AMazepynka (Ukrainian:Мазепинка), plural formMazepynky (Ukrainian:Мазепинки), is acap worn by Ukrainian soldiers. Created byLevko Lepkyi [uk] in 1914, it was named for 17th-century Ukrainian leaderIvan Mazepa. It has since become a symbol of Ukraine's military,[1] and been adopted by several later groups, including theUkrainian Galician Army, theUkrainian Insurgent Army (in a modified form), and, most recently, theArmed Forces of Ukraine since 2015.
The Mazepynka was created by Ukrainian intellectualLevko Lepkyi [uk] as part of a uniform worn by participants of a congress of Ukrainian organizations, which took place on 28 June 1914 inLviv. The design of the cap was based on the portrait of Mazepa created by painterOsyp Kurylas.[2] After the creation of the Legion ofUkrainian Sich Riflemen in the same year, the headgear became popular among its soldiers, and was formally adopted by the unit on 10 January 1916. On 17 January 1917, the government ofAustria-Hungary began producing Mazepynky for the unit.[3]
By a formal resolution of the State Secretariat for Military Affairs of theWest Ukrainian People's Republic dated 22 April 1919, the Mazepynka was adopted as the hat of theUkrainian Galician Army,[4] in contrast to theKyivlanka [uk] or Petliurivka of theUkrainian People's Army. By the summer of 1919, however, the Ukrainian Galician Army was integrated into the Ukrainian People's Army, and the Mazepynka was replaced by the Kyivlanka.[5]
In 1938 Mazepynka was worn by members of theCarpathian Sich.[6] During theSecond World War it became part of the uniform of the collaborationistUkrainian People's Revolutionary Army andUkrainian People's Militsiya. A combined form of the Mazepynka and Kyivlanka, known as a "Banderivka" after nationalist leaderStepan Bandera, later became part of the uniform of theUkrainian Insurgent Army.[7]
A Mazepynka was created byVasyl Pidhorodetskyi [uk], an imprisoned Ukrainian independence activist, for fellow activistMykhailo Horyn following the latter's release from Soviet prison in theMordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.[8]
After having used a variation of the Sovietpeaked cap since achieving independence in 1991, theArmed Forces of Ukraine adopted the Mazepynka on 4 February 2015.[9] The move was part of a broader rebranding campaign to distance the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the Soviet and Russian militaries, as well as strengthening an independent Ukrainian identity.[10]
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