Ukrainian hetmans’ treasons: goals and implications

The author analyzes the goals and implications of the deeds of the Ukrainian hetmans Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Ivan Vygovsky, Yuri Khmelnitsky, Ivan Bryukhovetsky, Petr Doroshenko, who, after well-known decisions of the Treaty of Pereyaslav (1654) and vows of loyalty to the Russian tsar, repeatedly betrayed him and made alliances against Russia. The explanation of this contradiction is the worldview of the Ukrainian hetmans who considered the alliance with Russia a temporary and least-evil solution allowing them to survive difficult times in order to start creating an independent Cossack state.