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Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavic ethnic group from the
Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...
in
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
. They speak
Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyns, Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn l ...
, an East Slavic
language variety In sociolinguistics, a variety, also called an isolect or lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, registers, styles, or other forms of language, as well as a standard variety.Meecham, Ma ...
, treated variously as either a distinct language or a dialect of the
Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...
. As traditional adherents of
Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
, the majority of Rusyns are
Eastern Catholics The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
, though a minority of Rusyns still practice
Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first m ...
. Rusyns primarily self-identify as a distinct Slavic people and they are recognized as such in
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, and
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, where they have official minority status. Alternatively, some identify more closely with their country of residence (i.e.
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
, Slovak), while others are a branch of the
Ukrainian people Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ortho ...
. Rusyns are descended from an East Slavic population which inhabited the northeastern regions of the
Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...
. In those regions, there are several Rusyn groups, including Dolinyans,
Boykos The Boykos ( uk, Бойки, Boiky; pl, Bojkowie; sk, Pujďáci), or simply Highlanders (верховинці, ''verkhovyntsi''), are an ethnolinguistic sub-group of Ukrainians located in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, ...
,
Hutsuls The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). They ...
and
Lemkos Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of Car ...
. As residents of northeastern Carpathian regions, Rusyns are closely connected to and sometimes associated with other Slavic communities in the region, like the West Slavic highlander community of
Gorals The Gorals ( pl, Górale; Goral dialect: ''Górole''; sk, Gorali; Cieszyn Silesia dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also known as the Highlanders (in Poland as the Polish Highlanders) are an indigenous ethnographic or ethnic group primar ...
(literally 'Highlanders'). Of the estimated 1.7 million people of Rusyn origin, only around 110,000 have been officially identified as such in recent ( 2012) national censuses. This is largely because some census-taking authorities classify them as a subgroup of the
Ukrainian people Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ortho ...
, while others classify them as a distinct ethnic group.


Ethnonyms

The term Rusyn (, plural ) originates from the archaic
ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...
''Rus''. The respective endonymic adjective has traditionally been ( m., f., n.), though () has also been used; even more so after 1989. In interwar Czechoslovakia, ''Ruthenia'' was called in Czech; sometimes rendered ''Rusinia'' or ''Rusynia'' in American-Rusyn publications.


Regional identifiers

Carpatho-Rusyn or ''Carpatho-Ruthenian'' () is the main regional designation for Rusyns. The term refers to
Carpathian Ruthenia Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
(), which is a historical cross-border region encompassing Subcarpathian Rus' (in northeastern Slovakia and Ukraine's
Zakarpattia Oblast The Zakarpattia Oblast ( uk, Закарпатська область, Zakarpatska oblast) is an administrative oblast located in western Ukraine, mostly coterminous with the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia. Its administrative centre is ...
),
Prešov Region The Prešov Region, also Priashiv Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj, ; hu, Eperjesi kerület; uk, Пряшівський край) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 13 districts (okresy) and 666 municipalities, 23 o ...
(in eastern Slovakia), the Lemko Region (in southeastern
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
), and Maramureş (in north-central
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
). In the Lemko region, the endonym ''Lemko'' (pl. ) became more common in the twentieth century, along with ''Lemko-Rusyn'' since the 1990s. The variant Rusnak (; plural: or Pannonian-Rusyn, ''Rusnatsi'') was also (and still is) used as an
endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
; particularly by Rusyns outside the Carpathians in
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
, Serbia and
Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...
, Croatia. However, they may also referred to as ''Vojvodinian Rusyns'' (), ''Bachka-Srem Rusyns'' (), or formerly as ''Yugoslav Rusyns'' (). Other terms such as Ruthene, Rusniak, Lemak, Lyshak, and Lemko are considered by some scholars to be historic, local, or
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
ic names for these inhabitants of Transcarpathia. Others hold that the terms Lemko and Rusnak are simply regional variations for Rusyns or Ruthenes. Rusyns have at times also been referred to as ''Uhro-Rusyn'' () in the regions of
Eperjes Eperjes is a village in Szentes District of Csongrád County, in the Southern Great Plain region of southern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single ...
, Slovakia and
Carpathian Ruthenia Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
.


Rus'

Several endonyms such as Rus' and Rusyn were used widely by the
East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert H ...
of
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
during the medieval period. Common endonymic use of those terms continued through the life of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
. Parallel, medieval
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
terms such as ''Rusi'', ''Russi'' or ''Rusci'' are found in sources of the period and were commonly used as an
exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
for the East Slavs.


Ruthenian

Since the end of the 11th century, the
exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
ic term Rutheni (
Ruthenes Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sourc ...
) was also used by some Latin sources of western provenance as an alternative term for all East Slavs. During the rule of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the scope of ''Rutheni'' gradually narrowed to only refer to inhabitants of the East Slavic regions that now mostly belong to the states of
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. After the
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
, ''Rutheni'' "came to be associated primarily with those ast Slavswho lived under the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
" (and was used as an official designation in the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
after 1843). In the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
, ''Ruthene'' was used as the official term for the Rusyn people () of Transcarpathia until 1945. During the early twentieth century the term "became even more restricted: it was generally used to refer to the inhabitants of Transcarpathia and to Transcarpathian emigrants in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
", for whom the terms Rusyn and Carpatho-Rusyn are more commonly used since the 1970s. In some non- Slavic languages, Rusyns may be referred to by
exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
ic or somewhat archaic terms such as ''Carpatho-Ruthenes'' or ''Carpatho-Ruthenians'', but such terminology is not present in the
Rusyn language Rusyn (; rue, label=Rusyn language#Carpathian Rusyn, Carpathian Rusyn, русиньскый язык, translit=rusîn'skyj jazyk; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, руски язик, translit=ruski jazik),http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2781/1/2011Bapt ...
. Exonymic '' Ruthenian'' designations are seen as less precise because they encompass various East Slavic groups and bear broader ethnic connotations as a result of varied historical usage.


Russian

In older literature and speech, both Catholic and Orthodox Rusyns occasionally referred to themselves as Carpatho-Russians or ''Carpathian Russians.'' These terms, however, more accurately refer to ethnic
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
of the Carpathian region. The use of several, imprecise ''Russian'' ethnonyms (in a Rusyn context) are also present in the works of some older authors, including foreign authors, as well as those native to the region. This terminology has also been reflected within some groups of the Rusyn diaspora. Thus, the term Carpatho-Russian is still used today by some American Rusyns to self-identify (mostly among Eastern Orthodox practitioners).


