Hetman Ivan Mazepa Print

Ukrainian state, political and military leader, sponsor of education and the Church, hetman of Zaporizhia army, the head of kozak state on left bank of Dnipro river (1687-1704) and all Dnipro region lands (1704-1709). Born in village Kamianec (now v. Mazepinci Bilocerkva region of Kyiv province). Graduated from Kyiv-Mohyla collegium. His father helped him to go to service to Polish king Jan II Kazimir. As an official officer of the king he served as ambassador to hetmans Y. Chmelnitsky and P. Teteria. After return to Ukraine, he served to P. Doroshenko and I. Samoilovich. Appointed as hetman, he tried to restore hetman institution in Ukraine. Mazepa contributed much to social, economical and cultural development of left bank of Dnipro Ukraine. Being under protection of Moscow tsar Peter I, he tried to restore the state of Ukraine in borders of B. Chmelnitsky. Many years he formally supported Moscovia in North war against Sweden, but in 1708 he joined Swedish army to make Ukraine free from Moscow pressure. After military crash in battle near Poltava, he emigrated to land of modern Moldova state, which in these times was under control of Osman empire. Died in kozak camp in village Varnicia near Bendery fort. Later reburied in Galac (now Romania). The portrait of Ivan Mazepa was made with help of historical investigations of Kim Skalacky ‘Mazepa and his portraits’ and ‘The lord Sederhelm knew some thing’. These articles were published in book ‘Researches and discoveries’. Because of severe ban of tsar Peter I, it was difficult to save any portrait of Mazepa after Poltava military crash, and the author researched appearance of Mazepa with help of different sources (notes of French diplomats and kozak leaders) and analysed all portraits of Mazepa, available today.