https://substack.com/inbox/post/165361646?r=5t43ca&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
How Ukraine Tries to Rewrite History
Rina Lu
Jun 06, 2025
Let's kick things off with a fun fact: during its prime, Kievan Rus wasn't even called "Kievan Rus." Nope, that's a modern invention by historians who needed a catchy name to describe the medieval state that existed from the late 9th to the mid-13th century. Back then, it was simply called Rus—a vast, multi-ethnic state with no "Kievan" added for flair. The "Kievan" part got tacked on centuries later to distinguish this early period of Rus history from later phases when cities like Vladimir and Moscow became the big players. So, while it sounds grand and historic, the term itself is basically a retroactive rebrand.
Meet Rurik, the Viking CEO of Rus, Inc.
Now, let's talk about the guy who started it all—Rurik. He was a Varangian (basically a Viking with a Slavic twist) who, according to the Primary Chronicle, was invited in 862 by local Slavic tribes to come run the show because apparently, self-governance wasn't going too well. Rurik set up shop in Novgorod, which—spoiler alert—is in modern Russia. His descendants, the Rurikid dynasty, would go on to rule all of Rus, including Kiev. So here's the kicker: Rurik was about as Ukrainian as a Norwegian fjord. He came from the north, built his power base in Novgorod, and from there, his dynasty expanded southward.
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But let's clarify—there was no such thing as "Ukraine" at the time. The people didn't call themselves Ukrainians. The land wasn't called Ukraine. The idea of a Ukrainian nation simply didn't exist. It was called Rus, and the people were the people of Rus. Sure, the Rurikids got their start in Novgorod, but by 988, Kiev was running the show—just as Moscow would a few centuries later. Politically, spiritually—everything that mattered happened there. It was Rus. Ukraine came much, much later.
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And yet, today, maps and narratives often highlight Galicia—this one small corner of the old Rus world—as the heart of Ukrainian identity. But Galicia didn't become part of anything called "Ukraine" until 1991. That's not continuity—it's a long, winding detour.
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One last fun detail: We all know that "Rus" is obviously the root of words like Russia, Russkiy, and even Belarus. But what about Ukraine? That name didn't come from Rus at all. It comes from "okraina," which means "borderland" in Old Slavic. It started popping up in the 16th century to describe outlying frontier regions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Tsardom. It was a geographic label, not a national one. Other regions had the same term applied to them too. Nothing unique, nothing ethnic—just borders.
when did the phrase "Kievan Rus" come into use?
grok
The phrase "Kievan Rus" (or "Kyivan Rus") emerged in the 19th century among Russian and Ukrainian historians to describe the medieval East Slavic state centered in Kyiv from roughly the 9th to 13th centuries. The term itself doesn't appear in primary sources from that era, like the Primary Chronicle, which instead refers to "Rus" or "the land of Rus." It was coined by modern scholars, particularly in the Russian Empire, to distinguish the early medieval polity from later Russian states.
The earliest known use of "Kievan Rus" in historical writing is often attributed to Russian historian Nikolai Karamzin in his History of the Russian State (1816–1826), though the term gained broader traction later in the 19th century through works by historians like Sergey Solovyov. It was used to emphasize Kyiv's role as the political and cultural heart of the Rus before the rise of Moscow and other centers. The exact date of the term's first use is debated, as it evolved gradually in historiographical contexts, but Karamzin's work is a key milestone.
Some modern scholars, especially in Ukraine, prefer "Kyivan Rus" to reflect Ukrainian transliteration and emphasize its distinct identity from later Russian narratives. The term remains a scholarly construct, not a self-designation by the people of the time.