Tsar Peter and Hetman Mazepa. Shambarov V.E.

When they talk about the accomplishments of Peter the Great, they usually imply a breakthrough of Russia to the Baltic, the construction of St. Petersburg. But there was another - a brutal struggle against traitors. The most famous figure among them was the hetman Mazepa, at the most intense moment of the Northern War, trying to inflict a deadly blow to the back of our country. His betrayal was by no means random, the conspiracy broke out for more than ten years, was associated with the Western governments, the Order of the Jesuits. For the sake of his own benefits and personal elevation, the hetman tried to turn the story back, in alliance with the “invincible” Swedes to crush the Russians, and at the same time to return to slavery to the Poles and Catholics. But at that time, even their own subjects did not buy a lie and did not go for Mazepa. Definitely and expressively made a choice in favor of Russia.