Mazepa gained confidence in Peter 1 and was highly respected by him. He provided serious support to the king in his military campaigns. He took part in both of Peter's campaigns to Azov. In February 1700, Peter 1 personally awarded Mazepa the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called No. 2 - "for many of his noble and zealous loyal services in military labors." The order's motto was: "For faith and loyalty!" In 1704, taking advantage of the uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the invasion of Poland by Swedish troops, Mazepa occupied the Right-Bank Ukraine. In 1705 he made a trip to Volhynia to help Peter's ally, the Polish king Augustus II. In total, Mazepa on the side of Russia conducted more than 20 military campaigns.
A well-known phrase of Mazepa, uttered by him in 1707: "Without an extreme, last need, I will not change my loyalty to the royal majesty." He explained that "extreme need" may be: "… until I see that the tsarist majesty will not be able to protect not only Ukraine, but also his entire state from the Swedish potential."
In 1706, Russia suffered a series of political setbacks, the Swedes inflicted a crushing defeat on the Saxon army, and Peter's ally, the Saxon elector, and the Polish king Augustus II renounced the Polish throne in favor of the Swedes' supporter Leszczynski and broke the alliance with Russia. During this period, Mazepa, apparently, conceived a transition to the side of Charles XII and the formation of independent possession from Little Russia under the rule of the Polish king.
In September 1707, Mazepa received from the Polish king Leshchinsky a letter from a supporter of the Swedes, in which he asked Mazepa to "start a business" when the Swedish troops approached the borders of Little Russia. Thus, already a year before the betrayal, Mazepa prepared the ground for going over to the side of the enemy, if he wins.
Shortly before this, Mazepa, possessed by envy and anger towards the national hero, Colonel Paley, decided to eliminate him, accusing him of collusion with Karl XII and the Poles. Peter I believed Mazepa, and Paley was demoted and exiled to Siberia.
Mazepa was the subject of a series of denunciations to Peter I, talking about his treason, but Mazepa enjoyed the trust of the tsar, and he did not want to believe the denunciations, the informers were punished, and the tsar's trust in the hetman only grew.
In August 1707, there was a dangerous denunciation of Mazepa by the general judge Kochubei. But the report was found to be false. In January 1708, Kochubey sent another notice of Mazepa's betrayal. Peter I considered the denunciation false again, entrusting the proceedings to the hetman's friends, who tortured Kochubei and Colonel Iskra, after which they were beheaded.
Mazepa, frightened by this denunciation, even more energetically conducted negotiations with the Polish king and Charles XII, which ended with the conclusion of secret treaties with them. Mazepa provided the Swedes with fortified points for winter apartments, undertook to deliver provisions and win over the Zaporozhye and Don Cossacks to Karl's side, providing an army of 50 thousand sabers.
In the fall of 1708, Peter 1 invited Mazepa to join the Russian troops with the Cossacks, Mazepa hesitated, referring to his illnesses and troubles in Little Russia. Menshikov decided to visit Mazepa, fearing exposure, he with the hetman's treasury fled to Karl XII in October. With Mazepa, about 1,500 Cossacks passed to the Swedes and supported the Baturin garrison, which Mazepa promised to give the Swedes for winter quarters. Later, he was joined by a part of the Zaporozhye army under the command of Ataman Gordienko in the amount of 3 to 7 thousand people. Most of the Cossacks remained loyal to the Russian Tsar.
The result of Mazepa's betrayal was the involvement of the Swedes in Little Russia, where they included provisions for the provisions promised by Mazepa, winter apartments and 50 thousand Cossack troops.
