Rusyns

Rusyns, also known as Carpatho-Rusyns, Carpatho-Russians, Ruthenians, or Rusnaks, are an East Slavic ethnic group native to the Eastern Carpathians of Central and Eastern Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety variously treated as either a distinct language. The majority of Rusyns are Eastern Catholics, although a minority practices 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, which is a consequence of 40 years of Ukrainization since Stalin's time. According to historian Paul Robert Magocsi, after 1945 Communist authorities applied a Soviet policy that treated Carpatho-Rusyns as a branch of the Ukrainian nationality and Rusyn as a dialect of Ukrainian; he writes that Rusyn nationality and language were banned under Communist rule. 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.