The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southeastern Europe, though there is a large Slavic minority scattered across the Baltic states, Northern Asia, and Central Asia, and a substantial Slavic diaspora in the Americas, Western Europe, and Northern Europe.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukraine</span> Country in Eastern Europe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Flag_of_Ukraine.svg/320px-Flag_of_Ukraine.svg.png)
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast. It also borders Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Odesa. Ukraine's official language is Ukrainian; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belarusians</span> East Slavic ethnic group](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Map_of_the_Belarusian_Diaspora_in_the_World.svg/320px-Map_of_the_Belarusian_Diaspora_in_the_World.svg.png)
Belarusians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99 million Belarusians reside in Belarus, with the United States and Russia being home to more than 500,000 Belarusians each. The majority of Belarusians adhere to Eastern Orthodoxy.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Slavs</span> Slavic peoples speaking the East Slavic languages](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/East_Slavic_Europe.svg/320px-East_Slavic_Europe.svg.png)
The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor. Today Belarusians, Russians and Ukrainians are the existent East Slavic nations. Rusyns can also be considered as a separate nation, although they are often considered a subgroup of the Ukrainian people.
The Ukrainian language is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the native language of a majority of Ukrainians.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russians</span> People of Russia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Map_of_the_Russian_Diaspora_in_the_World.svg/320px-Map_of_the_Russian_Diaspora_in_the_World.svg.png)
The term Russians may refer to the largest ethnic group in Russia native to Eastern Europe, but is may also denote the people of the multi-ethnic Russian state. The Russian word for the former meaning is русские (russkiye), for the second meaning it is россияне (rossiyane). The Russian language is the most spoken Slavic language; Orthodox Christianity has been the majority religion of the Russians since the formation of a Russian identity in the Middle Ages. They are the largest Slavic nation and the largest European nation.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruthenia</span> Medieval exonym for Rus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Principalities_of_Kievan_Rus%27_%281054-1132%29_en.svg/320px-Principalities_of_Kievan_Rus%27_%281054-1132%29_en.svg.png)
Ruthenia is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Kievan Rus'. It is also used to refer to the East Slavic and Eastern Orthodox regions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, corresponding to the territories of modern Belarus, Ukraine, and some of western Russia. Historically, the term was used to refer to all the territories of the East Slavs.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Ukraine</span>](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Ukrania_quae_et_Terra_Cosaccorum_cum_vicinis_Walachiae%2C_Moldoviae%2C_Johann_Baptiste_Homann_%28Nuremberg%2C_1720%29.jpg/320px-Ukrania_quae_et_Terra_Cosaccorum_cum_vicinis_Walachiae%2C_Moldoviae%2C_Johann_Baptiste_Homann_%28Nuremberg%2C_1720%29.jpg)
Prehistoric Ukraine, as a part of the Pontic steppe in Eastern Europe, played an important role in Eurasian cultural events, including the spread of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages, Indo-European migrations, and the domestication of the horse.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukovina</span> Historical region split between Romania and Ukraine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Prislop_pass08.jpg/320px-Prislop_pass08.jpg)
Bukovina is a historical region in Eastern Europe. The region is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided between Romania and Ukraine.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruthenians</span> European ethnic group](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%88%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA_%D0%9D%D1%83%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BE_%D0%94%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B7_%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BC_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BC.jpg/320px-%D0%9D%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%88%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA_%D0%9D%D1%83%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BE_%D0%94%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B7_%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BC_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BC.jpg)
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sources to describe all Eastern Slavs of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as an exonym for people of the former Kievan Rus', thus including ancestors of the modern Belarusians, Rusyns and Ukrainians. The use of Ruthenian and related exonyms continued through the early modern period, developing several distinctive meanings, both in terms of their regional scopes and additional religious connotations.
