevolent ruler, Mazepa cared for the Church and supported education. The list of buildings, constructions, or restorations financially supported by the hetman is impressive: 12 newly constructed and up to 20 restored churches and cathedrals. Mazepa also made valuable contributions to various temples. 

In the collections of the NMHU there is the Gospel of Moscow printing in 1703. This book stands as a shining testament to the generosity of the hetman, while simultaneously revealing efforts to erase his memory from the annals of history. 

On March 20th, 1719, the benefactor Havrylo Trokhymovych with his wife Uliana, presented this particular copy as a gift to the Kyiv-Podil Church of the Nativity of Christ, in penitence for their own sins and those of their forefathers.

Ivan Mazepa evinced considerable concern and solicitude towards the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the Brotherhood Monastery. At his behest, Moscow's protector tsars confirmed the academy's status. The Academy received new possessions for material support. At the same time, scholarships worth 1000 gold coins were awarded annually to those Little Rus' children who were eager to study.

Through the efforts of the Hetman in the 1690s, the stone building of the Epiphany Monastery was erected, and at the beginning of the 18th century, the academic class building was completed. At that time, it was a single-story building, with the upper floor and the Annunciation Church, which you can see in the model, being added later.

However, the participation of the Cossack regiments in the Northern War between Moskovia and Sweden, coupled with the constant disregard by the tsarist government for Cossack rights and freedoms compelled Ivan Mazepa to switch protectors – from the Muskovite tyrant-autocrat to the enlightened Swedish monarch, Charles XII.

In the published in Paris in 1813-1814 two-volume "History of the Cossacks," propagandist of Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Louis Lesueur, wrote with enthusiasm about the brave deed of Ivan Mazepa and bitterly noted that the Moscow boot had trampled the freedom of the Cossack nation and stolen its past. Moreover, he expressed confidence in its restoration.

The Hetman has not only become a literary hero but also a subject of artistic works. Currently, more than a dozen different versions of portraits of Mazepa are known, and researchers continue to debate how accurately they reflect his personality.