Composition. 20 small sections
Historical ideas that are depicted in the work. The defeat of the Swedes by the Russian troops of Peter I near Poltava in 1709 and the confluence of Mazepi with Charles XII to Turecchin
Genre features. The poem is a whole literary-epic poem, a monologue-speech. The author tsikavit plin pochuttiv, the collapse of the hero’s thoughts, the flight of his awakening.
The image of Mazepa in Byron's poem
Hetman of images at the beginning of his work as a man of old age, 70 years old. Strong, brave, capable of maintaining self-control in difficult situations. You cannot change the course of history, otherwise, protecting your honor and worthiness will be lost to people. The image of Mazepi is richly nuanced. At the same time, one’s appearance changes under the weight of past fates, but saves the head: masculinity, strength, firmness of mind, nobility.
– Picture of a romantic hero in the image of Mazepa. He is gloomy, self-sufficient, loyal to high ideals (khanna, friendship, freedom, fidelity to the witch), willing, internally independent.
– Rise of the “Byronic hero” in the character of Mazepa.“The noble wicked man,” self-motivated, unhurried, strong-willed, a rebel with a suffering soul, in which the mood of “light sorrow” is stirred up; brave delivery, mighty will, titanic stand
Symbolic images of “Mazeppa” Byron
“Wild country”, such as “wild steppe”, “wild pralis”, “wild plain” are symbolic images that create an emotional, romantic image of Ukraine, which is a free, yet undeveloped land.
Image of a share, which retraces all the heroes. The fate turned out to be from the Swedes near Poltava, from King Charles XII, who ordered him to die, the fate brought together Mazepa and Teresa, who gave him such a strong cohana, and then separated them (even though Mazepa knows nothing about the further share of his cohana ), share vryatuvala yogo, brought to Ukraine, she made Mazepa hetman.
Horse image. In romantic literature, kine is a symbol of giving, of human share. Therefore, it becomes reasonable that Charles XII wastes his horses (the share turned out to be new), and Mazepa saved his horse (the share is still safe).
The image of the “wild horse” that carried Mazepa through the forests and steppes from Poland to Ukraine is a symbol of the unstoppable passion of the future hetman, and the fatal fate, and the death that struck Mazepa, and the heavenly punishment for his works (the destruction of his ї fidelity), і symbol the incomparable will that Mazepa has and how to bring him to hetmanship. In this way, the image of Ukraine, which remains a free country that is guilty of collapsing in the future, is inextricably linked.
Turbulent streams, heavy winds, strong winds highlight the passions that buried the hero.
The crow symbolizes death.
Step is Mazepa’s freedom-loving spirit.
A lush chagarna, a forest - the webs that were traversed on his life's path.
The evening cold, fog, gloom, darkness, the wind, the gloomy sky intensify Mazepa’s suffering. The morning, the white sun, the disappearance of the sun is a symbol of hope.
Image of the leader Mazepi symbol of a restless soul; – unaccelerated force; permanent insecurity; isolation of the free people; symbol of freedom, nation.
The poem “Mazeppa” is a romantic poem
1. “Mazepa” is a whole lyro-epic poem. The appearance of so-called mixed genres was characteristic of romanticism.
2. The legend itself sang, saying that it was mysterious, effective, unforgettable.
3. Romantics have always been distinguished by extraordinary features and large-scale statements. Mazepa is like that himself.
4. Expressive expressions of experience, clear logical positions, antithesis (violence - hopelessness, tyrant - victim, conqueror - conquests) - all this indicates affiliation with romanticism.
The poem is inspired in the form of a speech by the main character of the work, the old hetman Mazepa, about the love interest that she had with him. The poem consists of 20 small sections; The hour of the day is important for Charles XII and Mazepa, the days after the defeat near Poltava.
The history of writing and singing “Mazeppa”
Therefore, Byron wrote “Mazeppa” during his stay in Italy (near Venice and Ravenna) in 1818 or 1819. During Mazepa's speech about his marriage to the young beautiful Teresa, the squad of the old rich count-voivode, Byron himself appeared to be in a relationship with the young squad of the Count Guiciolli, also called Teresa. At the beginning of his story, Byron presented the idea that the basis of his position was one of the episodes from the “History of Charles XII” by the French writer Voltaire about those like the “gentry” Mazepa in his youth for his affairs with the wife of a Polish nobleman. punishment - attachments to the wild horse that was released into the steppe. Todi “Mazepa never died from suffering and hunger.” This will become the main food we eat. Mazepa told the Swedish queen Charles XII about it, since after the defeat of Peter I near Poltava in 1709, the stench reached Turecchin.