History


Origins

There are different theories to explain Rusyn origins. According to
Paul Robert Magocsi Paul Robert Magocsi (born January 26, 1945 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980, and became a Fe ...
, the origin of the present-day Carpatho-Rusyns is complex and not exclusively related to the
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
. The ancestors were the early Slavs whose movement to the Danubian Basin was influenced by the
Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
and
Pannonian Avars The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...
between the 5th and 6th centuries, the
White Croats White Croats ( hr, Bijeli Hrvati; pl, Biali Chorwaci; cz, Bílí Chorvati; uk, Білі хорвати, Bili khorvaty), or simply known as Croats, were a group of Early Slavic tribes who lived among other West and East Slavic tribes in the are ...
who lived on both slopes of the Carpathians and built many hill-forts in the region including
Uzhhorod Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the B ...
ruled by the mythical ruler
Laborec The Laborec ( ukr, Лаборець; hu, Laborc) is a river in eastern Slovakia that flows through the districts of Medzilaborce, Humenné, and Michalovce in the Košice Region, and the Prešov Region. The river drains the Laborec Highlands. It ...
, the Rusyns of Galicia and
Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
, and Vlachian shepherds of Transylvania. It is thought that the Croats were part of the Antes tribal polity who migrated to Galicia in the 3rd-4th century, under pressure by invading
Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
and
Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
.
George Shevelov , birth_date = , birth_place = Łomża, Łomża Governorate, Russian Empire (now Poland) , death_date = , death_place = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , home_town = , other_names ...
also considered a connection with
East Slavic tribes East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
, more specifically, the
Hutsuls The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). They ...
, and possibly
Boykos The Boykos ( uk, Бойки, Boiky; pl, Bojkowie; sk, Pujďáci), or simply Highlanders (верховинці, ''verkhovyntsi''), are an ethnolinguistic sub-group of Ukrainians located in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, ...
, argued to be the descendants of the
Ulichs The Uliches or Ugliches ( ro, Ulici or ; russian: Уличи or , or ; uk, Уличі , or ) were a tribe of Early East Slavs who, between the eighth and the tenth centuries, inhabited (along with the Tivertsi) Bessarabia, and the territories ...
who were not native in the region. As the region of the
Ukrainian Carpathians The Ukrainian Carpathians ( uk, Українські Карпати) are a section of the Eastern Carpathians, within the borders of modern Ukraine. They are located in the southwestern corner of Western Ukraine, within administrative territori ...
, including
Zakarpattia Zakarpattia may refer to: * Zakarpattia Oblast, an administrative region of modern Ukraine, on the inner side of the Carpathians ** Zakarpattia Oblast Council, regional assembly of Zakarpattia Oblast ** Administrative divisions of Zakarpattia Obla ...
and Prykarpattia, has since the Early Middle Ages been inhabited by the tribes of Croats, in Ukrainian encyclopedias and dictionaries, and the ''
Great Russian Encyclopedia The ''Great Russian Encyclopedia'' (GRE; russian: Большая российская энциклопедия, БРЭ, transliterated as ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya'' or academically as ''Bolšaja rossijskaja enciklopedija'') is a u ...
'', the Rusyns are generally considered to be the descendants of the White Croats.


Anthropology

According to anthropological studies, the Eastern Carpathian population makes one of the sub-regional clines of the Ukrainian population, which can be regionally divided into Eastern and Western Carpathian variants. In the study by M. S. Velikanova (1975) the skulls from a medieval necropolis near village of
Vasyliv Vasyliv ( uk, Василів; ro, Vasilău) is a village in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine. It belongs to Kadubivtsi rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Until 18 July 2020, Vasyliv belonged to Zastavna Raion Zastavn ...
in
Zastavna Raion Zastavna Raion ( uk, Заставнівський район) was an administrative raion (district) in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast in western Ukraine, on the Romanian border. Most of its territory lied in the historical region of Buko ...
were very similar to contemporary Carpathian population, and according to S. P. Segeda, V. Dyachenko and T. I. Alekseyeva this anthropological complex developed in the Middle Ages or earlier, as descendants of the medieval Slavs of Galicia and carriers of
Chernyakhov culture The Chernyakhov culture, Cherniakhiv culture or Sântana de Mureș—Chernyakhov culture was an archaeological culture that flourished between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE in a wide area of Eastern Europe, specifically in what is now Ukraine, Rom ...
along
Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...
-
Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...
rivers, possibly with some
Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
component. According to the data, the population has the lowest admixture in Ukraine of Turkic speaking populations, like
Volga Tatars The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after t ...
and
Bashkirs , native_name_lang = bak , flag = File:Bashkirs of Baymak rayon.jpg , flag_caption = Bashkirs of Baymak in traditional dress , image = , caption = , population = approx. 2 million , popplace ...
, while in comparison to other populations they have similarities with neighbouring Eastern
Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...
,
Gorals The Gorals ( pl, Górale; Goral dialect: ''Górole''; sk, Gorali; Cieszyn Silesia dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also known as the Highlanders (in Poland as the Polish Highlanders) are an indigenous ethnographic or ethnic group primar ...
of Poland,
Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
, some groups of
Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...
and
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
, Northwestern
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
ns, Central and Northern Serbians, and most of Croatians.


Population genetics

The 2006 mitochondrial DNA study of Carpathian Highlanders –
Boykos The Boykos ( uk, Бойки, Boiky; pl, Bojkowie; sk, Pujďáci), or simply Highlanders (верховинці, ''verkhovyntsi''), are an ethnolinguistic sub-group of Ukrainians located in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, ...
,
Hutsuls The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). They ...
and
Lemkos Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of Car ...
people – showed a common ancestry with other modern Europeans. A 2009 mitochondrial DNA study of 111 samples found that in comparison to eight other Central and Eastern European populations (Belarusian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian), the three Rusyn groups have a greater distance between themselves than these populations, with Boykos showing the greatest distance from all and did not cluster with anyone because have atypically low frequencies of haplogroup H (20%) and J (5%) for a European population, while
Lemkos Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of Car ...
are closest to the Czech and Romanian (0.17) population, and Hutsuls closest to the Croatian (0.11) and Ukrainian (0.16) population. The 2014 Y-DNA studies of 200
Pannonian Rusyns Pannonian Rusyns ( rue, Русини, translit=Rusynŷ), also known as Pannonian Rusnaks ( rue, Руснаци, translit=Rusnat͡sŷ), and formerly known as ''Yugoslav'' Rusyns (during the existence of former Yugoslavia), are ethnic Rusyns from ...
in the region of
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
, Serbia, found they mostly belong to haplogroup R1a (43%), I2 (20%),
E-V13 Haplogroup E-V68, also known as E1b1b1a, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup found in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia and Europe. It is a subclade of the larger and older haplogroup, known as E1b1b or E-M215 (also roughly ...
(12.5%), and R1b (8.5%), while I1,
G2a G2A.COM Limited (commonly referred to as G2A) is a digital marketplace headquartered in the Netherlands, with offices in Poland and Hong Kong. The site specializes in the resale of gaming products by the use of redemption keys. Other product ...
, J2b, N1 between 2.5 and 4.5%, and J1, T, and H only in traces of less than 1%. They cluster closest to the Ukrainian and Slovakian population, "providing evidence for their genetic isolation from the Serbian majority population". The 2015 Y-DNA study of 150 men from
Zakarpattia Zakarpattia may refer to: * Zakarpattia Oblast, an administrative region of modern Ukraine, on the inner side of the Carpathians ** Zakarpattia Oblast Council, regional assembly of Zakarpattia Oblast ** Administrative divisions of Zakarpattia Obla ...
and
Chernivtsi Oblast Chernivtsi Oblast ( uk, Черніве́цька о́бласть, Chernivetska oblast), also referred to as Chernivechchyna ( uk, Чернівеччина) is an oblast (province) in Western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the regio ...
(Bukovina), found they mostly belong to R1a1a1*(М198), I2a (Р37.2), R1a1a1 (М458) ranging around and less than 30%, with E1b1b1a1 (M78), R1b1b2 (M269), and I1 (М253) ranging between 4-14%. The sampled population is most similar to other Ukrainians, while the Bukovina population slightly "differs from the typical Ukrainian population" because it has the highest percentage of I2a (>30%) and the lowest percentage of R1a (30%) in Ukraine. Bukovina's percentage of I2 is similar to near Moldovan and Romanian population, while the highest percentage is among South Slavs in
Western Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whol ...
. It was concluded that although bordered by diverse nations, the Carpathians seemingly were a barrier decreasing gene flow southward of N1c (М178), R1a (М198) from the region, and northward of E1b (М78), R1b (М269), J (М304) and G (М201) to the region.


