Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia
The Principality or, from 1253, Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, historically known as the Kingdom of Ruthenia, was a medieval state in Eastern Europe which existed from 1199 to 1349. Its territory was predominantly located in modern-day Ukraine, with parts in Belarus, Poland, Moldova, and Lithuania. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus'. The main language was Old East Slavic, the predecessor of the modern East Slavic languages, and the official religion was Eastern Orthodoxy.
Saint Pantaleon Church, Shevchenkove, Halych Raion, 1194
Fragment of a copy of the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle, a literary work and historical source of the period
The Ukrainian language is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the native language of a majority of Ukrainians.
"Lenten Triodion" of Kiev Metropolitan Petro Mohyla, 1646
Miniature of St Luke from the Peresopnytsia Gospels (1561).
While Russian was a de facto official language of the Soviet Union in all but formal name, all national languages were proclaimed equal. The name and denomination of Soviet banknotes were listed in the languages of all fifteen Soviet republics. On this 1961 1 Rbl note, the Ukrainian for "one rouble", один карбованець (odyn karbovanets`), directly follows the Russian один рубль (odin rubl`).
Ukrainian language traffic sign for the Ivan Franko Museum in Kryvorivnia.