Little Russians of the Tsars: The Making of Ukraine in Russian Imperial Thought and Rule

Moscow’s contemporary discourse on Ukraine reflects the enduring legacy of imperial historical narratives, underscoring the importance of examining how Russian historical memory of Ukraine was initially constructed. Emerging during the Age of Absolutism and later codified in the nineteenth-century ideology of the Triune Russian Nation, this memory profoundly shaped Russia’s perception of Ukraine across successive generations. This article traces the evolution of these imperial narratives from the Pereiaslav Agreement of 1654 to the early nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on the shifting relationship between the Russian state and the Cossack Hetmanate. Drawing on contemporary sources, it examines how imperial historians reinterpreted Ukraine’s past to justify the incorporation of Ukrainian territories into the imperial framework. The article argues that this historical reframing laid the ideological foundation for the construction of an “All-Russian” national identity, which continued to influence the Russian state’s perception of Ukraine into the modern era.