Ukraine as a country and culture was invented in XIX century, before that the broad culture was usually called alternatively Russian or Ruthenian (there are even early XX century censuses where the peasants are just calling themselves “we are from here” having no concept of nation). The most important of founders of Ukrainian culture, Taras Shevchenko, died in 1861. Ukraine just means “borderland” because it was the centuries long battlefield between Poles, Tatars, Turks, Russians and Cossacks.
Right, you put it more eloquently. My point was only that “Russia” began in Kiev and then moved East into what is modern day Russia. Russia didn’t invade Westward.
To be fair though it was more of an unification than real expansion since most of that territory was already under the various Ruthenian principalities. Essentially the process would probably sooner or later resulted in unified Russia much like the last of Rurikovich did, but Mongol invasion and then Lithuanian emergence put a 250 years pause on it and moved the center from Kiev, which seems to be the Ukrainian nationalists main gripe really, they would love to be Russia, but history decided they aren’t.
Ukraine as a country and culture was invented in XIX century, before that the broad culture was usually called alternatively Russian or Ruthenian (there are even early XX century censuses where the peasants are just calling themselves “we are from here” having no concept of nation). The most important of founders of Ukrainian culture, Taras Shevchenko, died in 1861. Ukraine just means “borderland” because it was the centuries long battlefield between Poles, Tatars, Turks, Russians and Cossacks.
Right, you put it more eloquently. My point was only that “Russia” began in Kiev and then moved East into what is modern day Russia. Russia didn’t invade Westward.
Right, their biggest extent was to the north
To be fair though it was more of an unification than real expansion since most of that territory was already under the various Ruthenian principalities. Essentially the process would probably sooner or later resulted in unified Russia much like the last of Rurikovich did, but Mongol invasion and then Lithuanian emergence put a 250 years pause on it and moved the center from Kiev, which seems to be the Ukrainian nationalists main gripe really, they would love to be Russia, but history decided they aren’t.