Historical Roots: Russia, Ukraine, and Shared History

From Kyivan Rus to Empire

Both Russia and Ukraine trace their cultural origins to Kyivan Rus, a medieval federation of Slavic tribes centered on Kyiv from the 9th to 13th centuries. This shared origin is politically charged: Russian officials frequently cite it to argue that Russians and Ukrainians are 'one people,' while Ukrainian historians emphasize that Kyivan Rus was a distinct civilization that predates the Russian state.

After the Mongol invasion destroyed Kyivan Rus in the 1240s, the territories diverged. The lands that became Ukraine fell under Lithuanian and then Polish rule, developing distinct linguistic, religious, and cultural traditions. Meanwhile, the Duchy of Moscow rose as a separate power, eventually becoming the Russian Empire.

The Cossack Hetmanate, established in 1649 under Bohdan Khmelnytsky, is a foundational moment in Ukrainian national identity. The Treaty of Pereyaslav (1654), in which the Cossacks allied with Moscow, is interpreted entirely differently by the two sides: Russia sees it as a 'reunification,' Ukraine as a military alliance between sovereign entities that Moscow later exploited.

The Soviet Era and Independence

Ukraine was absorbed into the Soviet Union in 1922 after a brief period of independence (1917-1921). The Holodomor of 1932-33 — a man-made famine engineered under Stalin that killed an estimated 3.5 to 7.5 million Ukrainians — remains central to Ukrainian national memory. Ukraine and many other nations recognize it as a genocide; Russia disputes this characterization.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine voted overwhelmingly for independence — over 92% in a December 1991 referendum, including majorities in every region, even Crimea (54%) and Sevastopol (57%). The 1994 Budapest Memorandum saw Ukraine give up its nuclear arsenal — the world's third largest — in exchange for security assurances from Russia, the US, and the UK. This agreement is now central to debates about nuclear non-proliferation and the credibility of great-power guarantees.