page_title: Ivan Mazepa
section_title: Historical legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Ivan Mazepa / Historical legacy
caption_attribution_description: Українська: Пам'ятник Івану Мазепі, Чернігів, вул. Преображенська, 1, територія Валу This is a photo of a monument in Ukraine, number: 74-101-0084
context_page_description: Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. It is claimed that he was awarded a title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1707 for his efforts for the Holy League. The historical events of Mazepa's life have inspired many literary, artistic and musical works. He was famous as a patron of the arts.
  Mazepa played an important role in the Battle of Poltava, where after learning that Tsar Peter I intended to relieve him as acting Hetman of Zaporizhian Host and to replace him with Alexander Menshikov, he deserted his army and sided with King Charles XII of Sweden. The political consequences and interpretation of this desertion have resonated in the national histories both of Russia and of Ukraine.
  The Russian Orthodox Church laid an anathema on Mazepa's name in 1708 and refuses to revoke it to this day. Anti-Russian elements in Ukraine from the 18th century onwards were derogatorily referred to as Mazepintsy. The alienation of Mazepa from Ukrainian historiography continued during the Soviet period, but post-1991 in independent Ukraine there have been strong moves to rehabilitate Mazepa's image, although he remains a controversial figure.
context_section_description: Mazepa's decision to abandon his allegiance to the Russian Empire was considered treason by the Russian Tsar and a violation of the Treaty of Pereyaslav. However, others argue that it was Imperial Russia who broke the treaty by not even trying to protect the Cossack homeland during busy fighting abroad while Ukrainian peasants were complaining about the conduct of local Muscovite troops. Many Cossacks had died while building Saint Petersburg, and the Tsar planned to deploy Cossack troops far from their homeland.
  The image of a disgraceful traitor persisted throughout Russian and Soviet history. The Russian Orthodox Church anathemaised and excommunicated him for political reasons. Until 1869, his name was even added to the list of traitors publicly cursed in Russian churches during the Feast of Orthodoxy service, along with Pugachev, Razin and False Dmitry I. Later, a positive view of Mazepa was taboo in the Soviet Union and considered as a sign of "Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism". During the years of Perestroika, however, many historical works saw light that viewed Mazepa differently. After Ukraine's independence in 1991, Mazepa was proclaimed a national hero in Ukraine's official historiography and mainstream media, as he was the first post-Pereyaslav Treaty hetman to take a stand against the Tsar, who failed to abide by the Treaty. This view however is still disputed by pro-Russian factions. Russia has repeatedly condemned Ukraine for honoring the figure of Ivan Mazepa. According to an April 2009 survey by the Research & Branding Group, 30 percent of the population of Ukraine views Mazepa as "a man who fought for the independence of Ukraine", while 28 percent view him "as a turncoat who joined the enemy's ranks".
  During an event in Mazepyntsi to mark the 370th birthday (20 March 2009) of Hetman Mazepa, President Viktor Yushchenko called for the myth about the alleged treason of Mazepa to be dispelled. According to Yushchenko, the hetman wanted to create an independent Ukraine, and architecture thrived in Ukraine over the years of Mazepa's rule: "Ukraine was reviving as the country of European cultural traditions". The same day, around 100 people held a protest in Simferopol against the marking of the 370th birthday of Mazepa. In May 2009 the Russian foreign ministry stated in an answer to Ukraine's preparations to mark the 300th anniversary of the battle of Poltava and plans to erect a monument to Mazepa that those were attempts at an "artificial, far-fetched confrontation with Russia".
  Mazepa's portrait is found on the 10 hryvnia (Ukrainian currency) bill.
  In August 2009, a monument to the hetman, the work of the sculptor Gennady Jerszow,  was unveiled in Chernihiv. The opening was accompanied by clashes between the police and opponents of the Mazepa.
  After researching his genealogy in 2009, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko did not rule out that his family is connected with the family of Mazepa.
  In August 2009, Yushchenko decreed the resuming of a halted construction of an Ivan Mazepa monument in Poltava. A monument to Mazepa was to be erected on Slava Square in Kiev in 2010 to fulfill a decree of Yushchenko. In May 2010 Kiev city civil servants stated the city was ready to establish a monument as soon as the Cabinet of Ukraine would fund this project. According to them the situation was similar to other unrealised monuments such as the "Unification Monument" and a monument to Pylyp Orlyk who in 2010 were conceived in 2002 and 2003 but still not built in 2010. The Poltava City Council on 25 February 2016 voted in favor of the monument. On 6 May 2016 President Petro Poroshenko unveiled the Mazepa monument in Poltava.
  The Ivan Mazepa Street in Kiev, which runs past the Pechersk Lavra, was partly changed to Lavrska Street in July 2010. The move was met with protests.
  In Galați (Romania), Mazepa is remembered in the name of two central neighbourhoods (Mazepa I and II) and with a statue in a parc on Basarabiei street.
caption: Monument to Hetman Mazepa (Chernihiv) [ru; uk]
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