Little Russia
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Little Russia, originally Little or Lesser Rus' (Template:Lang-ru, Malorossiya; Template:Lang-ua, Mala Rus'), was the name for the territory of Ukraine applied in the time of the Russian Empire and earlier. The term originates from the name given to the land by Byzantines who called the northern and southern part of the lands of Rus' as: Μακρα Ρωσία (Makra Rosia, Great Russia) and Μικρα Ρωσία (Mikra Rosia, Little Russia), respectively.
The term was adopted by Muscovy, to refer to the Cossack Hetmanate of Left-bank Ukraine, when it fell under Russian protection, after the 1654 Treaty of Pereyaslav. It was later applied to Right-bank Ukraine when it was gained from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The official title of Russian Tsars and Emperors gained the wording (literal translation): "The Sovereign of all Rus': the Great, the Little, and the White"
While in its time the term Little Russia was simply a name for the geographic territory, the modern name Ukraine (Ukrayina) has slowly gained in usage since the 16th century. However, for political reasons, Ukraine as a proper name for the nation became totally accepted only in the 20th century when the term Little Russia mostly fell out of use.
Today, many Ukrainians consider the modern usage of Little Russia offensive, as it often implies the denial of a separate Ukrainian national identity, an opinion not uncommon among Russian nationalists. Similarly, the term Little Russian for Ukrainian language, which implies it being simply a dialect of Russian, and Little Russians for the Ukrainians, have mostly fallen out of use.
See also
- Etymology of Rus and derivatives, especially the section "From Rus to Ukraine"
- White Russia
- Great Russiako:소러시아