MAZEPA is the hero of A. S. Pushkin’s poem “Poltava” (1828). Ivan Stepanovich Mazepa (1644-1709) - a real historical figure, hetman of Ukraine from 1687 to 1708. Striving for the separation of Ukraine from Russia, during the Northern War he betrayed Peter, went over to the side of the Swedes, and after the Battle of Poltava (1709) he fled with Swedish king Charles XII. In Pushkin’s poem, the hetman is given a mercilessly harsh, destructive characterization, striking in its one-dimensionality (which the poet himself explained by loyalty historical facts) . M. appears in the poem as an absolutely immoral, dishonest, vindictive, evil person, as a treacherous hypocrite, for whom nothing is sacred (he “does not know what is sacred,” “does not remember charity”), a person accustomed to achieving his goal at any cost. A criminal seducer of his young goddaughter Maria, he puts her father Kochubey to public execution and - already sentenced to death - subjects her to cruel torture in order to find out where he hid his treasures. Equally mercilessly depicted political activity M. His words about the freedom of the Fatherland are outright political demagoguery and an outright lie: the separation of Ukraine from Russia would mean its dependence on Sweden and Poland, on whose help M. was counting so much. The practical preparation of M.'s conspiracy is presented in the poem as a Polish intrigue, as a disgusting political bargaining (“They are trading in the king’s head, // They are trading in the oaths of vassals”). The true motives of M.’s activities are revenge on Peter who insulted him, and most importantly, an unbridled, insatiable lust for power (“And soon in unrest, in abusive disputes, // Perhaps I will erect a throne”). Pushkin considered this entire moral and psychological complex (thirst for power, elevation, personal self-affirmation with complete unscrupulousness in means) to be typical of the new nobility in general, the Ukrainian version of which he considered M. After all, until recently - unlike the rich and noble Kochubey - M. was poor, unknown, socially insignificant (“he was poor and small”). But the point is not only in the personal qualities of M. His very speech is depicted in the poem as hostile to the transformations of Peter, entirely turned to the past, akin to the rebellion of the Moscow archers. And just as in “Stanza” (1826) the “violent archer” is contrasted with the loyal to Peter, but independent and honest aristocrat Dolgoruky, so in “Poltava” the “friends of bloody antiquity” are opposed by the well-born and noble Kochubey, who was also not afraid to tell the truth about the conspiracy of M. The execution of Kochubey is presented in “Poltava” as a tragic mistake of Peter, but the mistake is not accidental. Peter believed M. and did not believe Kochubey, for he relied more on the new nobility, and not on the ancient aristocracy. And this problem of reorienting the supreme power towards an alliance with the ancient Russian nobility, to which the poet considered himself, was one of the most important for Pushkin starting from the second half of the 1820s. “Poltava” was a political lesson and a reproach to the new tsar, who also made a tragic mistake, as the massacre of the Decembrists seemed to Pushkin. The hero and plot of the poem “Poltava” were embodied in P. I. Tchaikovsky’s opera “Mazeppa” (1883), in which the love story of M. and Maria came to the fore, the image of the hetman was clearly ennobled and endowed with lyrical intonations.
Hetman Mazepa is a real historical figure, the hero of the poem by A.S. Pushkin "Poltava". The work itself is also based on real events.
Pushkin describes Mazepa as an elderly man over sixty: “He is old. He is depressed by the years, / By war, by worries, by labors...”, “...His mustache is whiter than snow...”, “His curly gray hair, / His deep wrinkles, / His brilliant, sunken gaze, / His sly conversation. .." The author builds the work around the personality of the hetman, his relationship with Maria and smoothly leads the narrative to Peter’s main victory - the battle of Poltava.
