Little Russian

Little Russia, sometimes Little Rus’ (Russian: Малая Русь , translit. Malaya Rus' or Russian: Малороссия, translit. Malorossiya; Ukrainian: Мала Русь or Rus' Minor from Greek: Μικρὰ Ῥωσία), is a geographical and historical term first used by Galician ruler Bolesław-Jerzy II who in 1335 signed his decrees as Dux totius Russiæ minoris.

A Little Russia Governorate existed from 1764 to 1781, administered by the Collegium of Little Russia (originally founded in 1722) headed by Pyotr Rumyantsev (1725-1796). The Collegium of Little Russia had the task of liquidating any remnants of autonomy in Ukraine.

With time, "Little Russia" developed into a political and geographical concept in Russia, referring to most of the territory of modern-day Ukraine before the twentieth century. Accordingly, derivatives such as "Little Russian" (Russian: малоросский) were commonly applied to the people, language, and culture of the area. Prior to the revolutionary events of 1917 a large part the region's élite population adopted a Little Russian identity which competed with the local Ukrainian identity. After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, and with the amalgamation of Ukrainian territories into one administrative unit (the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) the word was phased out of circulation and when used took on a derogatory connotation denoting those Ukrainians with little or no Ukrainian national consciousness. The term retains currency among Russian monarchists and Russian nationalists who deny that Ukraine and Ukrainians are distinct from Russia and Russians. By the late 1980s, the term had become archaic, and Ukrainians regarded its anachronistic usage as strongly offensive.

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