Why was Ukraine called Ukraine? The name of such a country was first heard in the last quarter of the twelfth century. For the first time, this was remembered in the historical opus The Tale of Bygone Years, where the author tells about the death of Prince Vladimir Glebovich of Pereyaslavl in 1187. It says: “All Pereyaslavtsy cried for him… Ukraine grieved for him too.” This work reveals the concept of "Ukraine", the history of the name and development of the country. And two years later, in 118, it was said about Prince Rostislav, who visited “Galician Ukraine.”
Question about Ukraine
Why was Ukraine called Ukraine? This question has been of interest to scientists for a long time, but there is no unequivocal answer to it even today. Some researchers explained the origin with the word "edge" - a piece of territory very remote from the center, the outskirts, near the edge - the border area. In other words - a region, a country in the designation of a native land, a congenial country, a native land. The origin of the name Ukraine has different roots.
Here's another look - Ukraine, it seems, comes from the word "steal" (cut off). In other words, the meaning of the word Ukraine as the name of a state is a pieceland, ukrained (cut off) from the whole, which soon became whole (a free country).
There are different versions. The origin of the name Ukraine is connected with sayings: land, krajina (country). Although there is no visible connection. When did the name Ukraine appear? There are different thoughts. How the origin of the name was investigated by scientists is unknown, but the very process of the emergence of the concept of "Ukraine" was long in time and had several stages.
The edge, not the outskirts
The word "edge" by the meaning of "a segment, a piece of land" has been known since the times of the Old Slavonic language. And today this word exists in many Slavic languages, because the Slavic tribes have always had lands that were separated by natural boundaries - a river, a forest, a swamp. Therefore, this word also had a meaning - the extreme part of the territory, the beginning or end of the land of the tribe.
Where did the name Ukraine come from, very interesting. In the Old Slavic period, the word krajina (country) was born in the meaning - the territory that belongs to the tribe. Next to the word "edge" in the Old Slavonic language there was the word "steal", which meant - a cut from a piece, a remote piece of land, the extreme boundary of a remote part of the territory of the tribe.
Kraina
And yet why was Ukraine called Ukraine? The question is very interesting. Later, among the Eastern Slavs, from the saying "steal" through the suffix -in, the word Ukraine appeared, which meant - a remote piece of land, a remote territory of a tribe. In the VI-VIII centuries, during the time of the power of Rus, the filling of the words "krajina" and Ukrainechanged. And yet why was Ukraine called Ukraine? The word "krajina" in meaning - the land of the tribe, soon began to mean - the land of the feudal principality, and then - the land of Russia. Therefore, the designation of the word Ukraine itself has also changed: in place of the initial - a remote part of the land of the tribe, the meaning came - the adjacent part of the land of the feudal principality, and only then - part of the land of Russia.
Principalities
During the time of feudal Kievan Rus, when principalities began to detach from it, the word "Ukraine" began to mean "principality". Let's take a look at where the name Ukraine came from. Scholars perceived the word Ukraine in different ways: as the territory of the Pereyaslavl land bordering on Kyiv land, nicknamed Ukraine because it bordered on the Polovtsian land; like Russia in the style of separately existing principalities; like the whole of Kievan Rus. But, most likely, the chronicler called Ukraine only Pereyaslav land. Only not because it stood on the border with the Polovtsian steppe, but because it was a separate principality, a separate country (Kraina).
Ukraine is a country
The name of the country Ukraine, namely the country, appeared at the time. And then, in addition to Pereyaslav Ukraine, there were different Ukraine on the existing principalities and other independent Ukraine. Ukraine here in the meaning of the country - Pereyaslav country, Kyiv country and so on.
This is known from the annals, which says that "prince Rostislav visited Galician Ukraine and from there went to Galich." That the word "Ukraine"meant a separate country, a separate principality, is very clearly seen from the descriptions of the time.
The history of Ukraine says that along with the word "Ukraine" the word "outskirts" also lived - the border part of the land of the tribe. These words did not mean the same thing, but differed in meaning: “Ukraine” (the name of the state) is a small part of the land of the tribe, “outskirts” is the border land of the tribe, and only then the feudal principality.
Lithuania and Poland
Starting from the middle of the XIV century, many principalities of Kievan Rus, from which the Ukrainian people later formed, fell under the possession of Lithuania and Poland. Since then, the name Ukraine has been applied to the territories that fell under this power. Under Lithuania were Chernigov, Kiev, Pereyaslav and most of the Volyn principality, and everything was called Lithuanian Ukraine, and under Poland came Galicia, part of Volyn and the lands were called Polish Ukraine.
With the advent of the Cossacks, the Dnieper lands began to be called Cossack Ukraine. The history of Ukraine recalls this in songs - "oh, through the mountains, through the valleys, through the Cossack Ukraines…"
Khmelnitsky
During the military operations of the Ukrainians against the Poles under the leadership of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (1648-1654) Ukraine was called not only the Zaporozhye lands, but also all the Dnieper lands. Most likely, starting from that moment, the whole country began to be called Ukraine. Then this name spread to the East Slavic lands, as well as to Sloboda Ukraine, which for a short time was called Sloboda Ukraine. BUTthe western lands were called Rus for a long time, but soon the name Ukraine became native to the inhabitants of the entire ethnic state of Ukrainians.