Early history

The general usage of 'Rusyn' by all
East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert H ...
dates back to over 11 centuries, its origin signifying the ethnic tie to the political entity of
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
, which existed from the late ninth to the early 13th century. The Carpathian Rusyns, Ukrainians (once called Malo Russians or Little Russians), Belarusians (once called White Russians) and Russians (Great Russians) are descendants of the Russichi, the people of Rus', that is East Slavs who mixed with other peoples over centuries, including in the south with Iranian and later with Germanic peoples, in the west with Baltic peoples, in the east with Finnish and Turkic peoples. Over the centuries these loosely affiliated peoples developed different political and economic centers as well as new names. The inhabitants of northern Rus' were known as Great
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
by the 17th century. The people in the west called themselves
Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...
and the people in the south were known as Malo Russians (
Little Russia Little Russia (russian: Малороссия/Малая Россия, Malaya Rossiya/Malorossiya; uk, Малоросія/Мала Росія, Malorosiia/Mala Rosiia), also known in English as Malorussia, Little Rus' (russian: Малая Ру ...
ns). Later, in what began as a political movement in the mid 19th century, many Little Russians began using the term "Ukrainian" to distinguish themselves from the Great Russians in northern Rus'. So by the mid-20th century the original name Rus or Rusyn was retained only in the Carpathian Mountains. Rusyns settled in the Carpathian Mountain region in various waves of immigration from the north between the eighth and 17th centuries. Weapons and skeletons found in tombs in Bereg County from the 10th century era suggest that Norman Vikings (who played a role in the founding of Kiev Rus') were there as well. Even so, as late as the 11th century, this mountainous area was still a sparsely inhabited 'No-Man's Land' border between the kingdoms of Kievan Rus' and Hungary. In 1241, the Carpathians fell to Mongol-Tatar invasions led by Genghis Khan's son,
Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...
, with populations exterminated and villages torched. The Mongols entered the region via the Veretski Pass, just to the north of
Mukachevo Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast (province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion (district), the city ...
. In 1395, Orthodox Rus' Prince Feodor Koriatovich, son of the Duke of Novgorod, brought with him from the north soldiers and their families to settle unpopulated Carpathian lands. While the actual number of immigrants is uncertain, the arrival of Koriatovich and his retinue was a milestone for the Rusyns, substantially improving the region's administrative, ecclesiastical and cultural aspects. This included building and fortifying Mukachevo Castle with cannons, a moat, workers and artisans, and the founding of an Orthodox monastery on the Latorytsia River.


