Cossack hetmans are traditionally associated with campaigns, mace, and state-building. However, the real political history of Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries was much more complex and resembled a political thriller rather than an academic monograph.
This was the era:
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palace coups,
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contract killings,
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information campaigns,
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conspiracies of the foreman,
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intrigues of foreign states,
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poisonings and shootings,
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espionage and secret agents of neighboring empires.
Historian Kyrylo Galushko notes that the Ukrainian political elite of the time lived in conditions where “treason was a common survival strategy.”
One of the most striking examples was the conspiracy against Ivan Vyhovsky after the Hadyak Treaty of 1658. Despite Vyhovsky’s attempts to wrest Ukraine from Moscow’s control, the starshyna accused him of “serving the Poles.” In 1664, the hetman was arrested and executed by firing squad on the orders of the crown hetman, Sebastian Czarnetsky.
Ivan Bryukhovetsky, the first hetman of Left-Bank Ukraine to enter into vassal relations with Moscow, was killed in 1668 during a meeting with Petro Doroshenko. Instead of negotiations, a bloody massacre took place, which, according to one version, was part of Moscow's political game.
In 1687, the first Ukrainian “palace coup” took place: Hetman Ivan Samoilovych was removed from the ranks of the elders in favor of Ivan Mazepa, accusing him of treason and ambition, despite the lack of real evidence. Samoilovych was exiled to Siberia.
The 18th century was a time of poisonings, secret assassinations, Moscow special operations, and rivalries among the Cossack officers. Even Ivan Mazepa fell victim to a massive information campaign by Moscow: fake letters, church anathemas, and bribery of officers were aimed at discrediting the hetman.
The lessons of the Hetmanate are still important today. The political struggle of that time demonstrates that intrigue, fakes, conspiracies, and agent games were an integral part of Ukrainian politics, and external pressure and manipulation remain relevant for the modern state.
