In 1919, Belgorod proclaimed itself a part of Ukraine and used Ukrainian as official language for its documents. Ethnically, it was a Rus-Ukrainian city for more than a millennium. It was founded by Kyiv ruler Vladimir the Great around 980 and was so well fortified that withstood several sieges by the Pechenegs and Polovtsy. More details and insights into history of that city and a new perspective on Ukraine’s history in the “Gardariki, Ukraine” e-book.