Modern history

The Austro-Hungarian monarchy controlled the Carpathians from 1772 to 1918. With the increased
Magyarization Magyarization ( , also ''Hungarization'', ''Hungarianization''; hu, magyarosítás), after "Magyar"—the Hungarian autonym—was an assimilation or acculturation process by which non-Hungarian nationals living in Austro-Hungarian Transleithan ...
in the nineteenth century, for some educated and intellectual Rusyns it was natural to move to Budapest, while for other Slavic minded intellectuals the Russian Empire became a favored destination. The Rusyns have always been subject to larger neighboring powers, but in the 19th century a Rusyn national movement was formed which emphasized distinct ethnic identity and literary language. During the
Spring of Nations The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
on 2 May 1848 in Lemberg (today
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
) was established the first political representation of the Galician Rusyns, the Main Ruthenian Council ( rue, Головна Руська Рада, ''Holovna Ruska Rada'').Ihor Melnyk.
Main Ruthenian Council (Головна Руська Рада)
''. Zbruc. 30 April 2013
The most active and leading stratum among Rusyns was Greek-Catholic clergy (see
Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo is an eparchy (diocese) associated with the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church under an unidentified status and territory located in the west of Ukraine, roughly equivalent with Zakarpatska Oblast. The epar ...
,
Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ( rue, Русиньска ґрекокатолицька церьков; la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Ruthenica), also known in the United States simply as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Cath ...
, a successor of Ecclesia Ruthena unita). The nineteenth century also saw the spread of pan Slavism in Europe, and a pro-Moscow view became popular. The Russian military campaign of Tsar Nicholas I through the Carpathians in 1849 had significance for the local Rusyn population, who came into close contact with an almost 200,000 man Russian army. This interaction had an impact on the rising national consciousness of that time. Aleksander Dukhnovich (1803–1865), who wrote the unofficial Rusyn National Anthem ("I was, am, and will be a Rusyn"), and who by some is considered to be a sort of 'George Washington' of the Rusyns, reminisced that when he saw the Russian Cossacks on the streets, he "danced and cried with joy". A few decades later, when economic conditions and repression worsened in the late 19th century, massive emigration of Rusyns to America took place, beginning in the early 1870s. Between 1899 and 1931, Ellis Island listed 268,669 Rusyn immigrants. Most settled in the northeastern states, but Rusyn settlements also appeared in more far flung states such as Minnesota, Colorado, Alabama, Washington and Montana. Smaller numbers also emigrated to Canada, Brazil and Argentina. Rusyns formed two ephemeral states after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
: the
Lemko-Rusyn Republic Lemko-Rusyn People's Republic ( rue, Руска Народна Република Лемків, Ruska Narodna Respublika Lemkiv , Rusyn National Republic of Lemkos), often known also as the Lemko-Rusyn Republic, just the Lemko Republic, or the ...
and
Komancza Republic The Komancza Republic, also known as the Eastern Lemko Republic, Vyslik Republic, and Lemko Republic, was a short-lived microstate, an association of thirty three Lemko villages, seated in Komańcza in the east of the Lemko Region, that existed b ...
. Prior to this time, some of the founders of the Lemko-Rusyn Republic were sentenced to death or imprisoned in
Talerhof Thalerhof (also transliterated as Talerhof from Cyrillic-based East Slavic texts) was a concentration camp created by the Austro-Hungarian authorities active from 1914 to 1917, in a valley in foothills of the Alps, near Graz, the main city of t ...
by the prosecuting attorney
Kost Levytsky Kost Levytsky ( uk, Кость Леви́цький; 18 November 1859 – 12 November 1941) was a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician. He was a founder of the Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance, Ukrainian National Democratic movement and the lead ...
(Rusyn: Кость Леви́цький), future president of the
West Ukrainian National Republic The West Ukrainian People's Republic (WUPR) or West Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR), known for part of its existence as the Western Oblast of the Ukrainian People's Republic, was a short-lived polity that controlled most of Eastern Gali ...
. In the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
, the Rusyn diaspora in Czechoslovakia enjoyed liberal conditions to develop their culture (in comparison with Ukrainians in Poland or Romania).
Hutsul The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). They ...
Stepan Klochurak Stepan Klochurak was the Prime Minister of the short lived Hutsul Republic in 1919. In 1939, in the same general area, he was the Minister of Defense of Carpatho-Ukraine Carpatho-Ukraine or Carpathian Ukraine ( uk, Карпа́тська У ...
was a prime minister of
Hutsul Republic The Hutsul Republic ( uk, Гуцульська Республіка) was a short-lived state formed in the aftermath of World War I. The republic was declared on 8 January 1919, when original plans to unite this area with the Western Ukrainian Pe ...
centered in
Yasinia Yasinia ( uk, Ясіня, hu, Körösmező, sk, Jasiňa) is an urban-type settlement in Rakhiv Raion of Zakarpattia Oblast in Ukraine. Population: . It was the site of the Hutsul Republic after World War I, and the birthplace of several promi ...
that was seeking union with the
West Ukrainian People's Republic The West Ukrainian People's Republic (WUPR) or West Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR), known for part of its existence as the Western Oblast of the Ukrainian People's Republic, was a short-lived polity that controlled most of Eastern Gali ...
, but was overran by the Hungarian troops, later Klochurak became a Defense Minister of
Carpatho-Ukraine Carpatho-Ukraine or Carpathian Ukraine ( uk, Карпа́тська Украї́на, Karpats’ka Ukrayina, ) was an autonomous region within the Second Czechoslovak Republic, created in December 1938 by renaming Subcarpathian Rus' whose full ...
. After World War I, the majority of Rusyns found themselves in the new country of Czechoslovakia. The interwar period became a mini renaissance for Rusyn culture, as they were permitted their own schools, theater, anthem, and even their own governor. During the Dissolution of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (1918), various parts of Rusyn people were faced with different political challenges. Those who lived in northeastern counties of the Hungarian part of the former Monarchy were faced with pretensions of Hungary, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. On the other hand, those who lived in the former
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...
were faced with pretensions of Poland and Ukraine. In the 1920s and 1930s a dispute existed between Russophile and Ukrainophile Rusyns. In October 1938, a series of political reforms were initiated, leading to the creation of the
Second Czechoslovak Republic The Second Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, Druhá československá republika, sk, Druhá česko-slovenská republika) existed for 169 days, between 30 September 1938 and 15 March 1939. It was composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and ...
, consisting of three autonomous political entities, one of them being the Subcarpathian Rus' (
Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyns, Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn l ...
: Підкарпатьска Русь). On 11 October 1938, first autonomous Government of Subcarpathian Rus was appointed, headed by prime-minister
Andrej Bródy Andrey, Andrej or Andrei (in Cyrillic script: Андрей, Андреј or Андрэй) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: *Andrei of Polotsk ( – 1399), Lithuanian nobleman *An ...
. Soon after, a crisis occurred between pro-Rusyn and pro-Ukrainian fractions, leading to the fall of Bródy government on 26 October. New regional government, headed by
Avgustyn Voloshyn The Rt Rev. Avgustyn Ivanovych Monsignor Voloshyn ( uk , Авґустин Волошин, Августин Волошин, cs, Augustin Monsignore Vološin, 17 March 1874 – 19 July 1945), also called Augustin Voloshyn, was a Carpatho-Ukrain ...
, adopted a pro-Ukrainian course and opted for the change of name, from ''Subcarpathian Rus to ''Carpathian Ukraine''. That move led to the creation of a particular terminological duality. On 22 November 1938, authorities of the Second Czechoslovak Republic proclaimed the ''Constitutional Law on the Autonomy of Subcarpathian Rus (
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...
: ''Ústavní zákon o autonomii Podkarpatské Rusi''), officially reaffirming the right of
self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
of Rusyn people (
preamble A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subj ...
), and confirming full political and administrative autonomy of Subcarpathian Rus', with its own assembly and government. In the constitutional system of the Second Czechoslovak Republic, the region continued to be known as the Subcarpathian Rus', while local institutions promoted the use of the term ''Carpathian Ukraine''. The Republic of
Carpatho-Ukraine Carpatho-Ukraine or Carpathian Ukraine ( uk, Карпа́тська Украї́на, Karpats’ka Ukrayina, ) was an autonomous region within the Second Czechoslovak Republic, created in December 1938 by renaming Subcarpathian Rus' whose full ...
, which existed for one day on March 15, 1939, before it was occupied and annexed by
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, is sometimes considered to have been a self-determining Rusyn state that had intentions to unite with
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
. The Republic's president,
Avgustyn Voloshyn The Rt Rev. Avgustyn Ivanovych Monsignor Voloshyn ( uk , Авґустин Волошин, Августин Волошин, cs, Augustin Monsignore Vološin, 17 March 1874 – 19 July 1945), also called Augustin Voloshyn, was a Carpatho-Ukrain ...
, was an advocate of writing in
Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyns, Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn l ...
. The Hungarian annexation caused support for Russophile direction, while in Germany occupied Poland support for Ukrainian identity. Although the Carpathians were not a major WWII battlefield, the Rusyns saw their share of horror and destruction, beginning with the Hungarian government's 1941 tragic deportation of the Carpathian Jews. In September 1944, while retreating from a Soviet Red Army offensive, the Nazis who were passing through blew up all the bridges in Uzhhorod, including one built in the 14th century. On 26 November 1944 in
Mukachevo Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast (province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion (district), the city ...
representatives from all cities and villages of the land adopted the manifest about union of Zakarpattia Ukraine with Soviet Ukraine.Nytka, V
Zakarpattia celebrated the 66th Anniversary of the Manifest about the Union (Закарпаття відзначило 66-і роковини Маніфесту про возз'єднання)
'.
Holos Ukrayiny ''Holos Ukrayiny'' ( ua, Голос України, lit=Voice of Ukraine), is a Ukrainian daily newspaper published in Kyiv. Laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine are published in Holos Ukrayiny whem they come into force the next day. Hi ...
. 30 November 2010
The Soviets occupied the Carpathians, and in 1945 the Rusyn ethnic homeland was split among three countries, as western portions were incorporated into Czechoslovakia and Poland, while the eastern portion became part of the Soviet Union and was officially named
Transcarpathia Transcarpathia may refer to: Place * relative term, designating any region beyond the Carpathians (lat. ''trans-'' / beyond, over), depending on a point of observation * Romanian Transcarpathia, designation for Romanian regions on the inner or ...
. After World War II, Transcarpathia was declared as a part of Ukrainia. In Poland, the new Communist government deported many Rusyns from their ancestral region, sending many east to Ukraine, and others to the far west of the country. In Czechoslovakia a policy of
Ukrainization Ukrainization (also spelled Ukrainisation), sometimes referred to as Ukrainianization (or Ukrainianisation) is a policy or practice of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of ...
was implemented. In Ukraine, many Rusyns who owned land or livestock, often funded via their own family members in America, were now branded by the Soviets as kulaks, or rich peasants. Property and farm animals were confiscated and newly established kolkhozes (collectivized farms) were built, with people being forced to work on their own former land, 'employed' by the Communist government. Some of the less lucky were sent to Siberia. In 1947, under the
Operation Vistula Operation Vistula ( pl, Akcja Wisła; uk, Опера́ція «Ві́сла») was a codename for the 1947 forced resettlement of 150,000 Ukrainians (Boykos and Lemkos) from the south-eastern provinces of post-war Poland, to the Recovered Terri ...
happened
forced resettlement Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration, often imposed by state policy or international authority and most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion but also due to economic development. Banishment or exile is a ...
of c. 150,000 Lemkos, Boykos and other Ukrainians between Poland and Ukraine. In the same time some 8,500 Rusyns voluntarily emigrated from Czechoslovakia to Ukraine, but more than half of them returned during the 1960s. These acts were protested for years, but to no avail. In the US, the Greek Catholic Union's 1964 convention even adopted a resolution calling on the United Nations to act "so that Carpatho-Russia be recognized and accepted into the free nations of the world as an autonomous state". In former
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, Rusyns were officially recognized as a distinct
national minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
, and their legal status was regulated in Yugoslav federal units of
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
. In the Constitution of Serbia, that was adopted in 1963, Rusyns were designated as one of seven (explicitly named) national minorities (Article 82), and the same provision was implemented in the Statute of
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
(an autonomous province in Serbia) that was adopted in the same year (Article 32). Further on, the Constitutional Law of 1969 regulated the position of
Rusyn language Rusyn (; rue, label=Rusyn language#Carpathian Rusyn, Carpathian Rusyn, русиньскый язык, translit=rusîn'skyj jazyk; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, руски язик, translit=ruski jazik),http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2781/1/2011Bapt ...
as one of five official languages in Vojvodina (Article 67).


