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Little Russia (russian: Малороссия/Малая Россия, Malaya Rossiya/Malorossiya; uk, Малоросія/Мала Росія, Malorosiia/Mala Rosiia), also known in English as Malorussia, Little Rus' (russian: Малая Русь, Malaya Rus'; uk, Мала Русь, translit=Mala Rus') and Rus' Minor (from el, Μικρὰ Ῥωσία, translit=Mikrá Rosía), is a geographical and historical term used to describe the modern-day territories of
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
. The first use of such names has been attributed to Bolesław-Jerzy II, ruler of Ruthenia and Galicia-Volhynia, who in 1335 signed his decrees ''Dux totius Russiæ minoris''. The distinction between "Great" and "Little" Rus' probably originated among Byzantine, Greek-speaking, clerics who wanted to separate the two Ruthenian ecclesiastical metropolises of Halych and Moscow. The specific meaning of the adjectives "Great" and "Little" in this context is unclear. It is possible that terms such as "Little" and "Lesser" at the time simply meant geographically smaller and/or less populous, or having fewer eparchies. Another possibility is that it denoted a relationship similar to that between a homeland and a colony (just as " Magna Graecia" denoted a Greek colony). The name "Little Rus'/Russia" went out of use in the late 15th century. It was revived again in late 18th century. Then "Little Russia" developed into a political and geographical concept in Russia, referring to most of the territory of modern-day
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
, especially the territory of the
Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate ( uk, Гетьманщина, Hetmanshchyna; or ''Cossack state''), officially the Zaporizhian Host or Army of Zaporizhia ( uk, Військо Запорозьке, Viisko Zaporozke, links=no; la, Exercitus Zaporoviensis) ...
. Accordingly, derivatives such as "Little Russian" (russian: Малоросс, Maloross). Alternatively: russian: малороссиянин, malorossiyanin, label=none, russian: малорус, malorus, label=none were commonly applied to the people, language, and culture of the area. A large part of the region's élite population adopted a
Little Russian identity The Little Russian identity was a cultural, political, and ethnic self-identificationКотенко А. Л., Мартынюк О. В., Миллер А. И«Малоросс»: эволюция понятия до первой мировой вой� ...
that competed with the local Ukrainian identity. The territories of modern-day southern Ukraine, after being annexed by Russia in the 18th century, became known as Novorossiya ("New Russia"). After the collapse of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
in 1917, and with the amalgamation of Ukrainian territories into one administrative unit (the Ukrainian People's Republic and then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic), the term started to recede from common use. Today, the term is anachronistic, and many Ukrainians regard its usage as offensive.


Etymology and name variations

The toponym translates as ''Little'' or ''Lesser Rus’'' and is adapted from the Greek term, used in medieval times by Patriarchs of Constantinople since the 14th century (it first appeared in church documents in 1335). The Byzantines called the northern and southern parts of ''Rus’'' lands () – Greater Rus’) and ( – Lesser or Little Rus’), respectively. Initially ''Little'' or ''Lesser'' meant the smaller part, as after the division of the united Rus'
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
(ecclesiastical province) into two parts in 1305, a new southwestern metropolis in the Kingdom of Halych-Volynia consisted of only 6 of the 19 former eparchies. Соловьев А. В.br>Великая, Малая и Белая Русь
// Вопросы истории. – М.: Изд-во АН СССР, 1947. – № 7. – С. 24–38.
It later lost its ecclesiastical associations and became a geographical name only. In the 17th century, the term ''Malorossiya'' was introduced into Russian. In English the term is often translated ''Little Russia'' or ''Little Rus’,'' depending on context.Some works of modern scholars that make such distinction are:
Paul Robert Magocsi Paul Robert Magocsi (born January 26, 1945 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980, and became ...
''"The Roots of Ukrainian Nationalism: Galicia As Ukraine's Piedmont"'', University of Toronto Press (2002),
Serhii Plokhy, ''"The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus"'', Cambridge University Press (2006),
The Russian-Polish geographer and ethnographer Zygmunt Gloger in his "Geography of historic lands of the Old Poland" ( pl, "Geografia historyczna ziem dawnej Polski") describes an alternative view of the term "Little" in relations to Little Russia where he compares it to the similar term of " Little Poland".


