Unfinished portrait

Ivan Mazepa is one of the most prominent Ukrainians of all times. Even those historians and writers who were hostile to the famous hetman for political reasons, for example, Pushkin, the author of the poem “Poltava,” were compelled to acknowledge the scale of his personality. In the 19th and 20th centuries the fighters for Ukraine’s independence were inspired by Mazepa. It was not by chance that in Russian imperialist terminology the word “Mazepist” meant “advocate of Ukraine’s state sovereignty.”

Mazepa’s portrait cannot be created in primitive black and white colors. Most importantly, his portrait is far from complete because scholars are just beginning to discover Mazepa’s contribution to the building of the Ukrainian state and its cultural and spiritual life. The same can be said about the objective study of the factors that led to his defeat. These scholarly tasks are essential to resolving contemporary problems.

The importance of holding conferences on thorny historical issues cannot be overestimated. An international scholarly conference dedicated to “Ivan Mazepa and His Age: History, Culture, and National Memory” was held on Oct. 15-17 at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. It was attended, among others, by the president of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Serhii Kvit, the academy’s President Emeritus Viacheslav Briukhovetsky, Academician Valerii Smolii, the Ukrainian historian Taras Chukhlib, the Russian historian Tetiana Tairova-Yakovleva, Christian Werner, a historian from Sweden, and the Polish scholar Teresa Chynczewska-Hennel. A detailed account of the conference proceedings will be published in upcoming issues of The Day.

In 2008-2009 Ukraine will mark a series of memorable dates and anniversaries, including the 300th anniversary of Hetman Mazepa’s military and political actions, the Ukrainian-Swedish alliance, the defense of Baturyn, and the Battle of Poltava. These key events in the historical development not only of Ukraine but also of other nations had a tremendous impact on the political development of the Central and Eastern European countries, which endured for centuries.

For the first time in the history of our nation, in the independent Ukrainian state, we have received an opportunity to grasp the significance of Baturyn and Poltava. We have to interpret the importance of these events from the point of view of our own historical self-evaluation. We have a unique opportunity to assert our Ukrainian state decisively and irrevocably and to fill its content with national culture and truthful history.

In September 2008 the presentation of the restored flag of Hetman Ivan Mazepa (1686-88) took place at the National Museum of Ukrainian History, one of the most important events in our historical and cultural renaissance. It is deeply symbolic that this event took place in the year of the 300th anniversary of Hetman Mazepa’s war against Russia. According to Voltaire, Mazepa showed that “Ukraine had always striven to be free.” The restoration of this piece of the hetman’s regalia and the grand opening of the exhibit “Ukraine-Sweden on the Crossroads of History: the 17th-18th Centuries” on Oct. 1, 2008, are the first in a series of public events aimed at honoring the great hetman, whose belief in an independent Ukraine was invincible.

We request the participants of the international conference to support the initiative to proclaim 2009 the Year of Hetman Ivan Mazepa. The nationally conscious Ukrainian community would thus pay tribute to the hetman who, over a period of 22 years, created a new, flourishing, educated, and spiritually mature Ukraine, which arose from the ruins of the previous decades. Such a tribute would also demonstrate continuity, solidarity, and respect for all the generations of fighters who ever struggled for the Independent United Ukrainian State.”