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Mazeppa pays Kotchubei a visit and asks him for the hand of his daughter Mariya. The old lord refuses indignantly and does not let himself be intimidated by threats. Mariya, who is in love with Mazeppa, sadly follows the Cossack leader, giving up her family and leaving Andrei, an admirer whom she just refused. Kotchubei gets his revenge by telling the tsar that Mazeppa is planning an uprising against him in order to liberate the Ukraine, with the help of the Swedes. The tsar does not believe him and hands him over to the Cossack leader. When Kotchubei, after a good deal of torturing, is about to be executed, Mariya and her mother arrive to save the convict. The first thing they see, though, is the axe falling. Eventually, the rebellion is crushed by the tsar. Mazeppa escapes, Andrei is killed by the Cossack leader and Mariya goes insane...
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