Little Russia, originally Little or Lesser Rus’ ( ; ), was the name commonly applied to parts of the territory of modern-day Ukraine before the twentieth century, at the time of the Russian Empire and earlier. Accordingly, the term's derivatives such as "Little Russians" and "Little Russian" were commonly applied at the time for the people, language, culture, etc.
As the area and its people underwent a significant stage of the nation-building in the last hundred years, the term, even in the historic context, can only loosely be considered as merely a contemporary equivalent for the proper modern terms such as Ukraine and its derivatives.
As the term has become an archaic one, its anachronistic usage in the modern context may be considered offensive by some Ukrainians, unlike the usage in the historic context which is widely accepted and non-controversial.