Historical usage

The first recorded usage of the term is attributed to
Boleslaus George II of Halych Yuri II Boleslav ( uk, Юрій-Болеслав Тройденович, translit=Yurii-Boleslav Troidenovych; pl, Bolesław Jerzy II; c. 1305/1310 – April 7, 1340), was King of Ruthenia and Dominus of the lands of Galicia–Volhynia (1325- ...
.Русина О. В. Україна під татарами і Литвою. – Київ: Видавничий дім «Альтернативи» (1998), – с. 274. In a 1335 letter to
Dietrich von Altenburg Dietrich von Altenburg was the 19th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1335 to 1341. He came from the Thuringian town of Altenburg in the Holy Roman Empire, where his father held the office of a burgrave of the immediate Pleis ...
, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, he styled himself «dux totius Rusiæ Minoris». The name was used by
Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople Kallistos I ( grc-x-medieval, Κάλλιστος Α'; ? – August 1363) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two periods from June 1350 to 1353 and from 1354 to 1363. Kallistos I was an Athonite monk and supporter of Gregory Pala ...
in 1361 when he created two
metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...
sees: Great Rus' in Vladimir and
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
and Little Rus' with its centers in Galich (''Halych'') and
Novgorodok Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Midd ...
(''Navahrudak''). King
Casimir III of Poland Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...
was called "the king of
Lechia The ethnonyms for the Poles (people) and Poland (their country) include endonyms (the way Polish people refer to themselves and their country) and exonyms (the way other peoples refer to the Poles and their country). Endonyms and most exonyms ...
and Little Rus'." According to
Mykhaylo Hrushevsky Mykhailo Serhiiovych Hrushevsky ( uk, Михайло Сергійович Грушевський, Chełm, – Kislovodsk, 24 November 1934) was a Ukrainian academician, politician, historian and statesman who was one of the most important figure ...
, Little Rus' was the Halych-Volhynian Principality, after the downfall of which the name ceased to be used.Грушевський М.С. Історія України-Руси, том I, К. 1994, "Наукова думка", с. 1–2. In the post-medieval period, the name ''Little Rus was first used by the Eastern Orthodox clergy of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
, e.g. by influential cleric and writer Ioan Vyshensky (1600, 1608), Metropolitan Matthew of Kiev and All Rus' (1606), Bishop Ioann (Biretskoy) of Peremyshl, Metropolitan Isaiah (Kopinsky) of Kiev,
Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom ...
Zacharias Kopystensky Zacharias Kopystensky (died 21 March 1627) was archimandrite of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in Ukraine. He is best known for his polemic work ''Palinode'', in which he defended Eastern Orthodoxy against the Uniates. He also translated the ''Horologion' ...
of Kiev Pechersk Lavra, etc.Русина О. В. Україна під татарами і Литвою. – Київ: Видавничий дім «Альтернативи» (1998), – с. 276. The term has been applied to all Orthodox Ruthenian lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Vyshensky addressed "the Christians of Little Russia, brotherhoods of
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
and Vilna," and Kopystensky wrote "Little Russia, or Kiev and Lithuania." The term was adopted in the 17th century by the Tsardom of Russia to refer to the
Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate ( uk, Гетьманщина, Hetmanshchyna; or ''Cossack state''), officially the Zaporizhian Host or Army of Zaporizhia ( uk, Військо Запорозьке, Viisko Zaporozke, links=no; la, Exercitus Zaporoviensis) ...
of
Left-bank Ukraine Left-bank Ukraine ( uk, Лівобережна Україна, translit=Livoberezhna Ukrayina; russian: Левобережная Украина, translit=Levoberezhnaya Ukraina; pl, Lewobrzeżna Ukraina) is a historic name of the part of Ukrain ...
, when the latter fell under Russian protection after the Treaty of Pereyaslav (1654). From 1654 to 1721, the official title of Russian tsars contained the language (literal translation) ''"The Sovereign of all Rus':
the Great This is a list of people known as the Great, or the equivalent, in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes, such as Persian ''e Bozorg'' and Urdu ''e Azam''. In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to have been a co ...
, the Little, and the White."'' The term ''Little Rus has been used in letters of the Cossack Hetmans Bohdan Khmelnytsky and Ivan Sirko.Яворницкий Д.И. История запорожских казаков. Т.2. К.: Наукова думка, 1990. 660 с. (v.1), (v.2), (set)
Глава двадцать шестая
