Who Betrayed Whom? Or, Who Remained Loyal to What? Tsar Peter Vs. Hetman Mazepa

This article analyses the early eighteenth-century relationship between Ukraine and Muscovy, and the revolt of Hetman Mazepa and the Ukrainian Cossacks against Tsar Peter the Great. It argues that Ukraine enjoyed a rather full autonomy to 1709, but that the stresses of the Great Northern War between...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Eighteenth-century studies 2022-03, Vol.55 (3), p.359-375
Main Author: Prymak, Thomas M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
Censorship
Defamation
European history
Historians
Poets
Propaganda
Stereotypes
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This article analyses the early eighteenth-century relationship between Ukraine and Muscovy, and the revolt of Hetman Mazepa and the Ukrainian Cossacks against Tsar Peter the Great. It argues that Ukraine enjoyed a rather full autonomy to 1709, but that the stresses of the Great Northern War between Muscovy and Sweden, the threats to Ukraine posed by Peter’s scorched earth policies, and plans to abolish Ukrainian autonomy provoked Mazepa’s revolt. It corrects the stereotype of Mazepa as a barbarous traitor and points out that just as Peter was true to Muscovite interests, so too Mazepa was true to Cossack Ukraine.
ISSN:0013-2586
1086-315X
1086-315X
DOI:10.1353/ecs.2022.0022