Ukraine: Poltava Battlefield
Poltava is the site of one of the most important battlefields in the world’s history that dramatically changed the balance of power in Europe and changed the course of history for Russia, Ukraine, and Sweden. The year was 1709 and Sweden under King Charles XII has conquered all of Scandinavia, Baltic, Poland, and had its sight on Russia. Meanwhile in Ukraine, the Hetman of the Zaporyzhia Cossack Hetmanate Ivan Mazepa was trying to play Russia and Sweden (Peter the Great and Charles) against each other and establish an independent state of his own. First he asked Russia for protectorate, and Peter the Great refused and then burned out the town of Baturyn which was the Hetmanate’s capital at the time. Ivan Mazepa immediately switched sides and invited Sweden to come in. Sweden bought this idea and the massive army of roughly 35,000 elite troops entered Ukraine on its way to conquer Moscow with the support of 3,000 Cossacks. Poltava was the Russian fortress to take over. Peter the Great sent an even bigger army of 50,000 to defend Poltava. On June 27, 1709, the Poltava battle took place west of the city. Sweden advanced first, but then was put in disarray with the Russian bombardment. Sensing the weakness, Peter the Great charged his army’s cavalry forward and completely demolished the demoralized Swedish troops. The entire Swedish army was destroyed with 6,000 killed and the rest taken prisoner. King Charles XII and Ivan Mazepa fled Turkish controlled lands to the southeast. Russia persecuted almost all Cossacks who sided with Sweden, dashing any hopes of Ukrainian independence, and then went on to take control of the Baltics and Poland, becoming the the military superpower in the northeast Europe. The battlefield today has several monuments dedicated to the battle, a memorial to fallen Russian, Ukrainian, and Swedish troops, and a spectacular onion-domed cathedral. Definitely worth the visit!
