Identifying the Rusyns (for you)
Rusyns, also known as Carpatho-Rusyns, Carpatho-Russians, Ruthenians, or Rusnaks, are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central and Eastern Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct language or a dialect of the Ukrainian language. As traditional adherents of Eastern Christianity, the majority of Rusyns are Eastern Catholics, though a minority of Rusyns practice Eastern Orthodoxy.
Rusyns primarily self-identify as a distinct ethnic group and are recognized as such in all countries where they exist, with the exception of Ukraine, which officially classifies Rusyns as a sub-group of Ukrainians. In Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia, Rusyns have official minority status. Some Rusyns identify more closely with their country of residence (e.g. Polish, Slovak), while others self-identify as a branch of the Ukrainian people.
Rusyns are descended from an East Slavic population that inhabited the northeastern regions of the Eastern Carpathians. In those regions, there are several Rusyn groups, including Dolinyans, Boykos, Hutsuls and Lemkos. Since the Revolutions of 1989 toward the end of the 20th century, there has been a revival in Rusyn culture and identity. Of the estimated 1.7 million people of Rusyn origin, only around 110,000 have been officially identified as such in recent (c. 2012) national censuses.
There are different theories to explain Rusyn origins. According to Paul Robert Magocsi, the origin of the present-day Carpatho-Rusyns is complex and not exclusively related to the Kievan Rus'. The ancestors were the early Slavs whose movement to the Danubian Basin was influenced by the Huns and Pannonian Avars between the 5th and 6th centuries, the White Croats who lived on both slopes of the Carpathians and built many hill-forts in the region including Uzhhorod ruled by the mythical ruler Laborec, the Rusyns of Galicia and Podolia, and Vlach 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 and Goths. George Shevelov also considered a connection with East Slavic tribes, more specifically, the Hutsuls, and possibly Boykos, argued to be the descendants of the Ulichs who were not native in the region.
As the region of the Ukrainian Carpathians, including Zakarpattia 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 Rusyns are generally considered to be the descendants of the White Croats.
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 invasions led by Genghis Khan's grandson, Batu Khan, with populations exterminated and villages torched. The Mongols entered the region via the Veretski Pass, just to the north of Mukachevo.
In 1396, exiled Prince Theodor Koriatovich, member of the Lithuanian House of Gediminas, purchased the city of Mukachevo, settling himself in the city's Palanok Castle. He might have facilitated the migration of up to 40,000 from Podolia but the number is disputed. 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.
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 on 2 May 1848 in Lemberg (today Lviv) was established the first political representation of the Galician Rusyns, the Main Ruthenian Council (Rusyn: Головна Руська Рада, Holovna Ruska Rada). The most active and leading stratum among Rusyns was Greek-Catholic clergy (see Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, 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 primarily self-identify as a distinct ethnic group and are recognized as such in all countries where they exist, with the exception of Ukraine, which officially classifies Rusyns as a sub-group of Ukrainians. In Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia, Rusyns have official minority status. Some Rusyns identify more closely with their country of residence (e.g. Polish, Slovak), while others self-identify as a branch of the Ukrainian people.
Rusyns are descended from an East Slavic population that inhabited the northeastern regions of the Eastern Carpathians. In those regions, there are several Rusyn groups, including Dolinyans, Boykos, Hutsuls and Lemkos. Since the Revolutions of 1989 toward the end of the 20th century, there has been a revival in Rusyn culture and identity. Of the estimated 1.7 million people of Rusyn origin, only around 110,000 have been officially identified as such in recent (c. 2012) national censuses.
There are different theories to explain Rusyn origins. According to Paul Robert Magocsi, the origin of the present-day Carpatho-Rusyns is complex and not exclusively related to the Kievan Rus'. The ancestors were the early Slavs whose movement to the Danubian Basin was influenced by the Huns and Pannonian Avars between the 5th and 6th centuries, the White Croats who lived on both slopes of the Carpathians and built many hill-forts in the region including Uzhhorod ruled by the mythical ruler Laborec, the Rusyns of Galicia and Podolia, and Vlach 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 and Goths. George Shevelov also considered a connection with East Slavic tribes, more specifically, the Hutsuls, and possibly Boykos, argued to be the descendants of the Ulichs who were not native in the region.
As the region of the Ukrainian Carpathians, including Zakarpattia 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 Rusyns are generally considered to be the descendants of the White Croats.
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 invasions led by Genghis Khan's grandson, Batu Khan, with populations exterminated and villages torched. The Mongols entered the region via the Veretski Pass, just to the north of Mukachevo.
In 1396, exiled Prince Theodor Koriatovich, member of the Lithuanian House of Gediminas, purchased the city of Mukachevo, settling himself in the city's Palanok Castle. He might have facilitated the migration of up to 40,000 from Podolia but the number is disputed. 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.
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 on 2 May 1848 in Lemberg (today Lviv) was established the first political representation of the Galician Rusyns, the Main Ruthenian Council (Rusyn: Головна Руська Рада, Holovna Ruska Rada). The most active and leading stratum among Rusyns was Greek-Catholic clergy (see Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, 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.