Recent history

After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1990, new opportunities arose for Rusyns in Poland and in the newly formed countries of Slovakia and Ukraine. The Rusyns of the Transcarpathia region of Ukraine were able to vote in December 1991 for self-rule. With an 89% voter turnout, 78% voted Yes to autonomy. But with the Russian majority in the Odessa region casting a similar vote, the Ukrainian government, fearing secession, has refused to honor this referendum. In terms of minority rights, the question of Rusyn self-identification and recognition in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
has been a subject of interest for European institutions, as well as the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. Nationally, Rusyns are considered (by both state and cultural authorities) only a sub-group of the
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
people. In spite of this, Ukraine's
Zakarpattia Oblast The Zakarpattia Oblast ( uk, Закарпатська область, Zakarpatska oblast) is an administrative oblast located in western Ukraine, mostly coterminous with the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia. Its administrative centre is ...
has recognized Rusyns as a "distinct nationality" within the oblast since a 2007 proclamation by its regional assembly. By the end of the 20th century there appeared many societies and organizations considering Rusyns as people separate from Ukrainians. By the early 21st century they had representatives in parliaments of Serbia, Hungary, and Romania, published their own press, and in 2007 the Museum of Ruthenian Culture was opened in
Prešov Prešov (, hu, Eperjes, Rusyn language, Rusyn and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Пряшів) is a city in Eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj) and Šariš, as well as the historic Sáros Cou ...
, Slovakia. In 2010 in Mukachevo were festivities commemorating the union of Zakarpattia with Ukraine, four out of 663 of congress delegates who adopted the Manifest about the Union and who were still alive attended the event: F. Sabov, O. Lohoida, M. Moldavchuk and J. Matlakh. They shared their experience about first years of the People's Council in revival of the region. There is also ongoing
linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and
political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
controversy as to whether
Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyns, Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn l ...
is a distinct
Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto ...
or one of several dialects of the
Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...
. In several countries, it is recognized as a distinct minority language. Though Ukraine also adopted a law that recognized Rusyn as one of several minority and regional languages in 2012, that law was revoked in 2014. In 2021 while discussing the borders of modern Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Rusyns as being distinct from Ukrainians. In writing about the Soviet Union's post World War II takeover of the Transcarpathian region, Putin stated that, "quote, 'Rusyns (Русины) made up a considerable share of the local population', unquote". Then, using the pre-World War II term to describe the region, he asserted that the population of "Subcarpathian Rus" (Podkarpatska Rus) voted to join the Soviet Union either as "either part of the Russian Soviet republic or as a separate Carpathian republic". Putin noted however that the Soviet authorities "ignored the choice of the people" and incorporated it instead into the Ukrainian Soviet republic. Today there are estimated to be approximately 1.5 million Rusyns in Europe and a healthy pro-Rusyn movement exists in the Carpathians. Some Ukrainian nationalists have argued that the modern 'Rusyn movement' is in reality "acting to defend the interests of the Russian Empire the Carpathian Mountains". But the vast majority of Rusyns simply want their own identity and in any event in the 21st Century Rusyns as a distinct people has reached a watershed moment, and are now recognized as an ethnic minority in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Romania and the Czech Republic.


Autonomist and separatist movements

According to Mrs Jozsefne Csepanyi-Bardos, the president of the Ruthenian Ethnic Minority Council in Budapest Capital. The flag of the Ruthenians of the World and the Ruhenian Ethnic Minority Council is a tricolour in a 2:1:1 ratio. Ukrainian academician, doctor of historical sciences, head of department of National Minorities of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Institute of Political and Ethno-national research, May Panchuk explained that soon after
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
and during the 1991 Ukrainian referendum, there was provided additional question for Zakarpattia residents only whether they wish to obtain a self-governed territory within Ukraine. It triggered Rusyns to create their own political parties and movements. Already in March 1992 the recently created "
Subcarpathian republican party Subcarpathian may refer to: * someone or something related to geographical region of Outer Subcarpathia ** Subcarpathian Voivodship, an administrative region in modern Poland ** Subcarpathian Regional Assembly, a regional assembly of the Subcarpa ...
" published its program with first elements of separatism: create independent, neutral "Republic Subcarpathian Ruthenia" just as Switzerland; receive full political and economic independence; recognize Rusyn people as a full-scale nationality among other nations. The party contained a well expressed Kremlin orientation and did not hide its connections with pro-Russians elements. In 1993 in
Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
there was presented the "government of Subcarpathian Ruthenia" with an emphasized change – as "separate subject of the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
". The activity of the "government" was openly supported by "
Russkiy dom Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
", "
Russkiy Mir Foundation Alexander Mirzayan presenting the foundation in August 2015 (Eastern Ukraine) Russkiy Mir Foundation (russian: Фонд "Русский мир", literally "Russian World Foundation") was created by decree by Vladimir Putin in 2007, as a governme ...
",
Association of Zakarpattia democrats Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...
, and other pro-Russian organizations. In December 1994 so called "minister of foreign affairs" T. Ondyk appealed to the
President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
to cancel the 1945 treaty between the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia about Zakarpattia Ukraine. At that same time, Ondyk appealed to the presidents of the United States and Hungary accusing the Ukrainian government in the policy of extermination of Rusyns and Hungarians. A considerable controversy has arisen regarding the Rusyn separatist movement led by the Orthodox priest
Dimitry Sydor Dmytro Dmytrovych Sydor ( uk, Дмитро Дмитрович Сидор, also known as Pop Sydor ( uk, піп Сидір, links=no), born March 29, 1955, in Mukachevo Raion) is a Rusyns, Rusyn archpriest of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Uzhh ...
(now Archbishop of Uzhorod, in the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church ( uk, Українська православна церква, Ukrainska pravoslavna tserkva; russian: Украинская православная церковь, Ukrainskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov', UOC), common ...
), his relationship with the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
and funding for his activities. Russia has, as a result of the Russian census of 2002, recognized the Rusyns as a separate ethnic group in 2004, and has been accused by the Ukrainian government of fueling ethnic tensions and separatism among Rusyns and Ukrainians. A criminal case under Part 2, Art. 110 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code was initiated after the 1st European Congress of Rusyns took place in
Mukachevo Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast (province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion (district), the city ...
on June 7, 2008. At that particular congress the reinstatement of the Zakarpattia's status as special "territory of Rusyns to the south of the Carpathians" with self-government under the constitutional name Subcarpathian Rus was recognized. On October 29, at the 2nd congress in Mukachevo, a memorandum was signed calling for the authorities to recognize the Subcarpathian Rus autonomy (by December 1). That same day, according to the ''
Kommersant ''Kommersant'' (russian: Коммерсантъ, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia ...
-Ukraine'' (Ukrainian edition) agents of the
Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...
(SBU) questioned Dmytro Sydor and Yevgeniy Zhupan. They were summoned to SBU as witnesses in a criminal case "on the infringement on territorial integrity of Ukraine" initiated in June 2008. According to internet publisher "
Newsru NEWSru.com was a Russian online news site, based in Moscow, which had a government-critical orientation. History NEWSru.com was originally launched in 2000 at the address ntv.ru. When the government took over the NTV network in 2000, with the n ...
", earlier in 2008 the Zakarpattia Rusyns appealed to Russia to recognize independence of
Subcarpathian Ruthenia Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
from Ukraine.The leader of Zakarpattia Rusyns, a priest of UOC-MP, received three years conditionally for separatism (Лидеру закарпатских русинов, священнику УПЦ МП, дали три года условно за сепаратизм)
Newsru.ua. 20 March 2012
In 2014 with the start of the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...
, an activist of the Subcarpathian Ruthenia movement named Petro Hetsko, who claims to be prime minister of the Subcarpathian Ruthenia, asked the
President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
to intervene and help "neutralize Galician Nazism in Zakarpattia".Hybrid war: ethnic factor of the Zakarpattia Rusyns. Analytics of IS (Гибридная война: этнический фактор русинов Закарпатья. Аналитика ИС)
. Svetlovodsk.com.ua. 21 April 2016
Research conducted by the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
during the height of political Rusynism in the mid-1990s that focused on five specific regions within the Zakarpattia Oblast having the strongest pro-Rusyn cultural and political activism, found that only nine percent of the population of these areas claimed Rusyn ethnicity. In the present day, according to the Ukrainian census, most – over 99% – of the local inhabitants consider themselves to be Ukrainians.


