Western Ukraine

Western Ukraine or the Ukrainian West is a geographical and historical relative term used in reference to the western territories of Ukraine. The form Ukrainian West is used but not emphasized often. The territory includes several historical regions such as Transcarpathia, Halychyna including Pokuttia , most of Volhynia, northern Bukovina as well as western Podolia. The main historical areas that the territory covers are Volhynia and Russia, today more known as Galicia or, locally, Halychyna. Russia in the Ukrainian West has nothing to do with the country to the east from Ukraine. The control over the territory the Muscovite Russia obtained only in the 20th century, particularly, during World War II when it was known as the Soviet Union and along with the Nazi Germany participated in another partitioning of Poland. Less often the Ukrainian West includes areas of eastern Volhynia, Podolia, and small portion of northern Bessarabia . The city of Lviv is the main cultural center of the region and historical capital of kingdom and palatinatus of Russia. Other important cities are Buchach, Chernivtsi, Drohobych, Halych , Ivano-Frankivsk, Khotyn, Lutsk, Mukacheve, Rivne, Ternopil, Uzhhorod and others. Strong association with the Rusyn or the Ruthenian nation in the region existed until the World War II, including Galician Rusyns and Carpathian Rusyns. The Ukrainian West is not an administrative category within Ukraine.

It is used mainly in the context of European history pertaining to the 20th-century wars and the ensuing period of annexations. Galicia and the Carpathian Ruthenia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before its collapse after World War I. At the onset of World War II the part of Polish territory was incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic , following elections held on October 22, 1939, and the Carpathian Ruthenia after World War II. Its historical background makes Western Ukraine uniquely different from the rest of the country, and contributes to its distinctive character today.

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