Ivan Mazepa (20 March 1639-2 October 1709) was Cossack Hetman from 1687 to 1708 and a general of the Russian Empire.
Biography[]
Born to a noble Lithuanian family, Mazepa studied gunnery in the United Provinces from 1656-59. From 1659 he served Jan II of Poland as a diplomatic envoy and was criticized by the Russian Empire as being a Catholic. In the 1660s he rose through the ranks of the Cossack Hetmanate and in 1687 he was elected Hetman. To protect his autonomy under the Russians he took part in the Great Northern War but in 1709 Russia stopped their protection over the Hetmanate and Mazepa rebelled. He died in The Balkans after the Hetmanate was conquered.