Religion


Early history

Religion and Rusyn history are deeply intertwined, often resulting in controversy. Many believe that when Rusyns first came to Christianity it was through the Orthodox faith, although this has been challenged by many others who assert the initial Christian influence actually came from Catholic Moravia. One of the earliest saints of the (Orthodox) Monastery of the Caves at Kiev was the Rusyn Moses Uhrin (died 1043), who prior to becoming a monk served Boris, the prince of Ancient Rus'. Moses and his brothers Efrem and Georgii stories are recorded in the noted 'Russian
Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
'. Also originating from this time is the unique Carpathian church
Prostopinije Prostopinije (meaning Plain Chant in Rusyn) is a type of monodic church chant, closely related to Znamenny chant. Prostopinije is used in the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, Slovak Greek Catholic Church, and by the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox. The ...
(Plain Chant), which is closely related to the ancient chant of Kievan Rus' and has even preserved elements of it. For over 600 years, the Orthodox Church was the only Rusyn church in the Carpathians. But under the growing influence of the then ruling Austro-Hungarian Empire, Orthodox clergy were reduced over time to the legal status of peasant-serfs, and even the bishop of Mukachevo was at the mercy of the Hungarian lords. To improve their condition, some Orthodox priests attempted to form a new church under the Catholics. In 1614, 50 priests convened at the Krasni Brid Monastery with this intent, but a crowd of Orthodox protested and dispersed the group. A second attempt in the 1630s under Bishop Vasyl Tarasovych also failed. Finally in April 1646, Bishop Parfenii Petrovich ( Petro Parfenii#Biography) was able to convene a meeting of 63 (out of a few hundred) priests who pledged their allegiance to the Pope of Rome. Their signed document became known as the
Union of Uzhhorod The Union of Uzhhorod ( rue, Ужгородьска унія, Uzhhorod'ska unija), was a decision by 63 Ruthenian priests of the Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo (then divided between the Principality of Transylvania and Royal Hungary of the H ...
, resulting in the formation of the Greek Catholic Church. This new Church was given greater material assistance from the Austro-Hungarian Empire while being allowed to maintain their Eastern Rite traditions, including married priests. From that time, the Rusyns had two bishops, one Greek Catholic and one Orthodox, until 1721 when the last remaining Orthodox priests in the western counties accepted the Union. Some priests in the eastern counties of Bereg and Maramaros remained Orthodox until 1745.


Recent history

In the 1890s, 145 years after Orthodoxy had ceased to exist in the Carpathians, a so-called 'return to Orthodoxy' movement began, reaching a high point in the 1920s. Many Greek Catholics who became Orthodox were arrested for treason and a few were even executed by the government, with the
Thalerhof internment camp Thalerhof (also transliterated as Talerhof from Cyrillic-based East Slavic texts) was a concentration camp created by the Austro-Hungarian authorities active from 1914 to 1917, in a valley in foothills of the Alps, near Graz, the main city of t ...
and martyrdom (by firing squad) of the Orthodox priest
Maxim Sandovich Maxim Timofeyevich Sandovich (russian: Максим Тимофеевич Сандович, pl, Maksym Sandowicz; 1 February 1888 - 6 August 1914) is a New Martyr and Orthodox saint. known as saint hieromartyr Maxim of Gorlice ( pl, Maksym Gorlick ...
in 1914 being the best known incidents. Meanwhile, the Russian Bolshevik Revolution was forcing Russians of the nobility and middle class to flee, and many settled in the US. These Russians arrived and began joining the American Russian Orthodox Church (then called the Metropolia) at precisely the same time Carpatho-Russians in America were also 'returning' to the Orthodox faith. This mixing furthered Russophile leanings among many Rusyns. Leading the charge was Fr.
Alexis Toth Alexis Georgievich Toth (or Alexis of Wilkes-Barre; March 18, 1853 – May 7, 1909) was a Russian Orthodox church leader in the Midwestern United States who, having resigned his position as a Byzantine Catholic priest in the Ruthenian Catholi ...
, a former Greek Catholic priest who led as many as 20,000 Rusyn Americans to Orthodoxy, for which he was canonized by the Orthodox Church (due to his efforts, perhaps 1/3rd of American Rusyns are Orthodox today). This American mixing further influenced events and persecutions back in the Carpathian homeland, where thousands of fleeing Orthodox Russians also settled, including monks who founded the Ladomirova Monastery. Indeed,
Laurus Škurla ''Laurus'' () is a genus of evergreen trees or shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus contains three or more species, including the bay laurel or sweet bay, ''L. nobilis'', widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and a cul ...
who was born in Ladomirova (now in Slovakia) rose to become Metropolitan Laurus, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Conversely, it was Greek Catholics of the Carpathians who suffered in the 1940s. By force, the Soviet government annulled the
Union of Uzhhorod The Union of Uzhhorod ( rue, Ужгородьска унія, Uzhhorod'ska unija), was a decision by 63 Ruthenian priests of the Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo (then divided between the Principality of Transylvania and Royal Hungary of the H ...
in 1946, and the Greek Catholic Church was liquidated exactly 300 years after its formation. The Greek Catholic Cathedral, Uzhhorod was transferred to the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church in 1948, and priests who refused to convert to Orthodoxy were sent to the Siberian and Arctic labor camps, where many died. Others were simply murdered in their home villages. A horrific example of this was the martyrdom (by assassination) of Greek Catholic Bishop
Theodore Romzha Theodore George Romzha ( uk, Теодор Юрій Ромжа, hu, Romzsa Tódor György, 14 April 1911 – 31 October 1947) was the bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve from 1944 to 1947. Assassinated by the NKVD, he was bea ...
. To add salt to the wound, in 1971 the Russian Orthodox Synod of Zagorsk, U.S.S.R. indirectly justified this violence by officially ratifying the annulment. And while no longer the case, from the early and even until the mid-1900s in America, religious and nationalist causes went together. Aside from Russian Orthodox/Greek Catholic struggle, the dislike of Ukrainians by Rusyn religious leaders was strong and expressed often, as Ukrainian nationalism was deemed a destructive force to Rusyn culture. The influential newspaper of the American Greek Catholic Church, the 'GCU Messenger', wrote in 1954: "To us Carpatho-Russian people here and in our native country under the green Carpathians, there can be no greater insult and offense then when someone calls us Ukrainians. We know not such people on the world's map." Europe Today In Europe today, some tensions still exist. As an example, the aforementioned Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross in Uzhorod belonged to the Greek Catholics but after WWII had been given to the Russian Orthodox Church by the Communist government. With the pending fall of communism, a well-meaning visit to this cathedral in February 1990 by American Byzantine Catholic (Greek Catholic) Archbishop
Stephen Kocisko Stephen John Kocisko (June 11, 1915 – March 7, 1995) was the first Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church Early life Born June 11, 191 ...
, whose own Rusyn parents were born in the Carpathians, led to confrontation from Rusyn Orthodox protestors. Later in 1991, there were major protests, including physical attacks and hunger strikes when it was decided to transfer the cathedral back to the Greek Catholics. The Orthodox immediately set about to build a new Uzhhorod Orthodox Cathedral, under the guidance of the Rusyn Fr.
Dimitry Sydor Dmytro Dmytrovych Sydor ( uk, Дмитро Дмитрович Сидор, also known as Pop Sydor ( uk, піп Сидір, links=no), born March 29, 1955, in Mukachevo Raion) is a Rusyns, Rusyn archpriest of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Uzhh ...
, a Moscow Patriarchate priest, who is perhaps the most controversial cleric in today's Carpathians. In a nod to Moscow, the architecture of the new cathedral is based on the design of the famous and newly rebuilt 'Cathedral of Christ the Savior' in Moscow, which is the largest church in all of Russia. At the parish level, numerous churches which had been forcibly Orthodox for decades switched back to the Greek Catholic jurisdiction, and new ones were also constructed. As well, in spite of continued pressure, the region's Greek Catholic Church steadfastly refuses to be included under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian oriented Lvov/Lviv Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy. Notably and in another example of Rusyns going against the tide and seen as a pushback against Ukrainianism, an estimated 542 of the existing 550 Transcarpathian Orthodox churches chose to remain under the (Russian) Moscow Patriarchate rather than join the (Ukrainian) Kiev/Kyiv Patriarchate. And as of 2021 according to the Ukrainian government itself, Transcarpathia had one of the highest adherence levels in Ukraine to the Moscow Orthodox Patriarchate rather than the Kyiv Orthodox Patriarchate. However, there is one thing that neither church divisions nor communism has changed, and that is the traditional, formal Rusyn greeting, which can occasionally still be heard by both Orthodox and Catholics alike: Slava Isusu Kristu! – Glory to Jesus Christ!


