Rusyns History

Rusyns are an ethnic group that never attainedor 0.8%, of Ukraine's Zakarpattya oblast
the status of independent statehood, except for(province) identified themselves as Rusyns; in
a half a year period in 1919 (Podkarpatska Rus)contrast, 1,010,000 considered themselves
and a few days in 1939 (Carpatho-Ukraine). AsUkrainians.[3] Research conducted by the
such, their fortunes have rested in the hands ofUniversity of Cambridge during the height of
larger powers, such as Hungary, Czechoslovakia,political Ruthenianism in the mid-nineties, that
Slovakia, Poland, the Soviet Union, Ukraine, andfocused on five specific regions within
Russia. In contrast to the modern UkrainianZakarpattya oblast with the strongest
national movement that united Western Ukrainianspro-Ruthenian cultural and political activism, found
with those from the rest of Ukraine, the Rusynthat only nine percent of the population claimed
national movement takes two forms: oneRusyn ethnicity.[4] These numbers may change
considers Rusyns as a separate East Slavic nation,with the further acceptance of Rusyn identity and
while the other is based on the concept ofthe Rusyn language in educational systems in the
fraternal unity with Russians.area, but at the moment most Ruthenians
Most if not all of the Eastern Slavic inhabitants ofconsider themselves Ukrainians.
present-day Western Ukraine referred toThe Rusyn national movement is much stronger
themselves as Rusyns (Ukrainian: ??????, translit.among those Rusyn groups that became
Rusyny) prior to the nineteenth century, thegeographically separated from present-day
majority of these people became activeUkrainian territories, for example the Rusyn
participants in the creation of the Ukrainian nationemigrants in the United States and Canada, as
and came to call themselves Ukrainians (Ukrainian:well as the Rusyns still included within the borders
????????, translit. Ukrayintsi). There were,of Slovakia. A census in the latter country in 2001
however, ethnic Rusyn enclaves which were notshowed that 24,000 people considered
a part of this movement: those living on thethemselves Rusyn while 11,000 considered
border of the same territory or in more isolatedthemselves to be Ukrainians. The Pannonian
regions, such as the people from CarpathianRusyns in Serbia, who migrated there during the
Ruthenia, Poleshuks, or the Rusyns of Podlachia.rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, also consider
With no reason to change their self-identifyingthemselves to be Rusyns. In the nineteenth and
monikers, these isolated groups continued to referearly twentieth centuries, some Rusyns resettled
to themselves as Rusyns even after the majorityin Vojvodina (in present day Serbia), as well as in
of their people had switched to a UkrainianSlavonia (in present-day Croatia). Still other
self-identification. In this sense, Rusyns are similarRusyns migrated to the northern regions of
to other borderland ethnicities, and their nationalpresent-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, although
awakening can be viewed by some as a negationmany of this ethnicity in Bosnia identify
of Ukrainian nationalism.themselves as Ukrainians. Until the 1971 Yugoslav
Some scholars consider the Lemko, Boyko,census, both Ukrainians (Serbian: ?????????, tr.
Hutsul, Verkhovinetses (Verkhovyntsi, orUkrajinci) and Rusyns (Serbian: ??????, tr. Rusini) in
Highlanders), and Dolinyanin (Haynal) ethnic groupsthese areas were recorded collectively as
to be Rusyn. Indeed, as with the rest of the"Ruthenes". Podkarpatskije Rusiny is considered
inhabitants of present-day Western Ukraine in thethe Rusyn "national anthem", Ja Rusyn byl jesm' i
19th century and first part of the 20th century,budu the national song.
these peoples referred to themselves as Rusyns.Historically, in order to separate the Ukrainian
However, some of these ethnic groups considerpeople, the Polish and Hungarian states are
themselves to be wholely separate ethnicities,considered to have helped in the development of
while some claim to be Ukrainians and still othersa Rusyn identity as a separate one from that of
identify themselves as Rusyns. According to aUkrainians. Rusyns were even recorded as a
recent Ukrainian census, an overwhelmingseparate nationality by the censuses taken in
majority of Boykos, Lemkos, Hutsuls,pre-WWII Poland (see Cezary Chlebowski's
Verkhovinetses and Dolinyanins in Ukraine statedWachlarz).
their ethnicity as Ukrainian. About 10,100 people,