Characteristics
Pushkin does not spare gloomy colors in his description of Mazepa, justifying such a characterization by fidelity to historical facts. In the poem, the hetman appears as a dishonest, evil, immoral and vindictive, treacherous hypocrite, ready to betray both love and his people for the sake of personal ambitions. “...he does not know what is sacred, / ...he does not remember charity, / ...he does not love anything! / ...he is ready to shed blood like water, ...he despises freedom, /...there is no homeland for him” - all this is about Mazepa. And indeed, hiding behind the desire to “liberate” the Ukrainian people from power Russian Empire, he weaves intrigues, negotiates with the Swedish King Charles. At the same time, Mazepa does not mention, and perhaps does not even think about, that then Ukraine will be under the influence of the Swedes and Poles.
Just like patriotism and loyalty to one’s people, so is love for Mazepa. empty sound. Although he tells Maria that he loves her “more than fame, more than power,” it is all a lie. Without thinking about the feelings of the girl who really loved him, he sends her father to the chopping block, after torturing her to find out where he hid the gold.
Image in the work
Initially, Pushkin called his poem “Mazepa,” but then deliberately changed the name to “Poltava.” The new title has a double meaning. The poem begins with a description of the peaceful life of the Kochubey family in Poltava, and ends with a picture of the Battle of Poltava. Although the lion's share of the narrative is indeed devoted to describing the history of Mazepa and Maria, it is the battle of Poltava that is the key ideological core of the entire work. “The Battle of Poltava is one of the most important and happiest incidents of the reign of Peter the Great. She saved him from his most dangerous enemy; established Russian rule in the south; secured new establishments in the north; proved to the state and its inhabitants the success and necessity of the transformation carried out by the tsar,” Pushkin wrote in the preface to the first edition of the poem.
So what did the author want to say with his work? He made a contrast between Mazepa and Peter. Pushkin, in fact, himself answers this question in the epilogue, asking: “What remains after a hundred years of these strong, proud men, so full of willful passions?” The answer is obvious. Peter left behind himself the glory of a great tsar, as well as a strong, enlightened Russia. Those who put personal interests above public ones did not leave any memory in history, and if they did, it was a shameful one. This is exactly how Mazepa is presented in the work.
Characteristics of Mazepa
Grushevsky and all separatist historians place Mazepa on a pedestal and attribute to him all kinds of civic and human virtues. In their presentation, he is not only highly educated and very clever man(which no one disputes), but also an idealist who devoted all his strength and abilities to the cause of freedom, good and prosperity of Ukraine-Rus and his great-grandfather’s Orthodox faith. Builder and patron Orthodox churches and monasteries, trustee of sciences and arts, fighter for the freedom and prosperity of his people.
A completely different portrait of Mazepa is given by his opponents. The famous historian Bantysh-Kamensky in his “History Little Russia"(Part III, 1830) cites the following characterization of Mazepa, given by one Ukrainian chronicler, a contemporary of Mazepa: “Gifted by nature with an extraordinary mind, having received an excellent education from the Jesuits, Mazepa, in addition to the Little Russian language, knew Latin, Polish and German; had the gift of speech and the art of persuasion. But with the cunning and caution of Vygovsky, he combined in himself the malice, vindictiveness and covetousness of Bryukhovetsky, and surpassed Doroshenko in popularity; but all of them are in ingratitude.”
The characterization is diametrically opposed to the statements of the separatists.
The truth lies somewhere in the middle, rather even closer to the last characteristic than to the ideal portrait of Mazepa that the separatists give.
Undoubtedly, Mazepa was more educated and smarter than most of his contemporaries. But his mind is youth was poisoned by the concepts of the noble environment from which he came, and perverted in the court atmosphere of the Polish royal court, full of flattery, pretense and seeking. For the people he was a stranger, and the welfare of the people for him was not at all the goal of life. One can rightfully say about Mazepa what Grushevsky said about Bohdan Khmelnitsky without any reason: “For him, the people were a means to achieve his goals.” These goals were power and wealth.
Having neither wealth from his ancestors nor special nobility of origin, with the help of which many come to power, Mazepa followed the path of acquiring power first, and through power and wealth, and steadily followed this path throughout his life. He easily gained the trust of those in power, and through them he himself became involved in power, and when the opportunity presented itself, with clever intrigue he overthrew or betrayed his benefactors and sometimes took their place. A faithful courtier of the Polish king, Doroshenko’s especially trusted ambassador to the Tatars, right hand Hetman Samoilovich, the initiator of his overthrow and deputy, the favorite of the temporary worker Golitsyn, Peter’s confidant and his associate in many campaigns - these are the main stages of Mazepa’s life. Each of this stages has numerous documentary evidence, and there is no way to challenge them. They can only be presented in a false light, which is what the falsifiers of history – Ukrainian chauvinist separatists – do.