The rest of Little Russia refused to support Mazepa, remained loyal to the Russian tsar and began a people's war against the Swedes. Fearing further betrayal, Peter I gave the order to destroy the Zaporozhye Sich, which was done, while 156 atamans and Cossacks were executed, Menshikov was ordered to take the hetman's well-fortified residence - Baturin, where there were large supplies of food and artillery promised by Mazepa to Charles XII. The fortress was taken in a few hours, and the garrison was destroyed
In April 1709, Mazepa concludes an agreement with Charles XII, which is now being interpreted in Ukraine as "the conclusion of a Ukrainian-Swedish alliance". According to the agreement, Mazepa was given the title of prince for life, a number of cities were transferred to the Swedes, and the parties even divided up Russia, which had not yet been conquered!
Seeing the lack of support for Mazepa among the Cossacks and the population, supporters begin to leave him, who also took advantage of the amnesty announced by Peter I.
Abandoned by his colonels, Mazepa again conspires betrayal and tries to offer Peter I to transfer Charles XII and his generals to him, but the tsar rejects this offer, since he no longer trusted Mazepa.
The betrayal of Mazepa, who enjoyed the unconditional trust and support of Peter I, forced the tsar to take harsh public measures to punish the traitor. Four royal decrees were issued: on depriving Mazepa of titles and ranks, on depriving him of the order of Andrew the First-Called, on the establishment of the Order of Judas and the execution of Mazepa in absentia, and the church anathematized him.
Decree depriving Mazepa of titles and ranks.
We, the Great Sovereign, the Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, the autocrat of all Great and Small and White Russia … we have always punished and will punish the ungrateful for treason and betrayal of Our Imperial Majesty.
Among our subjects there was found an ungrateful dog, a villain and an oath-breaker, the hetman of Little Russia and the troops of his tsarist majesty of the Zaporozhye Ivashka Mazepa, who went over to the side of our worst enemy, the Swedish king Charles.
We, the Great Sovereign, by our command excommunicate the traitor Mazepa from our blessing and, by our personal decrees, make a decision:
- to revoke our letter to Ivashka Mazepa for the hetman detachment of Little Russia and the Zaporozhye troops;
- to deprive Mazepa of the rank of a real privy councilor of Our Majesty;
- to confiscate all his property to the royal treasury.
Let the punishment imposed by our Tsar Majesty on the traitor Ivashka Mazepa for all my subjects be a lesson in the inevitability of punishment for perjury and treason.
Given on the 12th day of November, in the summer from the birth of Christ 1708.
Decree depriving Mazepa of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
We are the Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, the autocrat of all Great and Small and White Russia, indicated by his own names, the Great Sovereign, with an order to deprive the thief and traitor Ivashka Mazepa of the title of Knight of the Order of Andrew the First-Called, with which my most worthy subjects are awarded for “Faith and loyalty to our Royal Majesty.
With his disgusting deeds, he disgraced the high rank of such a venerable order, lost his honor by betraying our adversary Karl and meanly fled into his arms.
He broke the oath given on the cross and the Gospel to me, the Great Sovereign, and took an oath of allegiance to the Swedish king Charles. Let the heavenly punishment fall upon him!
Having disgraced himself with dishonor, Ivashka Mazepa is not worthy to be on a par with the glorious sons of our Patronymic. Therefore, we command that the Christ-seller and traitor Mazepa be deprived of the title of Chevalier of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, to tear the certificate granted to him for the noblest order on the scaffold, publicly remove the ribbon of the order from the effigy, and permanently exclude him from the list of the noblest of the noble ones bearing the title of the Honorable Order.
Let eternal damnation hang over the perjurer and let our descendants always remember the treachery of Mazepa's dog. Damn you!
Given on the 12th day of November, in the summer from the birth of Christ 1708.
Decree establishing the Order of Judah.
We are the Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, autocrat of all Great and Small and White Russia, indicated by his own names, the Great Sovereign, we command to mark the vile betrayal of the former hetman of Little Russia and the troops of his royal majesty Ivashka Mazepa of Zaporozhye by the establishment of the Order of Judas.
