Peter the Great’s reaction to Ivan Mazepa’s geopolitical turn towards Sweden in 1708 was the plundering ofBaturyn, the capitalof the Cossack Hetmanate. The hetman’s residence moved to Hlukhiv, a town in Sumy Oblast, to bestaffed with people authorized by St. Petersburg. Central government bodies of the left-bank Ukraine, including courts, administrative and military authorities, moved to this borderline town as well.
Courts tend to be a reflection of society at all times, their archives often helping historians understand daily lifeand social deviations of the period they research. The most widespread cases settled in Ukraine’s courts of that time included conflicts over land, family, daily matters, thefts,as well as overaccusations of witchcraft or magic. In 1740, however, the new capital of the Cossack Hetmanate saw a process that startled the nation: the central court in Hlukhiv issued a death sentence and executed Pavlo Mishchenko, better known as Matsapura, one of the most cruel maniacs of the 18th century.
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