Is it true that on the map of the XVII century, which was shown by Putin, the head of the Constitutional Court, there is no Ukraine?

On May 23, 2023, the chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation Valery Zorkin showed the Russian president a copy of the card, on which, as he claimed, there is not even the name Ukraine. We decided to check if this is so.

At a meeting with Putin, Zorkin showed a card and ExplainedWhy brought it to its president: “In our Constitutional Court, a copy of the 17th century map, compiled under Louis XIV, was found in our Constitutional Court - that is, this is the middle, even the beginning of the second mid -17th century, composed by the French themselves. Why did I bring her? Vladimir Vladimirovich, there is no Ukraine there. <...> There is a region in two places - the edge of the Commonwealth and the land of Cossacks. And the great kingdom of Russian. ” Zorkin explained that he had a copy at his disposal, and the original is stored in Paris. Putin, in turn, agreed with Zorkin and added his own to this A longtime thesis The fact that before the Soviet regime "there was no Ukraine in the history of mankind."

The chairman of the COP did not specify which year the card and who its author was. In the video, a common press service of the Kremlin, the map is shown entirely for only a few seconds, moreover, upside down. But according to some characteristic features, it can be determined what kind of card it is.

On the general plan, two cartouches are clearly visible - these are ornamental shields on which the accompanying text is usually written.

On one of the large plans, you can even disassemble the text on the cartouche in the upper left corner: La Russie Blanche Ou Moscovie (“White Rus' or Muscovy”). 

Original It is not difficult to find: this is one of the most famous maps of Eastern Europe of the 17th century. It was compiled for the heir to the French throne by the cartographer Guillaume Sanson in 1674. The digitized high resolution card is available on the website of the French National Library.

In the upper left corner is the same cartouche on which it is written: “White Rus', or Muscovy, divided into kingdoms, duchy, principalities, provinces and nationality, which are currently under the rule of the tsar of Russia, known under the name of the Grand Duke of Muscovy.”

On the right Cartush - a scale in units adopted in Italy, Germany, France, England, Poland and Russia.

There is a name Ukraine on the map, and in the place where the chairman of the Constitutional Court indicated.

Perhaps Valery Zorkina confused the font unusual for him when the Latin letter V is used instead of U. Sanson’s map says: Vkraine Pais des Cosaques. In modern French spelling, it would look like Ukraine Pays des Cosaques, that is, “Ukraine, the country of Cossacks”. It was this inscription that Zorkin interpreted as “the land of Cossacks”.

The map, as Sanson wrote in explanations, is divided not only into countries, but also into smaller territories. It shows both Ukraine and the historical regions of the country, the names of which are used now, for example, Volhynie (Volyn) and Podolie.

It is easy to find the name Ukraine on other maps of that era. In 1648, French engineer Guillaume Levasser de Boplan Compiled The first detailed description of Ukraine, indicating this particular name on the cartoon in the lower left corner.

The Sanson’s card and the work of Italian Jakomo Kantelli are not too different. On the map that he Compiled In 1684, the same geographical region was indicated as "Ukraine, or the country of Zaporizhzhya Cossacks."

Moreover, on the Kantelli map there is another land designated as Ukraine - along the Donets River (now - Seversky Donets), from Belgorod to Voronezh. The Italian cartographer signed this area “Ukraine, or the land of the Tanaite (Don. - approx. Ed.) Cossacks subordinate to Muscovy.”

Thus, there is Ukraine on the map that Valery Zorkin showed to Vladimir Putin - in any case, the corresponding inscription on the map of 1674 is present. Apparently, the chairman of the Constitutional Court of Russia either did not find the inscription, or could not read it correctly. The name Ukraine is also mentioned on other maps of the same period.

Photo on the cover: White Rus' or Muscovy. Guillaume Sanson, 1674. French National Library, Card and Plan

Not true

What do our verdicts mean?

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