Major reasons for Ukrainians’ failure to get independence

1. Absence of a common national idea. Domination of local interests among the upper-class Cossacks (starshyna).

2. Neglect of the peasants’ interests. The hetmans and starshyna wanted to replace Polish or Polonized szlachta and restore serfdom. The peasants’ interests were consistently ignored during the various treaty negotiations, and one of the prices hetmans paid for their alliance with the Tatars was allowing them to take peasants into captivity (yasyr).

3. Absence of a strong monarchical tradition. That stimulated the permanent struggle for power between various blocks of the starshyna, who made unions with foreign states and did not pay attention to the interests of the Ukrainian people.

4. Foreign states instigated conflicts between various groups of Ukrainians and prevented them from unification.

Achievements of the Great War

1. Ukraine got a limited statehood (autonomy) under Russia’s control which lasted more than 100 years.

2. The system of serfdom was liquidated and did not return until 1783, when Ukraine’s autonomy was abolished.

3. Religious oppression stopped.¹⁰

4. Ukraine’s language and culture got a new impulse to develop for a relatively long time.

5. New political elite (starshyna) was formed.

6. National consciousness grew.

The Great War’s Lessons

1. The national idea which could unite the nation should be developed

2. The elite should pay attention to the interests of the common people.

3. The elite should be unified and place national interests over the individual ones.

Hetman Ivan Mazepa and an attempt to separate Ukraine from Russia

Ivan Mazepa (1687-1709) was one of the most outstanding and controversial of all Ukrainian political leaders. Born on the Right Bank in 1639 into a Ukrainian noble family he received an exceptionally good education. He studied at Kiev-Mohyla Collegium, then at a Jesuit Collegium in Warsaw, and then in Holland. He served in the Polish king’s administration and was a close confidant of the monarch. In 1663 the promising young favorite of the king suddenly left the royal court and started to serve in the administration of the Polish-ruled Cossacks in Right-Bank Ukraine. A legend explains this downfall by a love affair: Mazepa had been discovered in bed with the wife of his neighbor, who tied a naked Mazepa to a wild horse and let her free. Whatever the truth, Mazepa spent the next few years in the Cossack administration in the Polish-ruled Right-Bank Ukraine. In 1674, he was captured by the Zaporozhians and handed over to the Russian-ruled Cossacks of Left-Bank Ukraine. Since Mazepa had a gift to turn his enemies into friends it doesn’t look surprising that he turned from the Left-Bank hetman Ivan Samoilovych’s prisoner into his confidant. In 1687 when Moscow deposed Samoilovych and Mazepa was supposed to face trouble as his close associate he managed to convince Peter I that he was the tsar’s true friend. Peter even said later “If only all my servants were like you I would be the happiest person in the world.” The tsar trusted Mazepa so much that Mazepa’s enemies noted that “the tsar would sooner disbelief an angel than Mazepa”. Thus, it was quite natural that Mazepa succeeded his former patron Samoilovych as hetman.

Mazepa’s hetmanship lasted for 21 years. He supported starshyna at the expense of the common people whose exploitation increased. Nor did he neglect his own interests. The hetman managed to accumulate 20,000 estates, thus becoming one of the wealthiest men in Europe. He also spent part of his money on religious and cultural institutions. He built and renovated several outstanding churches and financially supported schools, the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, and printing houses.

A serious trouble for Mazepa came in 1708 during the Northern War (1700-1725) between Russia and Sweden when the victorious Swedish king Charles XII entered Ukraine. The old hetman had to choose whether to remain loyal to the tsar or to side with the powerful Swedish army, which was considered the best in Europe at the time. Mazepa chose to be Charles’ ally. Several thousand Cossacks and many leading members of the starshyna followed him. Some historians say that according to the agreement with Swedish and Polish kings (Poland was Sweden’s ally) Ukraine was to be an autonomous principality in the Polish-Lithuania-Ruthenia Commonwealth. (Ruthenia was an old name for Ukraine). This agreement was similar to the Hadyach Treaty concluded by hetman Ivan Vyhovsky with the Polish king in 1658. Other historians say that Charles promised Mazepa to help create an independent state.¹¹

Peter I was shocked by the news. He was eager to revenge “the new Judas, Mazepa.” Russian troops attacked the hetman capital at Baturyn and massacred its entire population of 6000 men, women, and children. The town was well fortified and could withstand a long siege, but a traitor Ivan Nis showed to the Russian troops an underground passage to the town. Many people in Baturyn were not aware of Mazepa’s decision to switch sides, but the Russians decided to use the massacre to frighten Ukrainians and to show them what would happen to those not loyal to the tsar. As news of the Baturyn massacre spread and as Russian troops in Ukraine began a reign of terror, arresting and executing anyone even vaguely suspected of siding with Mazepa, many would-be supporters of the hetman reconsidered their plans. Moreover, the Orthodox Church under the tsar’s pressure started to excommunicate Mazepa’s supporters.¹² Meanwhile, Peter I ordered the starshyna that had not followed Mazepa to elect a new hetman and, on 11 November 1708, they chose Ivan Skoropadsky.

Frightened by the terrible example of the Baturyn massacre and terror, much of Ukrainian populace refused to join Mazepa. Religious factor also played an important role. The Swedes were Protestants and many Orthodox believers considered them heretics, or devil’s servants. Mazepa was not popular with the common people who did not trust him. One of the hetman’s biggest faults was that during his long rule he did not try to ease the living conditions of the common people. No wonder they did not support him in the war. Surprisingly, the Zaporozhians, who were often the hetman’s enemies during his reign, decided to support him against Russia. They regarded Mazepa as a lesser evil than the tsar.

On 28 June 1709, the Battle of Poltava – one of the most decisive battles in European history – took place and Peter I defeated Charles XII.¹³ As a result, Russia became one of the great powers of Europe. For the Ukrainians, the battle marked the end of their attempts to break away from Russia. It was now only a matter of time before its autonomy would be completely abolished.

Closely pursued by Russian cavalry, Mazepa and Charles XII escaped to Moldavia which was under Turkish control. It was here near the town of Bender that a depressed 70-year-old Mazepa died on 21 September 1709. Charles XII arranged a solemn funeral for his ally.

Russian and Ukrainian historians assess Mazepa’s actions during the Russo-Swedish war differently. Russian historians consider him traitor and Ukrainian historians – hero. (It is interesting to note that Russian historians do not consider Khmelnytsky traitor of Poland despite the fact that the hetman was a Polish subject). Mazepa became a symbol of Ukrainian independence movement. Ukrainian historians justify Mazepa’s secret agreement with the Swedes. They say that the major priority of politicians and diplomats are the interests of their country. And it looks quite natural that Mazepa preferred more powerful Sweden to Russia. According to international practice Ukraine’s actions also look natural.¹⁴ Mazepa’s personality was reflected in the works of such famous art figures as Lord Byron, P. Marime, V. Hugo, A. Pushkin, P. Tchaikovsky, F. Liszt, and others.