Little Russian identity

Historic identity among some Ukrainians in the Russian Empire The Little Russian identity was a cultural, political, and ethnic self-identification of a population of Ukraine under the Russian rule, who aligned themselves as one of the constituent parts of the triune Russian nationality. The Little Russian identity combined the cultures of Imperial Russia and Cossack Hetmanate. The beginning of the development of the Little Russian identity in the Cossack Hetmanate dates back to the mid 18th century. The name "Little Russians" was promoted instead of the previous ethnonym "Ruthenians" (русини, rusyny). The struggle between two projects of national identity, "Little-Russiansim" (Ukrainian: Малоросійство) and "Ukrainian-ness" lasted until the dissolution of the Russian Empire. The revolutionary events of 1917 led to a rapid strengthening of the Ukrainian national idea, which was backed by many Western Ukrainians from formerly Austrian-ruled Galicia who joined the political life in Kiev. Because of their adjacency to the Russian White Movement, political activists with Little Russian and Pan-Russian views were among the social groups who suffered the most during the