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 to create a historical novel as a genre in Russia. Bulgarin, in his own words, introduced the character of Mazepa the way it formed for him from historical essays and legends: “Mazepa was one of the smartest and most learned nobles of his century, and to be a great man, he lacked only virtue! Without her, his intelligence, learning, honors, wealth and power would not have made him happy.”