The last stage - the bet on the Swedes - was the only erroneous calculation made by a subtle diplomat, an intelligent and unprincipled person, such as Mazepa.
In the light historical events and taking into account the situation at that time, one cannot but admit that Mazepa’s calculation had a very high chance of success. If Charles XII had won a victory near Poltava, Mazepa’s calculations would undoubtedly have been justified. As expected, a special principality would be created from Ukraine-Rus with Mazepa at its head. Of course, not independent, as the separatists claim, hushing up the truth, but as part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with the favorable patronage of Sweden. Through the joint efforts of Poland and Sweden, the people of Ukraine-Rus, who did not follow Mazepa, would have been brought into obedience, the Jesuits would have continued their aggression, interrupted by the Khmelnitsky uprising, and Ukraine-Rus would have been largely Catholicized and Polished, and its people would have been brought up in hostility and hatred towards the fraternal Russian people.
But Mazepa’s last bet turned out to be a blow, the calculation was wrong - and the history of all of Russia took a different path.
The penultimate bet - on Russia and Peter - justified itself and gave the Left Bank 21 years of relatively quiet life, without any enemy invasions, and Mazepa 21 years of power (1687–1708).
This text is an introductory fragment. From the book 100 great treasures author Nepomnyashchiy Nikolai Nikolaevich From the book Resurrection of Little Russia author Buzina Oles AlekseevichChapter 11 Mazepa's Gold Polubotok's Gold is a myth. And Mazepa's gold is reality. This is a loan that Charles XII took from Ukraine at 6 percent per annum. Until now, Sweden is in our unpaid debt! Hetman Mazepa died like a hero of pirate novels, surrounded by barrels of loot
From the book Myths and realities of the Battle of Poltava author Shirokorad Alexander BorisovichChapter 10. Mazepa's betrayal And what was Hetman Mazepa doing in the meantime? He regularly followed all the instructions of Peter and himself prepared to repel a possible invasion of Little Russia. Thus, the hetman ordered the establishment of a bread store in Chernigov for the tsarist army and gathered 15 thousand people there.
From the book Textbook of Russian History author Platonov Sergey Fedorovich§ 105(2). Mazepa's Betrayal Finally, in addition to everything that was happening in Muscovite Rus', bad news began to come to Peter from Little Russia. In 1707, Peter first received a denunciation against the Little Russian hetman Ivan Mazepa that he was communicating with the Polish king Stanislav and
From the book Unperverted History of Ukraine-Rus Volume I by Dikiy Andrey author Markevich Nikolai AndreevichXXV. To the Sovereigns from Hetman Mazepa by the grace of God, the Most Serene and Most Powerful Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke John Alekseevich, Peter Alekseevich, Great and Lesser and White Russia, Autocrat, and many States and lands of the Eastern and Western and Northern
From the book History of Little Russia - 4 author Markevich Nikolai AndreevichXXXVIII. From Mazepa to Kochubey Panya Kochubey! He conveys to us that his heartfelt pity is that the crayfish should have sneered at his proud, eloquent wife, whom I see you don’t know how to pull up and offer the same: the same mushtuk is like on a horse, so on cabilis are laid; she is that and
From the book History of Little Russia - 4 author Markevich Nikolai AndreevichXLI. Letters from Hetman Mazepa to the Sovereign, by the grace of God, the Most Serene and Sovereign Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, the Autocrat of all Great and Lesser and White Russia, and so on. and so on. and so on. Ivan Mazepa, Hetman and Cavalier with the army of your Tsar
From the book History of Little Russia - 3 author Markevich Nikolai AndreevichArticles by Hetman Ivan Mazepa 1. The Hetman, the Zaporozhye army, and the people of Little Russia ask for mercy from the Great Sovereigns and the Great Empress, from Their Royal Most Illustrious Majesty, so that they may have their former rights and liberties, and what was granted to the former Hetman Bogdan
by Dikiy AndreyBiography of Mazepa There is no exact biography of Mazepa and information about his origin. Some historians consider him a natural Pole (Voltaire, Leclerc, Golikov, Simonovsky, Lesyur) and call him a “Polish nobleman”; others (City, Shafronsky), as well as his contemporary, the famous
