A famous legend has a young nobleman tied naked to a wild horse and sent galloping into the wilderness, an image that inspired paintings and poetry across the Western world. But that reckless myth masks the reality of Ivan Mazepa, a highly educated, multilingual, shrewd political operator who became one of the most powerful and controversial leaders in Eastern European history.

Educated in rhetoric and fluent in five languages, Mazepa survived treacherous courts to become Hetman, rebuilt a shattered Cossack state, and served as mentor to a young Peter the Great. When Peter abandoned Ukraine and burned its fields, Mazepa defected to Sweden, a gamble that ended at Poltava and split his legacy in two.

• His elite education and diplomatic survival at the Polish royal court
• Talking his way out of execution to rise as an indispen ...