Red Ruthenia

Red Ruthenia, also called Red Rus' or Red Russia, is a term used since the Middle Ages for the south-western principalities of Kievan Rus', namely the Principality of Peremyshl and the Principality of Belz. It is closely related to the term Cherven Cities ("Red Cities").

First mentioned by that name in a Polish chronicle of 1321, Red Ruthenia was the portion of Ruthenia incorporated into Poland by Casimir the Great during the 14th century. Following the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, Red Ruthenia was contested by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the Gediminids), the Kingdom of Poland (the Piasts), the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia. After the Galicia–Volhynia Wars, for about 400 years, most of Red Ruthenia became part of Poland as the Ruthenian Voivodeship.