Why Mazepa "Betrayed" Peter I (13.08.2022)
A street video debate between the channel’s author and an opponent about Mazepa’s “betrayal.” Key points: the anathema against the hetman was canonically unlawful and politically motivated; Mazepa’s switch from Peter I to Charles XII fits the European law allowing a vassal to change a lord who fails his duty of protection; and the Pereyaslav Council of 1654 collided the European principle of a “treaty of equals” with the Muscovite interpretation of a treaty as “service” (the boyar Buturlin’s refusal of a reciprocal oath). A second video source for the article on Mazepa’s “betrayal.”
Key moments
- 06:33 The anathema against Mazepa violated church law (a secular person is not anathematized)
- 07:19 Vassal–suzerain relations: if the lord fails to protect his vassal
- 08:02 Peter I refused Mazepa protection for Ukraine — the reason for his switch to Charles XII
- 08:36 The Zaporozhian Host as a Ukrainian autonomous state; the treaties of 1649 and 1654
- 11:31 Two principles of the treaty: European (of equals) vs. Muscovite ("service")
- 12:33 The boyar Buturlin refused a reciprocal oath at the Pereyaslav Council
- 13:21 Mazepa elected hetman; the Kolomak Articles of 1687 (under the regency of Sophia)