The present Ukraine results from a long series of transformations which took place during more than a millennium in this part of oriental Europe.

The main periods are:

The princely period (the State of Kiev or the Kievan Rus ' from the IXth century to the XIVth century), Lithuanian-Ruthenian (XIVth - XVIth centuries), the union of Lublin in 1569 creates the Polish-Lithuanian State, the Rzecz Pospolita (the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth).

The State of the Cossacks (1648 - end of the XVIIIth century).

Ukraine in the Russian Empire and the austro-Hungarian Empire (end of the XVIIIth century to 1917)

The revival of the Ukrainian State (1917-1921).

The occupation of the Ukrainian territories by four foreign powers (1918-1939)

The second world war (1939-1945)

The Soviet period and its terrible policy of assimilation and finally the debuts of Ukraine in 1991 as a sovereign and independent State.

Through the centuries, several historico-political units, regions or provinces, with their own history, have ruled over the territory of Ukraine. It is indeed the big difficulty in the account of the history of this country.

Source: history of Ukraine - From its origin to the present day by A. Joukovsky
(éd. du dauphin 2005, Paris)