Ivan Mazepa

✶March 20, 1639

†September 21, 1709

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About their life

Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa was a Ukrainian military, political and civic leader who served as hetman of the Cossack Hetmanate in 1687–1709. His long and stable rule was marked by economical and political recovery from the Ruin. A loyal subject of Russia during most of his rule, Mazepa's close relationship with Tsar Peter I deteriorated as a result of the latter's administrative reforms, which increasingly deprived Mazepa and the Hetmanate of their autonomy. In 1708, Mazepa abandoned his alliance with Peter I and sided with Charles XII of Sweden after the Tsar refused to protect the Hetmanate against the advancing Swedes, instead ordering that much of Ukraine be burned to prevent the Swedes from gaining access to supplies and winter quarters.

Hetman of Ukrainian Cossacks from 1687 to 1708

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Biography from the article Ivan Mazepa on the English Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.