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Ivan Mazepa
One of
the symbols of Ukrainian independence is Ivan Mazepa, an important military
leader who lived some 300 years ago. His image is found on the front of the 10
hryvnia bill.
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It is
debatable as to exactly when and where Ivan Mazepa was born, but it is
generally thought that he was born around 1640 in the Kyiv region of Polish-ruled
Ukraine. Pretty early on in his life,
Mazepa served as page for the Polish King in Warsaw. After some years in Poland and abroad, Mazepa
permanently returned to Ukraine to help his father, who was ill, and following
his father's death, Ivan inherited his father's position as cup-bearer to the
city of Chernihiv. In 1669, when Mazepa
was probably around 30 years old, he began serving under hetman (military
leader) Petro Doroshenko as a squadron leader in the Hetman's Guard, and later
Mazepa became Doroshenko's chancellor.
During one of his diplomatic missions in 1674, Mazepa was captured by
Ivan Sirko of Zaporozhia, who was then forced to hand over Mazepa to Ivan
Samiolovych of Eastern Ukraine, also Doroshenko's rival. But Mazepa quickly gained the favor and
confidence of Samiolovych and Peter I, tsar of Russia.
In
1687, Ivan Mazepa became the new hetman leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks. While Mazepa was a hetman, his goal was to
unite Ukrainian territories in a state that would be similar to other European
states, but would keep the customs of the Cossack's system. At first, Mazepa supported Peter I's wars,
including the first part of the Northern War with Sweden, and Mazepa initially
believed that Ukraine and Russia could live side by side. But later on he realized that the
co-existence of Ukraine and Russia couldn't as simple and peaceable as he may
have hoped.
Even
today we see that the co-existence of Russia and Ukraine can be a delicate
situation; the recent political events of the EuroMaidan and in Crimea and
Eastern Ukraine show the difficulties between these two neighboring
countries. There are many ethnic
Russians in Ukraine, and often the government leaders have been pro-Russia,
rather than trying to develop an independent Ukraine. Centuries ago, during Mazepa's time, Russia
tried to destroy Ukrainian autonomy, as well as the Cossack system and
privileges. But once this was realized
by Mazepa, he started negotiations with Poland and with Sweden, Russia's
enemy.
In
March 1709, Ivan Mazepa, Charles XII of Sweden, and Ottoman Kost Hordiienko
signed a peace treaty, and Charles XII promised not to sign peace with Russia
until Ukraine and the Zaporozhian lands were free from Russian rule. By siding with Sweden, Mazepa broke any ties
and loyalty with Peter I, and Russia would later say that Mazepa betrayed
them. Peter I ended up winning the
Russo-Swedish war of 1708-09, and while the Zaporozhian Cossacks and Mazepa's
followers faced severe consequences; Mazepa, Charles XII of Sweden, Kost
Hordiienko, and over 3000 followers escaped to Turkish-ruled Moldova, where
Ivan Mazepa died of natural causes on September 22, 1709.
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Ivan
Mazepa is a controversial character in history; Ukraine benefited from his
leadership, but there are differing perspectives on whether he was a traitor or
a hero. Mazepa helped Ukraine develop
and move on in its economy and industry; he was an advocate of education, and
he founded the construction of Ukrainian schools and churches. He was also a patron of painting and
architecture, and literacy was said to thrive while Mazepa was hetman. But Peter I condemned Mazepa a traitor, and
the Russians and Soviets spoke against him in the years that followed. From the Russian perspective, perhaps that is
understandable, but Mazepa loved “Mother Ukraine,” and Ukrainians remember him
as an important patriot and a symbol of Ukrainian independence.
Resources:
http://biography.yourdictionary.com/ivan-stepanovich-mazepa
http://ukrainianweek.com/History/17621
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/371242/Ivan-Mazepa
http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CM%5CA%5CMazepaIvan.htm
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Holy
Dormition Cathedral
of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra
If you look on the back side of the
10 hryvna bill, you'll see a cathedral, the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev
Pechersk Lavra. This cathedral is almost
1000 years old! It was built in 1073-1078 and is located Kyiv, Ukraine's
capital. The inside was decorated with
mosaics and frescoes, but the original art is now gone due to
reconstructions. In the first part of
the 18th century there was a fire which caused much destruction to
the cathedral, and the church was blown up during WW2 in 1941.
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Today, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is
still used as a monastery, but it also partially a museum and is one of Kyiv's
attractions. Somehow we have not visited
this site yet, but it sounds like the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and the Holy
Dormition Cathedral are two more of Kyiv's beautiful and historical structures.
Resources:
http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=pages\K\Y\KyivanCaveMonastery.htm