Transcarpathia is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast, with smaller parts in eastern Slovakia and the Lemko Region in Poland.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old East Slavic</span> Slavic language used in the 10th–15th centuries](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/14_2_List_of_Radzivill_Chron.jpg/320px-14_2_List_of_Radzivill_Chron.jpg)
Old East Slavic was a language used by the East Slavs from the 7th or 8th century to the 13th or 14th century, until it diverged into the Russian and Ruthenian languages. Ruthenian eventually evolved into the Belarusian, Rusyn, and Ukrainian languages.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusyns</span> East Slavic ethnic group](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Flag_of_Rusyns_2007.svg/320px-Flag_of_Rusyns_2007.svg.png)
Rusyns, also known as Carpatho-Rusyns, Ruthenians, or Rusnaks, are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct language or a dialect of the Ukrainian language. As traditional adherents of Eastern Christianity, the majority of Rusyns are Eastern Catholics, though a minority of Rusyns practice Eastern Orthodoxy. Rusyns primarily self-identify as a distinct Slavic people and they are recognized as such in Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia, where they have official minority status. Alternatively, some identify more closely with their country of residence, while others are a branch of the Ukrainian people.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Ukraine</span>](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/80-391-9007_Kyiv_St.Michael%27s_Golden-Domed_Monastery_RB_18_%28cropped%29.jpg/320px-80-391-9007_Kyiv_St.Michael%27s_Golden-Domed_Monastery_RB_18_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The culture of Ukraine is composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian people that has formed throughout the history of Ukraine. Strong family values and religion, alongside the traditions of Ukrainian embroidery and folk music are integral aspects of the country's culture. It is closely intertwined with ethnic studies about ethnic Ukrainians and Ukrainian historiography which is focused on the history of Kyiv and the region around it.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oleshky</span> City in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/%D0%A6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%89%D0%B0_%D0%9E%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%BA%D1%96%D0%B2.jpg/320px-%D0%A6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%89%D0%B0_%D0%9E%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%BA%D1%96%D0%B2.jpg)
Oleshky, previously known as Tsiurupynsk from 1928 to 2016, is a city in Kherson Raion, Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine, located on the left bank of the Dnieper River with the town of Solontsi to the south. It is the oldest city of the oblast and one of the oldest in southern Ukraine. It is known for its proximity to the Oleshky Sands, a large desert region. Oleshky is the site of artist Polina Rayko's home, a national cultural monument of Ukraine. It also hosts the administration of Oleshky urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It had a population of 24,124.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Ukrainian nationality</span> Ethnic group](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Flag_of_Ukraine.svg/320px-Flag_of_Ukraine.svg.png)
The history of Ukrainian nationality can be traced back to the kingdom of Kievan Rus' of the 9th to 12th centuries. It was the predecessor state to what would eventually become the Eastern Slavic nations of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. During this time, Eastern Orthodoxy, a defining feature of Ukrainian nationalism, was incorporated into everyday life.
Originally, the name Rus' referred to the people, regions, and medieval principalities within the territory of the Kievan Rus'. Today its territory is distributed among Belarus, Ukraine, Eastern Poland, and the European section of Russia. The term Россия (Rossiya), comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Rus', Ρωσσία Rossía—related to both Modern Greek: Ρως, romanized: Ros, lit. 'Rus'', and Ρωσία.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kievan Rus'</span> State in Europe, c. 880 to 1240](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Location_of_Kyivan_Rus.png/320px-Location_of_Kyivan_Rus.png)
Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus', was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century. Encompassing a variety of polities and peoples, including East Slavic, Norse, and Finnic, it was ruled by the Rurik dynasty, founded by the Varangian prince Rurik. The name was coined by Russian historians in the 19th century to describe the period when Kiev was at the center. At its greatest extent in the mid-11th century, Kievan Rus' stretched from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south and from the headwaters of the Vistula in the west to the Taman Peninsula in the east, uniting the East Slavic tribes.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">All-Russian nation</span> Imperial Russian ideology](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B8.jpg/320px-%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B8.jpg)
The All-Russian nation or triune Russian nation, also called the pan-Russian nation, is the term for the Imperial Russian and later irredentist ideology that sees the Russian nation as comprising a "trinity" of sub-nations: Great Russia, Little Russia, and White Russia. Respectively, these sub-nations are contextually identified with Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. Above all, the basis of the ideology's upholding of an inclusive Russian identity is centered around bringing all East Slavs under its fold.