Dear friends, by popular demand, we have prepared an unscheduled episode dedicated to the man who became the personified symbol of betrayal in Russian history – Hetman Mazepa of Little Russia.

Mazepa can rightfully be called a “serial traitor.” His ability to gain trust and change his patrons like gloves ran through his entire life and career. For a long time, Peter the Great could not believe that the man he trusted implicitly had turned traitor.

Our episode – with English subtitles!

What religion did Mazepa profess? How did he speak of his compatriots – the Little Russian peasants and Cossacks? How did he become a hetman? For what achievements did Peter the Great induct him into his inner circle? Why does modern Ukrainian propaganda portray Mazepa as a hero? What was Mazepa’s fate after the defeat of the Swedes at Poltava?

Watch it in Vladimir Medinsky’s series of stories, “Peter the Great’s Times.”