The name Ukraine appeared first in a chronicle from 1187, where it designated a Rus' principality east of Kyiv. Later it referred to borderlands between Poland and successor states of Kyivan Rus'. After the south-western parts of the former Rus' lands were subordinated to the Polish Crown (1569), the whole territory from eastern Podolia to the Zaporizha rapids was called Ukraine because of its fluctuating borders in the steppe with the nomadic Tatars to the south. The Cossack uprising that started in 1648 transformed the political map of the whole region and gave birth to the independent Hetmanate of Bogdan Khmelnytsky. The history and the maps of the Hetmanate are cherished for centuries and even today many regard the relatively egalitarian Hetmanate as the historical foundation of modern Ukraine.

In the West this Cossack uprising is mainly known for its pogroms, which killed 14.000 to 20.000 Jews. Rivalry between Christian and Jewish artisans and merchants in towns and cities together with resentment against Jewish leaseholders acting as middlemen between Polish magnates and Ukrainian peasants sparked the violence. Anti-Judaic traditions of the Orthodox Church also played a major role. Forced conversions to Christianity saved many lives. With hindsight, the Cossacks could muster enough human, economic and military resources to challenge all the major powers in the region, but not enough to defend the accomplishments of their independence. Hence, they tried to form alliances with every foreign side, but none worked and the political unity of Cossack Ukraine got lost, except under some Hetmans who attempted to reunite the lands east and west of the Dnieper.