From the book The Missing Letter. The unperverted history of Ukraine-Rus by Dikiy AndreyMazepa's reign At the beginning of his reign, Mazepa, having no opportunities for other combinations on the political horizon, and taking into account both the mood of the people and the strengthening of Russia and the weakening of Poland, took the path of rapprochement and merger with Russia. Very interesting
From the book The Missing Letter. The unperverted history of Ukraine-Rus by Dikiy AndreyOpponents of Mazepa At the very beginning of Mazepa’s reign, danger arose for him from the Right Bank, which had been transferred to Poland. The new Polish king Jan Sobieski, wanting to use the Cossacks in his wars, allowed the formation of several Cossack regiments and approved them in rank
From the book The Missing Letter. The unperverted history of Ukraine-Rus author From the book The Case of Bluebeard, or Stories of People Who Became Famous Characters author Makeev Sergey LvovichThe cult of personality of Mazepa The first who tried to portray a positive literary image of Mazepa was the Russian Decembrist poet Kondraty Ryleev. In the poem "Voinarovsky" both Mazepa and his nephew appeared as democrats and tyrant fighters. True, they are characterized by doubts.
Description
"Mazeppa" - Hugo's poem;
“Mazepa, Leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks” - novel, author unknown;
“Memoirs of Azem” - fiction by A. d’Auvril;
“Poltava” - poem by A. S. Pushkin. In his poem, Alexander Pushkin paints the image of Hetman Mazepa as a traitor and traitor to Tsar Peter I. At the same time, according to some modern Ukrainian historians, Pushkin indicated in the poem that true goal hetman was the acquisition of independence by Ukraine:
Without sweet liberty and glory
We bowed our heads for a long time
Under the auspices of Warsaw,
Under the autocracy of Moscow.
But an independent power
It’s time for Ukraine to be:
And the banner of bloody liberty
“Mazeppa” - a poem by the German author G. Stebin (1844);
“King of the Steppe” - German author A. May (1849);
“Mazeppa” - by the German author T. Leis (1850);
“Mazepa or the Enemies” - by the German author K. Kostin (1855);
“The Battle of Poltava” - by the German author K. Stark (1855);
“Mazeppa” - by the German author A. Mützelburg (1860);
“Mazeppa” - German author A. Zonderman (1860);
“Mazeppa” - Polish author J. Slovacki (1834);
“Mazepa and his ambassador” - Swedish author V. von Heidenstam;
“Ivan Mazepa” - Czech author I. Fritsch;
“Mazepa in Moldova” - Moldavian author G. Asaki;
“The Youth of Mazepa” - Ukrainian author M. Staritsky;
“Mazepa” - a poem by the Ukrainian author V. Sosyura;
“Baturin” - a story by the Ukrainian author B. Lepky;
The work consists of 1 file
The image of Mazepa in world literature
The image of Hetman Mazepa in fiction
The image of Hetman Mazepa became widespread not only in foreign literature, but also in the works of Russian and Ukrainian writers:
“Mazeppa” - Hugo’s poem;
“Mazepa, leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks” - novel, author unknown;
“Memoirs of Azem” - fiction by A. d’Auvril;
“Poltava” - poem by A. S. Pushkin. In his poem, Alexander Pushkin paints the image of Hetman Mazepa as a traitor and traitor to Tsar Peter I. At the same time, according to some modern Ukrainian historians, Pushkin indicated in the poem that the hetman’s true goal was to gain independence for Ukraine:
Without sweet liberty and glory
We bowed our heads for a long time
Under the auspices of Warsaw,
Under the autocracy of Moscow.
But an independent power
It’s time for Ukraine to be:
And the banner of bloody liberty
I raise it to Peter. Pushkin A. S. “Poltava”
“Mazepa” poem by Byron: The poem has little in common with the hetman’s biography; the central episode is the young Mazepa, page of the Polish king John II Casimir, tied naked to the back of a horse, which is released into the steppe, as punishment for having an affair with the wife of a nobleman. The image of a naked youth on the back of an animal became a popular theme for French artists of the Romantic period. Paintings on the theme of the poem were created by such outstanding masters as Géricault, Delacroix, Vernet and Boulanger. This image, according to I. S. Kon, in painting “gave scope to the sadomasochistic imagination; usually only women were represented in this pose, for example, depicting the abduction of Europe.”