Make a silver coin weighing ten pounds at the same time, and on it carve Judas on the aspen of the hanged person and below thirty pieces of silver lying with them a sack, and behind the inscription: "Damned son of the perilous Judas chokes for love of mediocrity."
Make a two-pound chain to that coin and mail this coin to the military expedition immediately.
With this order to reward the vile traitor and perjurer Ivashka Mazepa, in the image and likeness of Judas for thirty pieces of silver who betrayed his master.
Given on the 12th day of November, in the summer from the birth of Christ 1708.
Decree on the legend of Mazepa's execution.
We, the Great Sovereign, the Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, the autocrat of all Great and Small and White Russia, indicated by our own names, the Great Sovereign, with an order to betray the oath-breaker Ivashka Mazepa and deprive him of all titles and ranks.
This oath-breaker, an ungrateful dog, who destroyed the innocent souls of Kochubei and Iskra, instead of faithful service to Us, the Great Sovereign, committed villainy not only against Our Royal Majesty, but also betrayed the Faith of Christ, his people and his land, surrendering himself into the hands of a Gentile who encroached on freedom our. This enemy of the Cross of Christ is subject to eternal damnation, like Judas who betrayed Christ.
For gold and power, this flattering villain turned to the side of our enemy, let eternal damnation be a reproach to him.
And therefore we command the thief and traitor of the former hetman of Little Russia and the troops of his tsarist majesty of Zaporozhye Ivashka Mazepa for:
- violation of the oath of loyalty given on the cross and the Gospel to me, the Great Sovereign;
- Taking an oath of allegiance to the enemy of the Russian land, the Swedish king Karl;
- the invitation and admission to the lands of Little Russia of the Swedes, guilty of the destruction of churches and the desecration of shrines;
- an attempt to overthrow the existing state system of Great and Minor and White Russia
put to death by hanging.
For these sins in the memory of the people, this damned dog will forever remain Judas, for thirty pieces of silver betrayed the Great Sovereign, the Cross of Christ and our faith. By his loathsome deeds, he earned himself for his own deeds, a place for him on the scaffold, and heavenly punishment will be rewarded to him with the hands of an executioner.
Given on the 12th day of November, in the summer from the birth of Christ 1708.
In November 1708, in Glukhovo, in the presence of Peter I, the clergy, foremen and Cossacks, the Metropolitan of Kiev, archbishops of Chernigov and Pereyaslavl anathematized Mazepa, and then a theatrical ceremony of absentee execution of the traitor was unfolded on the central square. A doll was made in advance, depicting Mazepa in full growth in hetman's vestments and with a ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called over his shoulder, which was put on display to the audience.
Andreev's cavaliers Menshikov and Golovkin ascended the constructed scaffold, tore up the patent issued to Mazepa for the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and removed the Andreevskaya ribbon from the doll. Then the doll was thrown into the hands of the executioner, which he dragged on a rope through the squares and streets, and then hung it up.
At the same time in Moscow the locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne proclaimed: "… traitor Mazepa, for the crime of the cross and for treason to the great sovereign, be anathema!" Anathema operates in the Orthodox Church to this day.
Mazepa's betrayal did not save the Swedes from defeat at Poltava in June 1709. Karl XII and Mazepa fled to Bendery after the battle, where Mazepa died in September 1709.
A long memory of Mazepa is preserved in folk songs, where the epithets "dog" and "damned" are usually used next to his name. Nevertheless, for the supporters of Ukrainian "independence" this traitor, traitor and perjurer was and remains an idol and a model of honor and dignity.
Throughout his long life, Mazepa, being only in the service of someone, betrayed and betrayed the Polish king, the right-bank and left-bank Cossacks, the Russian tsar and tried to betray the Swedish king, gave the oath to the Turkish sultan, the Russian tsar and the Swedish king. Mazepa did not win a single military victory and never showed himself as a statesman, but in his cunning and double-mindedness he so often betrayed his oath that these betrayals became the meaning of his life.
