why is ukrain refered to as "the" ukrain?

Answer 1

"We refer to The United States and The United Arab Emirates, because we are referring to collections of states here. We say America and Russia because they are individual nations.

We SHOULD say Ukraine for this same reason. Unfortunately most of us grew up when "The Ukraine" was correct, as it was a region that we were referring to, like in the US we say The Mid West, or we knew it as The Ukrainian Socialist Republic."

Answer 2

It's Ukraine, not Ukrain. I think it is sort of a region that has become a country, I think many years ago, as part of the Russian Empire (pre-1917), people would say, I'm going to the Ukraine like we say I'm going to the East Coast. and it probably had something to do with it being called The Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine (or whatever it was really called) during the USSR period.

Answer 3

"Ukraine" is sort of an adjective, but I've no idea what it means in Ukranian.
The gammar is similar to that for "The Amazon". There, we refer to "The Amazon river (or rainforest)".
So Ukraine's noun has been lost in the mists of time (probably during the collapse of the USSR)

Answer 4

I actually feel it is the result of an intangible rule that makes it a lot easier to understand or hear.

Because it sounds like "You Crane", the addition of the word the, makes it clear that you are referring to a particular place.

Answer 5

Because there is only one. Actually, it is because it is a collective region. Just like the Amazon Basin, the Central Plains, or the Rocky Mountains.