History of the word
Ukraine - where does the name come from? The initial geographical concept of Ukraine eventually became a national idea that united such lands as Polissya, Sivershchyna, Slobozhanshchyna, Donbass, Black Sea region, Volhynia, Podolia, Bukovina, Carpathian and Transcarpathian regions.
Therefore, it was very important for Ukrainians that the word "Ukraine" meant the name of the country created by Bogdan Khmelnitsky. Undoubtedly, there was no talk of any outskirts of the Russian Empire. If the outskirts, then, rather, the outskirts of the Slavic tribes. After all, the Eastern Slavs occupied just the extreme lands of the Slavs. So, if we consider the outskirts of Ukraine, then the outskirts of the Slavic nation.
History
History… We can hear this word every day, but we don't think about its significance at all. As a result of the fact that Ukraine gained independence, Ukrainians began to be interested in the history of their people. After all, only knowledge about the past will make it possible to understand the present and build a bright future. Preserved memos play an important role in the knowledge of one's history. And museums are called upon to preserve the historical memory of the people for future generations and study it.
The history of Ukraine and the people that inhabit this territory has its roots in ancient times. The sites of the very first person were seen on the territory of independent Ukraine for many hundreds of thousands of years.to the early Paleolithic era. Man conquered these territories and the natural resources of the subsoil from nature. From primitive forms of gathering, hunting and fishing, he moved on to farming and cattle breeding. A very important trace in the difficult history of Ukraine was left by representatives of the Trypillia culture in the 4th-3rd centuries BC. Trypillians were the most civilized representatives of the human race in the Neolithic era. They were mainly engaged in agriculture, pottery, construction. As a result of the expansion of nomads and the cooling of the climate, this culture gradually disappeared. After that, Sarmatians, Kemmerians, and Scythians lived in the Ukrainian territories. The Greek peoples had a very great influence on the peoples who inhabited the vast expanses of Ukraine.
Eastern Slavs
The roots of the Eastern Slavs are not particularly studied today. The pre-Slavic period is associated with the emergence of the Zarubinets culture on the right-bank forest-steppe Dnieper region, which is common to all Slavs. For the first time, the Slavs are remembered in the works of Tacitus, Ptolemy under the name "Venedi". They lived in the B altic Sea area. Then, in the middle of the 1st millennium AD, two groups of Slavs emerged from the Wends - the Antes and the Sklavians. The Ants settled the territory from the Danube to the Sea of Azov and constituted the eastern branch of the Slavs. They were mainly engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. They traded with the city-powers of the Northern Black Sea region and the Arab countries. The political structure of the country was democratic. The country was ruled by the prince and foremen. But very important issues for the country were decided by the veche -popular assembly.
Starting from the 7th century, there are already memories of the Slavs. The early Slavs settled mainly along the banks of rivers and lakes. Their huts were made of wood and earthenware. The device of the political mode was tribal. The land was owned mainly by large clans - patriarchal associations along the bloodline. The social mode of the early Slavs is characterized by a transition from the primitive to the military-tribal. Then the power is transferred by right of inheritance. The life and work of the Eastern Slavs has always been closely connected with nature and family. This laid the foundation for the culture of the Slavs.
Culture
Folk culture in the traditions of the Ukrainian people has played its role. In ancient times, when the feudal top of society adopted Catholicism and European culture, and the top of the Cossack elders became Russified, the Ukrainian community developed without a national cultural elite. And only the broad masses remained to carry the culture, which in those days was popular. Folklore, namely folk traditions and color, took the main place in culture. All this was very clearly seen in folk songs, thoughts. Thanks to the people, the rise of Ukrainian culture in the 16th-17th centuries and the revival in the 19th century became possible.
Many talented Ukrainians have contributed to Polish, Russian, world culture in general. This became possible thanks to the original education system, thanks to which the population was mostly literate. And also the role of Ukraine-Rus became hugeas the center of Christianity among the Eastern Slavs. The higher education system was especially developed. Ukrainian culture was open to the world, there was no xenophobia and there was humanism. A huge contribution to the world heritage was made by such philosophers, poets and famous personalities as Skovoroda, Prokopovich, Kulish, Shevchenko and many others.
In other European countries, they wanted to overcome the problems of poverty, disease, illiteracy with the help of technological progress, with the help of the contribution of monarchs. And in Ukraine they called for self-knowledge, freedom, for the sake of which one can part with well-being, the spirituality of life came to the fore. Today, such paths are of great importance for all mankind. So, although when the name Ukraine appeared, no one can say for sure, but the fact that this was an important moment for the entire huge nation can be said with confidence.
