About the book: 2016 / The novel "Mazepa" by the Russian writer and journalist Thaddeus Venediktovich Bulgarin appeared in 1833–1834 in St. Petersburg and, along with the works of Mikhail Nikolaevich Zagoskin, marked an attempt the creation of the historical novel as a genre in Russia. Bulgarin, in his own words, presented the character of Mazepa as it formed for him from historical essays and legends: “Mazepa was one of the smartest and most learned nobles of his century, and in order to be a great man, all he lacked was virtue! Without her, intelligence, learning, honors, wealth and power did not make him happy».