Innokentiy Gizel Innokenty Gizel ( c. 1600 - 18 November 1683) was a Prussian-born historian, writer, and political and ecclesiastic figure, who had adopted Orthodox Christianity and made a substantial contribution to Ukrainian culture. Innokentiy Gizel was a r ...
,
Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom ...
of the
Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra ( uk, Києво-Печерська лавра, translit=Kyievo-Pecherska lavra, russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Ea ...
, wrote that the Russian people were a union of three branches—Great Russia, Little Russia, and White Russia—under the sole legal authority of the
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
Tsars. The term ''Little Russia'' has been used in Ukrainian chronicles by
Samiilo Velychko Samiilo Vasyliovych Velychko ( uk, Самі́йло Васи́льович Вели́чко) (1670–after 1728 ) — was a Ukrainian Cossack nobleman and chronicler who wrote the first systematic presentation of the history of the Cossack Hetma ...
, in a chronicle of the
Hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church an ...
Leontiy (Bobolinski), and in ''Thesaurus'' by Archimandrite Ioannikiy (Golyatovsky).Русина О. В. Україна під татарами і Литвою. – Київ: Видавничий дім «Альтернативи», 1998. – с. 279. The usage of the name was later broadened to apply loosely to the parts of
Right-bank Ukraine Right-bank Ukraine ( uk , Правобережна Україна, ''Pravoberezhna Ukrayina''; russian: Правобережная Украина, ''Pravoberezhnaya Ukraina''; pl, Prawobrzeżna Ukraina, sk, Pravobrežná Ukrajina, hu, Jobb p ...
when it was annexed by Russia at the end of the 18th century upon the partitions of Poland. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Russian Imperial administrative units known as the Little Russian Governorate and eponymous
General Governorship Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
were formed and existed for several decades before being split and renamed in subsequent administrative reforms. Up to the very end of the 19th century, ''Little Russia'' was the prevailing term for much of the modern territory of Ukraine controlled by the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
, as well as for its people and their language. This can be seen from its usage in numerous scholarly, literary and artistic works.
Ukrainophile Ukrainophilia is the love of or identification with Ukraine and Ukrainians; its opposite is Ukrainophobia. The term is used primarily in a political and cultural context. "Ukrainophilia" and "Ukrainophile" are the terms used to denote pro-Ukrain ...
historians Mykhaylo Maksymovych, Nikolay Kostomarov, Dmytro Bahaliy, and Volodymyr Antonovych acknowledged the fact that during the Russo-Polish wars, ''Ukraine'' had only a geographical meaning, referring to the borderlands of both states, but ''Little Russia'' was the ethnonym of Little (Southern) Russian people.In his private diary Taras Shevchenko wrote "Little Russia" or "Little Russian" twenty one times, and "Ukraine" 3 times ("Ukrainian" – never) and ("Kozak" – 74). At the same time in his poetry he used only "Ukraine" (and "Ukrainian" – never). Roman Khrapachevsky
Rus`, Little Russia and Ukraine
, «Вестник Юго-Западной Руси», № 1, 2006 г.
In his prominent work ''Two Russian nationalities,'' Kostomarov uses ''Southern Russia'' and ''Little Russia'' interchangeably.Костомаров М. Две русские народности // Основа. – СПб., 1861. – Март. Mykhailo Drahomanov titled his first fundamental historic work ''Little Russia in Its literature'' (1867–1870).Михаил Драгоманов
Малороссия в ее словесности
, Вестник Европы. – 1870. – Июнь
Different prominent artists (e.g.,
Mykola Pymonenko Mykola Kornylovych Pymonenko ( ua, Микола Корнилович Пимоненко) 9 March 1862, , near Kyiv, Russian Empire; ow Kyiv, Ukraine">Kyiv.html" ;"title="ow Kyiv">ow Kyiv, Ukraine6 March 1912, Kyiv, Russian Empire) was a Ukraini ...
,
Kostyantyn Trutovsky Konstantin Aleksandrovich Trutovsky (Ukrainian: Костянтин Олександрович Трутовській, Russian: Константин Александрович Трутовский; 9 February 1826, in Kursk – 29 March 1893, in Ya ...
, Nikolay Aleksandrovich Sergeyev, photographer
Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky ( rus, Сергей Михайлович Прокудин-Горский, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪxəjɫəvʲɪtɕ prəkudʲin ˈɡorskʲɪj, a=ru-Prokudin-Gorskii.ogg;  – September 27, 1944) was a Ru ...
, etc.), many of whom were native to the territory of modern-day Ukraine, used ''Little Russia'' in the titles of their paintings of Ukrainian landscapes. The term ''Little Russian language'' was used by the state authorities in the first Russian Empire Census, conducted in 1897.