Greek Catholics

Many Rusyns are
Eastern Catholics The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
of the
Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...
, who since the
Union of Uzhhorod The Union of Uzhhorod ( rue, Ужгородьска унія, Uzhhorod'ska unija), was a decision by 63 Ruthenian priests of the Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo (then divided between the Principality of Transylvania and Royal Hungary of the H ...
in 1646 have been in communion with the
See of Rome The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
. This church, the
Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ( rue, Русиньска ґрекокатолицька церьков; la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Ruthenica), also known in the United States simply as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Cath ...
, is distinct from the
Latin Catholic Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
. It has retained the
Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...
liturgy, sometimes including the
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
language, the liturgical forms of Byzantine or
Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
, and married priests. The
Pannonian Rusyns Pannonian Rusyns ( rue, Русини, translit=Rusynŷ), also known as Pannonian Rusnaks ( rue, Руснаци, translit=Rusnat͡sŷ), and formerly known as ''Yugoslav'' Rusyns (during the existence of former Yugoslavia), are ethnic Rusyns from ...
of Croatia are organized under the
Greek Catholic Eparchy of Križevci The Eparchy of Križevci is a Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia eparchy of the Catholic Church in Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its current eparch is Milan Stipić. The cathedra is in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinit ...
, and those in the region of
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
(northern Serbia), are organized under the
Greek Catholic Eparchy of Ruski Krstur The Eparchy of San Nicola di Ruski Krstur ( sr, Крстурска гркокатоличка епархија) is a Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Serbia. It was founded ...
, headed by bishop
Đura Džudžar Đura Džudžar (born April 22, 1954) is Serbian eparchial bishop of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Ruski Krstur since 2018. He was previously titular bishop of Acrassus (2001-2018), auxiliary bishop of the Ruthenian Eparchy of Mukachevo (2 ...
, who is an ethnic Rusyn. Those in the
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
established the
Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh The Byzantine Catholic Metropolis of Pittsburgh ( la, Pittsburgensis ritus byzantini) is a metropolitan province for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in the United States of America, with specific jurisdiction over several communities th ...
.


Eastern Orthodox

Although originally associated with the
Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air ...
, that diocese was suppressed after the
Union of Uzhhorod The Union of Uzhhorod ( rue, Ужгородьска унія, Uzhhorod'ska unija), was a decision by 63 Ruthenian priests of the Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo (then divided between the Principality of Transylvania and Royal Hungary of the H ...
. New Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo and Prešov was created in 1931 under the auspices of the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
. That eparchy was divided in 1945, eastern part joining
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
as the
Eparchy of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...
, while western part was reorganized as Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Prešov of the
Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia ( cs, Pravoslavná církev v Českých zemích a na Slovensku; sk, Pravoslávna cirkev v českých krajinách a na Slovensku) is a self-governing body of the Eastern Orthodox Church that territ ...
. Many Rusyn Americans left Catholicism for Eastern Orthodoxy in the 19th century due to disputes with the
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
bishops, who viewed different practices in the Byzantine Rite (such as married clergy) with suspicion. Another large segment of
Rusyn Americans Rusyn Americans ( rue, Русиньскы Америчаны; also known as Carpatho-Rusyn Americans) are citizens of the United States of America, with ancestors who were Rusyns, from Carpathian Ruthenia, or neighboring areas of Central Europe. ...
belong to the
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of North America (ACROD) is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with 78 parishes in the United States and Canada. Though the diocese is directly responsible to the Patriarchate, it is under the s ...
, which is headquartered in
Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...
. From its early days, this group wa
recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate
as a self-governing diocese. The affiliation of Eastern Orthodox Rusyns was adversely affected by the
Communist revolution A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution often, but not necessarily, inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, socialism can be used as an intermediate stage ...
in the Russian Empire and the subsequent
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
which split the Orthodox diaspora from the Eastern Orthodox believers living in the ancestral homelands. A number of émigré communities have claimed to continue the Orthodox Tradition of the pre-revolution church while either denying or minimizing the validity of the church organization operating under Communist authority. For example, the
Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...
(OCA) was granted autocephalous (self-governing) status by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1970. Although approximately 25% of the OCA was Rusyn in the early 1980s, an influx of Eastern Orthodox émigrés from other nations and new converts wanting to connect with the
Eastern Church Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
have lessened the impact of a particular Rusyn emphasis in favor of a new American Orthodoxy. In 1994, the historian
Paul Robert Magocsi Paul Robert Magocsi (born January 26, 1945 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980, and became a Fe ...
stated that there were approximately 690,000 Carpatho-Rusyn church members in the United States, with 320,000 belonging to the largest
Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
affiliations, 270,000 to the largest
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
affiliations, and 100,000 to various Protestant and other denominations.


