Firstly mentioned in Russian Chronicles in 860, the city was the capital of the ancient Russian state Kiev Rus (9-12 centuries). After disintegration of the state it became a part of the Great Duchy of Lithuania (until 1654). In 1667 the city, along with lands located on the left bank of the Dnieper, became a part of Russia. In the Soviet times it was the capital of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine. It is the capital of independent Ukraine since 1991.