From Little Russia to Ukraine

The term ''Little Russia,'' which traces its origin to medieval times, was once widely used as the name for the geographic territory. The first appearance of the name ''Ukraine'' (''Ukraina'') was in 12th-century chronicles; it was used sporadically from the mid-17th century until it was reintroduced in the 19th century by several writers making a conscious effort to awaken Ukrainian national awareness.Ukrainians
in th
Encyclopedia of Ukraine
But it was not until the 20th century when the modern term ''Ukraine'' started to prevail, while ''Little Russia'' gradually fell out of use.


Modern context

The term ''Little Russia'' (Rus' Minor) is now anachronistic when used to refer to the country Ukraine and the modern Ukrainian nation, its language, culture, etc. Such usage is typically perceived as conveying an imperialist view that the Ukrainian territory and people ("Little Russians") belong to "one, indivisible Russia." Today, many Ukrainians consider the term disparaging, indicative of imperial Russian (and
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
) suppression of Ukrainian identity and language. It has continued to be used in Russian nationalist discourse, in which modern Ukrainians are presented as a single people in a united Russian nation. Mikhail Smolin,
Преодоление «украинства» и общерусское единство
(Overcoming the "Ukrainianness" and the all-Russian unity), «Вестник Юго-Западной Руси», №1, 2006 г.
This has provoked new hostility toward and disapproval of the term by some Ukrainians. In July 2021 Vladimir Putin published a 7000-word essay, a large part of which was devoted to expounding these views.On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainian


"Little Russianness"

The concept of "Little Russianness" ( uk, малоросійство, translit=malorosiistvo) is defined by some Ukrainian authors as a provincial complex they see in parts of the Ukrainian community due to its lengthy existence within the Russian Empire. They describe it as an "indifferent, and sometimes a negative stance towards Ukrainian national-statehood traditions and aspirations, and often as active support of Russian culture and of Russian imperial policies".Ihor Pidkova (editor), Roman Shust (editor),
Dovidnyk z istorii Ukrainy
", 3-Volumes,

" (t. 2), Kiev, 1993–1999, (t. 1), (t. 2), (t. 3).
Mykhailo Drahomanov, who used the terms ''Little Russia'' and ''Little Russian'' in his historical works, applied the term ''Little Russianness'' to Russified Ukrainians, whose national character was formed under "alien pressure and influence" and who consequently adopted the "worse qualities of other nationalities and lost the better ones of their own". Ukrainian conservative ideologue and politician
Vyacheslav Lypynsky Vyacheslav Kazymyrovych Lypynsky ( pl, Wacław Lipiński, uk, Липинський В'ячеслав Казимирович) (April 5, 1882 — June 14, 1931) was a Ukrainian historian, social and political activist, an ideologue of Ukrainian ...
defined the term as "the malaise of statelessness". The same inferiority complex has been said to apply to the Ukrainians of Galicia with respect to
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
(''gente ruthenus, natione polonus''). The related term ''Madiarony'' has been used to describe Magyarized Rusyns in Carpathian Ruthenia who advocated for the union of that region with
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
. The term "Little Russians" has also been used to denote stereotypically uneducated, rustic Ukrainians exhibiting little or no self-esteem. The uncouth stage persona of popular Ukrainian singer and performer Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko is an embodiment of this stereotype; his
Surzhyk Surzhyk (, ) refers to a range of mixed sociolects of Ukrainian and Russian languages used in certain regions of Ukraine and the neighboring regions of Russia and Moldova. There is no unifying set of characteristics; the term is, according to ...
-speaking drag persona
Verka Serduchka Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko ( uk, Андрі́й Миха́йлович Дани́лко; born 2 October 1973), better known as his drag persona Verka Serduchka ( uk, Вє́рка Сердю́чка, links=no, ; russian: Ве́рка Серд ...
has also been seen as perpetuating this demeaning image. Danylko himself usually laughs off such criticism of his work, and many art critics argue that his success with the Ukrainian public is rooted in the unquestionable authenticity of his presentation.


In popular culture

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 2 in C minor, Op 17, is nicknamed the "Little Russian" from its use of Ukrainian folk tunes. In April 2022, it was proposed that the sub-title "Little Russian" should be replaced with "Ukrainian" to clarify the musical inspiration for this work.


Notes


See also

*
Great Russia Great Russia, sometimes Great Rus' (russian: Великая Русь, , , , , ), is a name formerly applied to the territories of "Russia proper", the land that formed the core of Muscovy and later Russia. This was the land to which the et ...
*
Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...
*
New Russia Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crime ...
* Red Ruthenia *
Symphony No. 2 (Tchaikovsky) The Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was composed in 1872. One of Tchaikovsky's joyful compositions, it was successful right from its premiere and also won the favor of the group of nationalistic Russian composers known ...


References


Further reading

* Bibliography of Russian history * Bibliography of Ukrainian history *
List of Slavic studies journals This is a list of notable and independent English language peer-reviewed academic journals related to Slavic studies. Journals should be published by major universities, professional associations, national or regional historical societies, or no ...
{{authority control * Early Modern history of Russia Early Modern history of Ukraine 18th-century establishments in Ukraine Historical regions in Ukraine
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
Anti-Ukrainian sentiment Russian irredentism History of Ruthenia