12th century: Kievan Rus'
During the kievan rus' period in history, the territories of present-day Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were divided into principalities, with their capitals located in major cities.
14th century: Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Mongol Tatars established the Golden Horde after invading Russian territory. The Grand Duke of Lithuania established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the largest country in Eastern Europe.
1569: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
In 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania merged with the Kingdom of Poland to form the "Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth" (Polish meaning "Republic"). A century before that, Crimea broke away from the Golden Horde and became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire.
1667: Andrewsov truces
Russia fought a thirteen-year war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth over the lands of present-day Ukraine and Belarus and signed the Andrewsov Truce of Peace in 1667. The contract stipulated that the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth would cede Smolensk, Left Bank Ukraine, and some other lands to Russia; Right Bank Ukraine and Belarus remained under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
18th century: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is divided
In the second half of the eighteenth century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was no longer an independent state, its king was ruled by the Russian Empire, and Prussia wanted to divide its western territories. In 1772, 1793 and 1795, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided up three times and ceased to exist. Russia was divided into Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. In 1791, the Ottoman Empire ceded Crimea to Russia.
Poland was partitioned after the Napoleonic Wars of 1814
The Duchy of Warsaw, established in 1795 on part of Poland divided between Prussia and Austria, became a vassal state of the Napoleonic Empire between 1807 and 1813. After Napoleon's defeat, by resolution of the Vienna Conference held between 1814 and 1915, most of the principality was formed into the Kingdom of Poland and incorporated into Russia.
Changes in the territory of Ukraine after the October Revolution of 1917
On November 20, 1917, the Ukrainian People's Republic was proclaimed in Kiev, on December 12, 1917, the Ukrainian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Kharkiv, and on November 1, 1918, the People's Republic of Western Ukraine was proclaimed in Lviv. These regions were merged in 1919 into the unified Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Changes between 1939 and 1954
In 1939, the Soviet Union incorporated Eastern Galicia into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic; in 1940, Northern Bukovina and Southern Besarabia were incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic; in 1945, the Carpathian Province, which had belonged to Czechoslovakia, was assigned to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic; and in 1954, Crimea was transferred from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and before the Crimean referendum
On August 24, 1991, the Ukrainian Parliament passed the Independence Act, declaring Ukraine an independent democracy. On March 16, 2014, Crimea held a referendum. The final results show that 97% of Crimean voters support the region's secession from Ukraine and joining Russia.