Location

The traditional homeland of the Rusyn people,
Carpathian Rus' Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
, lies at the heart of the Carpathian mountains, on the borders of modern-day Ukraine, Poland, and Slovakia. Today, approximately three-quarters of Rusyns reside within Ukraine, specifically the geographic region known as
Transcarpathia Transcarpathia may refer to: Place * relative term, designating any region beyond the Carpathians (lat. ''trans-'' / beyond, over), depending on a point of observation * Romanian Transcarpathia, designation for Romanian regions on the inner or ...
(historic
Subcarpathian Rus' Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
). There also exists a multitude of Rusyn diaspora communities throughout neighboring countries in Europe and North America. The oldest of these diaspora communities is located located in the
Pannonian Plain The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...
. Since the mid-18th century, the resettled communities of Pannonia have existed in parts of present-day Serbia (particularly,
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
, known historically as Bachka) and Croatia (in
Vukovar-Srijem County Vukovar-Srijem County ( hr, Vukovarsko-srijemska županija), Vukovar-Sirmium County or Vukovar-Syrmia County, named after the eponymous town of Vukovar and the region of Syrmia, is the easternmost Croatian county. It includes the eastern parts ...
). The United States holds the largest population of Rusyns outside of Carpathian Rus', mostly within the former industrial centers of the
Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
ern United States. At the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, approximately 225,000 Rusyns
emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
d here. Within Europe, Rusyns also migrated and settled in Prnjavor, a town in the northern region of present-day
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. The community in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
is located in northern
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...
and the capital of
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. Populations of Rusyns also migrated to Canada and Argentina in the 1920s and Canada, Australia, and Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.


Demography

Of the estimated 1.2 to 1.6 million people of Rusyn origins, only around 90,000 individuals have been officially identified as such in recent national censuses (see infobox above). This is due, in part, to the refusal of some governments to count Rusyns and/or allow them to self-identify on census forms, especially in Ukraine. The ethnic classification of Rusyns as a separate East Slavic ethnicity distinct from
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
,
Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
, or
Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...
is, consequently, politically controversial. The claim that Rusyns are Ukrainian subgroup is disputed by some non-mainstream scholars, as well as other scholars from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Canada, and the United States. According to the
2001 Ukrainian Census The Ukrainian Census of 2001 is to date the only census of the population of independent Ukraine. It was conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989.
, thirty percent of Rusyns in Ukraine identified Ukrainian as their native language, while two thirds named the Rusyn language. However, about 10 thousand people, or 0.8%, of Ukraine's
Zakarpattia Oblast The Zakarpattia Oblast ( uk, Закарпатська область, Zakarpatska oblast) is an administrative oblast located in western Ukraine, mostly coterminous with the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia. Its administrative centre is ...
(Province) identified themselves as Rusyns; by contrast, over 1 million considered themselves Ukrainians. The
endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
''Rusyn'' has frequently gone unrecognised by various governments, and has in other cases been prohibited. Today, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Croatia officially recognize contemporary Rusyns as an ethnic minority. In 2007, Carpatho-Rusyns were recognized as a separate ethnicity in Ukraine by the
Zakarpattia Oblast Council The Zakarpattia Oblast Council ( uk, Закарпатська обласна рада) is the regional oblast council (parliament) of the Zakarpattia Oblast (province) located in western Ukraine. Council members are elected for five year terms. I ...
on a regional level, and in 2012 the Rusyn language gained official regional status in certain areas of the province, as well as nationwide based on the 2012 Law of Ukraine, " On the principles of the state language policy". However, most contemporary self-identified ethnic Rusyns live outside of Ukraine.


Ethnic subgroups

Rusyns may be divided into two significant subgroups: Carpathian Rusyns and
Pannonian Rusyns Pannonian Rusyns ( rue, Русини, translit=Rusynŷ), also known as Pannonian Rusnaks ( rue, Руснаци, translit=Rusnat͡sŷ), and formerly known as ''Yugoslav'' Rusyns (during the existence of former Yugoslavia), are ethnic Rusyns from ...
. While both groups are descendants of Rusyn populations from
Carpathian Rus' Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
, Pannonian Rusyns migrated from the Carpathian to parts of modern-day Croatia and Serbia (
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
) in the 19th century. Additionally, the two groups speak different dialects (or languages, depending on the author): the former group speaking Carpathian Rusyn and the latter speaking
Pannonian Rusyn Pannonian Rusyn ( rsk, label=Pannonian Rusyn, руски язик, translit=ruski jazik), also historically referred to as Yugoslav Rusyn, is a variety of the Rusyn language, spoken by the Pannonian Rusyns, primarily in the regions of Vojvodina ...
. Other more specific, regional subgroups (debatably) include Lemkos, Boykos, Hutsuls, and Dolinyans (lit. "lowlanders"). However, the Lemko-Boyko-Hutsul subdivision popular with Ukrainian scholars was only first promoted in the 1920s by the ''Lemko Committee'' and other contemporary Ukrainian scholars. Furthermore, while
Lemkos Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of Car ...
and Rusyns are recognized as distinct ethnic minorities in Poland and Slovakia (respectively), neither
Boykos The Boykos ( uk, Бойки, Boiky; pl, Bojkowie; sk, Pujďáci), or simply Highlanders (верховинці, ''verkhovyntsi''), are an ethnolinguistic sub-group of Ukrainians located in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, ...
nor
Hutsuls The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). They ...
are formally recognized in any country; nor are any Rusyns for that matter recognized as such in Ukraine.Richard T.Schaefer (ed.), 2008, ''Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society, Volume 1'', SAGE Publications, p. 1341. Regarding these common ethnographic divisions, prominent Rusyn scholar, Paul Robert Magocsi, has said the following:


See also

*
Gorals The Gorals ( pl, Górale; Goral dialect: ''Górole''; sk, Gorali; Cieszyn Silesia dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also known as the Highlanders (in Poland as the Polish Highlanders) are an indigenous ethnographic or ethnic group primar ...
*
Polish Uplanders Polish Uplanders ( pl, Pogórzanie; also known as Western Pogorzans and Eastern Pogorzans), are a distinctive subethnic group of Poles that mostly live in the Central Beskidian Range of the Subcarpathian highlands. The Polish Uplanders inhabited ...


Gallery

Boykos of Maniava.jpg, Boyko family, late 19th century Бойки.jpg, Boyko family, early 20th century Ukrainian hutsuls 1.jpg, Hutsul family, 1925–1939 Hutsul music band.jpg, Hutsul music band, 1918–1935 Carpatho-Rusyn sub-groups - Sanok area Lemkos in original goral folk-costumes from Mokre (Poland) ..jpg, Lemkos from
Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...
in stylized highland folk-costumes from Mokre (Poland) Carpatho-Rusyn sub-groups - Przemyśl area Ukrainians in original goral folk-costumes..jpg, Rusyns from
Przemyśl Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...
Carpatho-Rusyn sub-groups - Presov area Lemkos (left side) and Przemyśl area Ukrainians in original goral folk-costumes..jpg, Boykos from
Prešov Prešov (, hu, Eperjes, Rusyn language, Rusyn and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Пряшів) is a city in Eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj) and Šariš, as well as the historic Sáros Cou ...
(left side) and Lemkos from Przemyśl Narodna nosnja petrovci.jpg, Ruthenian costume from Petrovci,
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...


Explanatory notes


Citations


General and cited sources

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Further reading

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External links


The Carpathian Connection

The Carpatho-Rusyn Society

Carpatho Rusyn Knowledge Base

American Carpatho-Russian Diocese
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