Ukraine

Ukraine (Polish, 'frontier country'), the name given in Poland first to the frontiers towards the Tartars and other nomads, and then to the fertile regions lying on both sides of the middle Dnieper, without any very definite limits. The Ukraine was long a bone of contention between Poland and Russia. About 1686 the part on the east side of the Dnieper was ceded to Russia (Russian Ukraine); and at the second partition of Poland the western portion (Polish Ukraine) also fell to Russia, and is mostly comprised in the government of Kieff. The historic Ukraine forms the greater part of what is called Little Russia (a name first appearing about 1654), which is made up of the governments of Kieff, Tchernigoff, Poltava, and Kharkoff. Compare the maps at POLAND and at RUSSIA; and for the physical features, see RUSSIA, Vol. IX. p. 34. See also MAZEPPA.