The people of Ruthenia, Carpathian Rus', Subcarapthian Rus' or Carpatho-Ukraine as it was also called, are known primarily as Rusyns or Carpatho-Rusyn.  They where also called Rusnaks, Ruthenians, Lemkos, Carpatho-Russians and Carpatho-Ukrainians.  They are a distinctive ethnic group within the classification of Eastern Slavic people. They speak an East Slavic language of Rusyn, which is similar to Ukrainian but the language has it's own dialect.  The language also reflects influences from Hungary and Poland.  Rusyns are usually members of the Byzantine (Greek) Catholic or the Orthodox Church.  They are often referred to as the people of from "No man's land" becasue of their history of domination by other political powers.  There is a story of Rusyn man that illustrates this.  The man was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, went to school in Czecho-Slovakia, was married in Hungary, lived and worked most of his life in the Soviet Union, was buried in the Ukraine; but never left his village.

 

Geographic Location of Carpathian Rus'

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     Ruthenia or Carpathian Rus' encompasses the territory located along the southern and in part, the northern slopes of the Carpathian Mountians in central-eastern Eruope.  It formed the north-eastern border of the Hungarian Kingdom/Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The territory can be sudivided into four regions.  Lemko Region (present-day southern Poland), Presov Region (present-day eastern Slovakia), Maramures Region (present-day nothern Romania) and Subcarpathian Rus' (present-day western Ukraine).

 

Carpatho-Rusyn Homeland

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     The region was inhabited by Slavic tribes during the 8th century.  During the 10th and 11th centuries, the region appeared to be right on the border of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, the earliest known predecessor of modern day Ukraine and Russia.  During the 11th century it was conquered by the Magyar (Hungarians).  As part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the region formed counties of Spis [R]/Szepes [H], Sarys [R]/Sáros [H], Zemplyn [R]/Zemplén [H], Uzh [R]/Ung [H], Ugoca [R]/Ugocsa [H], Marmaros [R]/Máramaros [H], and Bereg.  From 1867, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was created when the Habsburg Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary formed a dual monarchy, until the end of World War I the region was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 

 

Breakup of the Kingdom of Hungary

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    After WorldWar I the region became known as Podkarpatská Rus, in the Czech language, or Subcarpathian Rus'. The provinces of Czech (which included historic Bohemia and Moravia), Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus' formed the newly created state of Czecho-Slovakia, spelled with a dash (-).  Czecho-Slovakia remained a republic until 1938.  As a result of the Munich Conference of 1938 the dismemberment of Czecho-Slovakia began with the annexation of the area known as the Sudetenland by Nazi Germany.  On October 11, 1938 an autonomous government was created in the Subcarpathian Rus' and the province was renamed Carpatho-Ukraine.  A few days later, the province of Slovakia also gained its autonomy.  These actions resulted in the transformation of Czecho-Slovakia from a republic to a federation known as Czechoslovakia, spelled without the dash (-).  For five short months the people of Carpatho-Ukraine enjoyed their autonomy with their newly found freedom and self-government.  On March 16, 1939 Carpatho-Ukraine was invaded and again annexed by Hungary.  It remained under Hungarian control until the end of World War II.  In 1945 it was ceded to the Soviet Union without any objection from the government of Czechoslovakia.  In 1946 the province was formed into the Zaparpatskaya (Transcarpathian) Oblast of the Ukraine and has remined there since.  During the era of the Soviet Union and the communist government, Rusyns were not permitted to exist as a distinct group of people but were recognized as Ukrainian.

 

    When Rusyns began immigrating to the Unites States in the late 1890's and early 1900's, many were mid-identified because immigration officials were not familiar with the existence of the Rusyn people.  They were often mis-identified as Austrian, Hungarian or Slovak because of their place of origin within the Austo-Hungarian Empire.  Others were identified as Russian becasue they were members of the Russian Orthodox Church.  Since the fall of the Soviet Union their has been a rebirth of nationalism and pride among the Rusyn people.  Carpatho-Rusyns have been recognized by the Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian and Yougoslav governments as a distinct people.  Here they are permitted to publish materials, conduct theatrical performances and  perform ensembles in their in their native language.  Only the Ukraine where the majority of the Rusyn people in Europe live still does not recognize the Rusyns as a distinct people, but considers them a sub-ethnic group of Ukrainians.  This rebirth of nationalism and pride is also evident here in the Unites States, where the Carpotho-Rusyn Society has been formed to promote the culture and heritage of the Rusyn people and support the Rusyn people in their struggle to be recognized as a distinct people. 

 

The Carpatho-Rusyn

National Emblem

    The Carpatho-Rusyn natonal emblem consist of a shield divided vertically into two fields.  the left field is divided into seven horizontal slopes with alternating colors of blue and gold.  Thesee stripes represent theseven laregest rivers in the region; Tisa, Teresva, Terb'la, Rika, Borzhava, Latoryca and Ung.  The right field has a silver back ground representing the rech salt mines of the region and a red bear representing the king of the snowy Carpathian Mountians.