History /
Was the Polish/ Lithuanian commonwealth a European power? [111]
Ukraine and Belarus were settle by eastern slavic groups
first it was Kieven Rus (first Belarusian, Ukrainian and russian state)
then became known as Ruthenia
lithuania then occupied it... then when poland joined lithuania they got all Lithuanian land. and the poles started to polanise the people... in ukraine belarus and lithuania....
after that it all ruthenia was apart of the Russian empire (russians and also east slavic tribes)
then after that poland occupied it from 1921 - 1939 within that time poland sent many polish settlers and tried to convert the local ruthenians to catholic but most stayed orthodox.
then after that became part of Russua again..
now both free and not occupied