“Mazepa” - a historical novel by the Russian writer F. Bulgarin (1834);
“Mazepa or the wild horses of Ukraine” - a poem by an unknown German author;
“Mazeppa” - drama by the German writer R. Gottschall (1859);
“Pan Hetman Mazepa. Historical novel" - Polish author F. Ravita - Gwronski;
“Hetman Mazepa or the fight for the crown” - Polish author B. Kurhan;
“Mazepa, Ukrainian Hetman” - a poem by the Ukrainian author Stepan Rudansky.
A. S. PUSHKIN
Poltava
“Kochubey is rich and famous, / His meadows are boundless,” he owns many treasures, but Kochubey’s main wealth is his daughter Maria, who has no equal in all of Poltava. Mary is famous not only for her beauty, but everyone knows her meek disposition. Many suitors woo her, but Mary’s heart is unapproachable. And now Hetman Mazepa himself sends matchmakers after her. The hetman is already old, but feelings are boiling in him, not the changeable feelings of youth, but an even heat that does not cool down until his death.
Maria's parents are indignant, they are outraged by the elder's behavior, because Maria is the hetman's goddaughter. Maria's mother says that Mazepa is a wicked man, that marriage is out of the question. Hearing all this, Maria falls unconscious. Maria cannot come to her senses for two days, and on the third day she disappears. No one noticed how she disappeared, only one fisherman heard the clatter of a horse at night, and in the morning “the trace of eight horseshoes / Was visible in the dew of the meadows.”
Soon the terrible news reached Kochubey that his daughter had fled to Mazepa. Only now did the old people understand the reason for their daughter’s mental turmoil. And Kochubey conceived a plan for revenge on the hetman.
“There was that troubled time, / When Russia was young, / Straining its strength in struggles, / Managed with the genius of Peter.” In the fight against the Swedish king Charles XII, Rus' grew stronger. Ukraine was worried, there were many supporters of ancient freedom who demanded that the hetman break the treaty with Russia and become an ally of Charles, but Mazepa “the axis seemed not to heed the rumor” and “remained / An obedient subject of Peter.”
The youth grumbled against the hetman, dreaming of uniting with Karl, “to burst out […] with war / Against hated Moscow!” But no one knew the secret plans of the insidious and vengeful Mazepa. For a long time he had been hatching a plan of treason, without revealing it to anyone, but the offended Kochubey comprehended his secret thoughts and decided to take revenge for the insult to his home, revealing to Peter the plans of the traitor. Once Kochubey and Mazepa were friends and They confided their feelings to each other, then Mazepa revealed his plans, but now there is a resentment between them that Kochubey cannot forgive. The spirit of revenge is also supported in him by his wife. Now we only need a reliable person, ready, without timidity, to lay Kochubey’s denunciation against the hetman at Peter’s feet.
Such a person was found among the Poltava Cossacks, once rejected by Maria, but still loving her even in her shame and hating her seducer. He sets off on his journey with Kochubey’s denunciation of the traitor hetman sewn into his hat. Mazepa, unaware of the terrible danger, weaves political intrigue, negotiating with the envoy of the Jesuits, angering the Cossacks on the Don, raising Crimea, Poland and Turkey against Moscow. And in the midst of these insidious concerns, the Russian nobles sent him a denunciation of him, written in Poltava and left unheeded by Peter. Justifying himself to Peter and convincing him of his loyalty, Mazepa demands the execution of the informers, the execution of his beloved’s father, “... but the daughter will not redeem the love of her father’s head.” Maria selflessly loves Mazepa and despises rumors. Only sometimes she is overcome by sadness when thinking about her parents. But she still doesn’t know what the whole of Ukraine already knows, terrible secret hidden from her.
