A bust of Hetman Ivan Mazepa was unveiled on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Preserve. The Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP), Oleksandr Alfiorov, called this event "an extremely strong decision" and an important step in restoring historical memory.
Details of the unveiling of the memorial sign and the position of the preserve's management
As noted by the Head of the UINP Oleksandr Alfiorov, until recently, the Lavra was a place where Russian historical narratives dominated.
“Until recently, the Lavra was the center of the Russian world-ideology, where Mazepa was a traitor and cursed… This is an extremely strong decision! I set myself the goal of assisting in its implementation from the first days of being Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance.”– noted the head of the institution.
The authors of the installed bust are sculptors Borys Krylov and Oles Sydoruk. The historical consultants for the project were Olha Kovalevska and Oleksandr Alfiorov, and the architect was Viktor Yurkiv.
The General Director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Preserve, Maksym Ostapenko, emphasized that it was thanks to Ivan Mazepa's patronage that the architectural ensemble of the shrine was formed at the time.
“For centuries, Russia has tried to deprive Ukrainians of their own memory: to erase Mazepa from history, brand him as a ‘traitor,’ appropriate his heritage, and impose an alien vision of the past… It is impossible to imagine the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra without Hetman Ivan Mazepa.”– stated Ostapenko.
The director of the preserve announced that on July 14, the memorial sign will be solemnly consecrated under the auspices of Metropolitan Epiphanius. Ostapenko also recalled the signing of the decree on celebrating the 975th anniversary of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the start of preparations for its 1000th anniversary.
For her part, Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna noted that Russia had been trying for centuries to distort the image of the Hetman and impose its own vision of their history on Ukrainians. Commenting on the plans to install a monument to Ivan Mazepa in place of the former Lenin monument on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard in Kyiv, she emphasized the significance of such changes.
“The place where the symbol of the empire once fell will be occupied by a person who became one of the symbols of Ukrainian statehood. There is a strong historical meaning in this.”– emphasized Berezhna.
Historical assessments of Ivan Mazepa's figure in Ukraine and Russia
After the unveiling of Ivan Mazepa's bust in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, discussions surrounding his activities have intensified again. In Ukraine, the Hetman is considered one of the founders of statehood, while Russian historiography has been shaping the opposite image for centuries.
Russian historiography traditionally calls Ivan Mazepa a "traitor." This is due to the fact that in 1708, during the Great Northern War, he switched to the side of Swedish King Charles XII, breaking his alliance with Russian Tsar Peter I. After that, by the Tsar's order, the Russian Orthodox Church declared an anathema on Mazepa. Over the following centuries, Russia used the term "Mazepism" as a political stigma for those Ukrainians who advocated for independence from Moscow.
Ukrainian historiography assesses these events differently. Historians note that Peter I consistently limited the autonomy of the Hetmanate, restricted the rights of the Cossacks, and subordinated Ukrainian lands to the Russian state. Because of this, Ivan Mazepa's alliance with Sweden is viewed as an attempt to free Ukraine from Moscow's rule and create an independent state under the protectorate of the Swedish crown. According to the European political norms of that time, a vassal had the legal right to break an alliance with a monarch if the latter violated his obligations.
In addition to his military and political activities, Ivan Mazepa is known as one of the greatest patrons of the arts of his time. During his 22-year reign, he financed the development of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the construction of dozens of churches, and became one of the founders of the "Mazepa Baroque" architectural style.
