Sometimes, I come across this weird usage of the definite article with the word 'Ukraine'. Keep in mind, it's a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Is it grammatical, and what is the origin of this unusual practice?
As this paper will show, states such as Georgia, the Ukraine and the Baltic States have been punished with supply interruptions and higher prices after their governments turned toward the West.
(from here)
Etymologically, "Ukraine" means "borderland", and "the borderland" is a typical usage for a region known by a descriptive name ("the west coast", "the United Kingdom", etc.).
As I understand it, Ukrainians found this to be Russian-centric¹, and preferred "Ukraine" to be treated like a proper noun, not a description. So just "Ukraine" became the standard usage at some point—upon independence from the Soviet Union, says this BBC Magazine article. But many people learned to use "the" growing up, and old habits die hard.
¹ Which makes me wonder, was the definite article meant to reflect some Russian usage, or did it just seem "right" to speakers of other languages? As I understand it, Russian doesn't have definite articles, but is there some structure or connotation in Russian that was best translated by inserting "the"?
It's not ungrammatical, it's just outdated.
Historically there were certain countries that were usually referred to using a definite article. For example, "the Ukraine", "the Sudan", and "the Gambia".
Nowadays, it's preferred to only use "the" with country names that are plural (like "the Netherlands") or that include the form of government in their name (like "the Czech Republic"), but some speakers still use the historic forms for places like Ukraine and Sudan.