Mazepa is gloomy, and “his mind / Confused by cruel dreams.” Even Maria’s caresses are unable to dispel his terrible thoughts; he remains cold towards them. The offended Maria reproaches him, saying that for his sake she ruined her own happiness and disgraced herself. Mazepa tries to calm Maria down with words of love, but she accuses him of cunning and pretense. She is even jealous of a certain Dulskaya. Maria wants to know the reason for Mazepa’s coldness. And Mazepa reveals to her his plans for the uprising of Ukraine against the rule of Moscow. Mary is delighted and longs to see her lover with the royal crown on her head. She will remain faithful to him even in misfortune and will even go to the chopping block with him. And Mazepa subjects Maria to a terrible test: he asks who is more dear to her - her father or her husband? He tries to force her to give an unambiguous answer, puts her before a terrible choice: whose death will she prefer if she is destined to choose who to send to execution. And the desired answer was received.
"Silent Ukrainian night." In the old castle in Bila Tserkva, the chained Kochubey sits in the tower and awaits execution, which he is not afraid of - he is oppressed by shame, loss of honor. He was given over by the king to be desecrated by the enemy, unable to bequeath to anyone his revenge on the offender. The door of his dungeon opens and the bloodthirsty Orlik enters. Mazepa knows that Kochubey hid treasures, and Orlik came to find out where they were hidden. Kochubey replies that his treasures were his honor, the honor of his daughter, but these treasures were taken away by torture and Mazepa, and the third treasure - holy revenge - he is preparing to demolish to God. Orlik inquires where the money is hidden, but to no avail, and Kochub is given into the hands of the executioner .
Maria, caressed by Mazepa, does not yet know about the terrible fate of her father, and Mazepa shudders at the thought of what will happen to her when everything is revealed. He repents that he deceived her, that he tried to harness “a horse and a trembling doe” to one cart. Leaving Maria sitting in ignorance, tormented by doubts, Mazepa leaves the palace.
At dawn, her mother crept into the chamber where Maria was sleeping and revealed the terrible news to her daughter. The mother cannot believe that her daughter knows nothing, she asks Maria to fall at Mazepa’s feet and beg him to spare her father. Can't bear it mental anguish, Maria faints.
A huge crowd gathered at the execution site. The condemned Kochubey and Iskra were brought on a cart. The martyrs ascend to the scaffold, the executioner chops off their heads and, holding them by the forelocks, shows them to the crowd. When the execution site was already empty, two women came running, but, alas, they were too late.
Returning home after the terrible execution, Mazepa finds Mary's room empty. He sends the Cossacks to search, but everything is in vain: no one has seen Maria anywhere.
Mental sadness does not prevent the hetman from realizing his political plans. Continuing relations with the Swedish king, Mazepa pretends to be terminally ill, but quickly rises from his deathbed when Karl transfers hostilities to Ukraine. Now Mazepa is leading his regiments against Peter. Peter himself leads the squads to Poltava, and now the two armies stand against each other, ready for the morning battle. The night before the battle, Mazepa talks with Orlik and talks about his disappointment in Karl, who does not seem to him a statesman who can compete with the autocratic giant. Orlik replies that it is not too late to go over to Peter’s side, but Mazepa rejects this proposal and reveals the reason for his hatred of the Russian Tsar. Once at a feast, in response to a boldly spoken word, Peter grabbed Mazepa by the mustache. For this insult, Mazepa swore revenge on Peter.
In the morning, the Battle of Poltava begins, in which military success serves the Russian troops. Inspired by the appearance of Peter, the Russian regiments press out the Swedes. Mazepa silently watches the battle, and suddenly a shot is heard behind him. It was Voinarovsky who struck down a young Cossack rushing with a saber towards Mazepa, who, dying, whispered the name of Mary.
The battle is over, Peter is feasting in his tent “and raises his cup of health for his teachers,” but Karl and Mazepa are not among the feasting. They ride on horseback to escape persecution. Suddenly, the farmstead, past which the fugitives are rushing, frightens Mazepa: he recognizes the place where he once feasted and from where he took dark night to the steppe Maria. The fugitives spend the night in the steppe on the banks of the Dnieper, when suddenly someone calls out to Mazepa in the silence of the night. He opens his eyes and sees Maria. She is in rags, with loose hair, sparkling sunken eyes. Maria lost her mind. She does not recognize Mazepa, says that it is someone else, and disappears in the darkness of the night. In the morning, Karl and Mazepa gallop further.
A hundred years passed, and only Peter remained in history, but not even the memory of Mazepa and Mary remained. Retold by E. L. Beznosov