Kiev is one of the oldest and most important cities of Eastern Europe and has played an important role in the development of the East Slavic civilization as well as in the modern Ukrainian nation. Russian Course in Kiev Human settlement at the site of the present day city may have occurred as early as the fifth or the sixth century AD. With the exact time of city foundation being hard to determine, May 1982 was chosen to celebrate the city's 1,500th anniversary. The name Kiev is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of four legendary founders of the city (brothers Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and sister Lybid').

During its history, Kiev, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. The city may have been founded in the 5th century as a trading post, perhaps part of the land of the early Slavs. It gradually acquired eminence as the centre of the East Slavic civilization, becoming in the tenth to twelfth century a political and cultural capital of Rus', a medieval East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbours: first the Lithuania, followed by Poland and Russia.