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Transcarpathia[a][b] is a historical region on the border betweenCentral and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine'sZakarpattia Oblast.
From the Hungarianconquest of theCarpathian Basin (at the end of the 9th century) to the end of World War I (Treaty of Trianon in 1920), most of this region was part of theKingdom of Hungary. In theinterwar period, it was part of theFirst andSecond Czechoslovak Republics. Before World War II, the region was annexed by theKingdom of Hungary once again when Germany dismembered the Second Czechoslovak Republic.
After the war, it was annexed by theSoviet Union and became part of theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
It is an ethnically diverse region, inhabited mostly by people who regard themselves as ethnicUkrainians,Rusyns,Hungarians,Romanians,Slovaks, andPoles. It also has small communities ofJewish andRomani minorities. Prior to World War II, many more Jews lived in the region, constituting over 13% of its total population in 1930. The most commonly spoken languages areRusyn,Ukrainian,Hungarian,Romanian,Slovak, andPolish.
The name Carpathian Ruthenia is sometimes used for the contiguous cross-border area of Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland inhabited byRuthenians. The local Ruthenian population self-identifies in different ways: some consider themselves to be a separate and unique Slavic group ofRusyns and some consider themselves to be both Rusyns and Ukrainians. To describe their home region, most of them use the termZakarpattia (English:Trans-Carpathia,lit. 'beyond theCarpathian mountains').[citation needed] This is contrasted implicitly withPrykarpattia (English:Ciscarpathia,lit. 'near theCarpathians'), an unofficial geographical region in Ukraine, to the immediate north-east of the central area of the Carpathian Range, and potentially including its foothills, theSubcarpathian basin and part of the surrounding plains.[citation needed]
From a Hungarian (and to an extent Slovak and Czech) perspective, the region is usually described asSubcarpathia (literally "below the Carpathians"), although technically this name refers only to a long, narrow basin that flanks the northern side of the mountains.[citation needed]
During the period in which the region was administered by theHungarian states, it was officially referred to in Hungarian as Kárpátalja (literally: "the base of the Carpathians") or the north-eastern regions of medievalUpper Hungary, which in the 16th century was contested between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed]
TheRomanian name of the region isMaramureș, which is geographically located in the eastern and south-eastern portions of the region.[citation needed]
During the period ofCzechoslovak administration in the first half of the 20th century, the region was referred to for a while asRusinsko (Ruthenia) orKarpatske Rusinsko, and later as Subcarpathian Rus (Czech andSlovak:Podkarpatská Rus) or Subcarpathian Ukraine (Czech and Slovak:Podkarpatská Ukrajina), and from 1928 as Subcarpathian Ruthenian Land.[1] (Czech:Země podkarpatoruská, Slovak:Krajina podkarpatoruská).
Alternative, unofficial names used in Czechoslovakia before World War II included Subcarpathia (Czech and Slovak:Podkarpatsko), Transcarpathia (Czech and Slovak:Zakarpatsko), Transcarpathian Ukraine (Czech and Slovak:Zakarpatská Ukrajina), Carpathian Rus/Ruthenia (Czech and Slovak:Karpatská Rus) and, occasionally, Hungarian Rus/Ruthenia (Czech:Uherská Rus;Slovak:Uhorská Rus).[citation needed]
The region declared its independence asCarpatho-Ukraine on March 15, 1939, but was occupied and annexed byHungary on the same day, and remained under Hungarian control until the end of World War II. During this period the region continued to possess a special administration and the termKárpátalja was locally used.[2][3]
In 1944–1946, the region was occupied by the Soviet Army and was a separate political formation known as Transcarpathian Ukraine or Subcarpathian Ruthenia. During this period the region possessed some form of quasi-autonomy with its own legislature, while remaining under the governance of the Communist Party of Transcarpathian Ukraine. After the signing of a treaty betweenCzechoslovakia and theSoviet Union as well as the decision of the regional council, Transcarpathia joined theUkrainian SSR as theZakarpattia Oblast.[4]
The region has subsequently been referred to asZakarpattia (Ukrainian:Закарпаття) orTranscarpathia, and on occasions asCarpathian Rus’ (Ukrainian:Карпатська Русь,romanized: Karpatska Rus),Transcarpathian Rus’ (Ukrainian:Закарпатська Русь,romanized: Zakarpatska Rus), orSubcarpathian Rus’ (Ukrainian:Підкарпатська Русь,romanized: Pidkarpatska Rus).[citation needed]
Carpathian Ruthenia rests on the southern slopes of the easternCarpathian Mountains, bordered to the east and south by theTisza River, and to the west by theHornád andPoprad Rivers. The region borders Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, and makes up part of thePannonian Plain.[citation needed]
The region is predominantly rural and infrastructurally underdeveloped. The landscape is mostly mountainous; it is geographically separated from Ukraine, Slovakia, and Romania by mountains, and from Hungary by the Tisza river. The two major cities areUzhhorod andMukachevo, both with populations around 100,000. The population of the other five cities (includingKhust andBerehove) varies between 10,000 and 30,000. Other urban and rural populated places have a population of less than 10,000.[citation needed]
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During the LateBronze Age in the 2nd millennium BC, the region was characterized by Stanove culture;[5] however, it only gained more advanced metalworking skills with the arrival ofThracians from the South with Kushtanovytsia culture in the 6th-3rd century BC. In the 5th-3rd century BC,Celts arrived from the West, bringing iron-melting skills andLa Tène culture. A Thracian-Celtic symbiosis existed for a time in the region, after which appeared theBastarnae.[6] At that time, the Iranian-speakingScythians and later aSarmatian tribe called theIazyges were present in the region.Proto-Slavic settlement began between the 2nd-century BCE and 2nd century CE,[7][8] and during theMigration Period, the region was traversed byHuns andGepids (4th century) andPannonian Avars (6th century).
By the 8th and 9th century, the valleys of the Northern and Southern slopes of theCarpathian Mountains were "densely" settled by Slavic tribe ofWhite Croats,[8][9][10][11] who were closely related toEast Slavic tribes who inhabitedPrykarpattia,Volhynia,Transnistria andDnieper Ukraine.[6] Whereas some White Croats remained behind in Carpathian Ruthenia, others moved southward into theBalkans in the 7th century. Those who remained were conquered byKievan Rus' in the late 10th century.[8]
In 896 theHungarians crossed the Carpathian Range and migrated into thePannonian Basin.[8]Nestor's Chronicle wrote that Hungarian tribes had to fight against theVolochi and settled among Slavs when on their way to Pannonia.Prince Laborec fell from power under the efforts of the Hungarians and the Kievan forces.[12][13][14] According toGesta Hungarorum, the Hungarians defeated a unitedBulgarian andByzantine army led bySalan in the early 10th century on the plains of Alpár, who ruled over territory that was finally conquered by Hungarians. During the tenth and for most of the eleventh century the territory remained a borderland between theKingdom of Hungary to the south and theKievan Rus'Principality of Halych to the north.[15]
Slavs from the north (Galicia) and east—who actually arrived fromPodolia via the mountain passes ofTransylvania—continued to settle in small numbers in various parts of the Carpathian borderland, which the Hungarians and other medieval writers referred to as the Marchia Ruthenorum—the Rus' March. These new immigrants, from the north and east, like the Slavs already living in Carpathian Ruthenia, had by the eleventh century come to be known as the people of Rus', orRusyns. Local Slavic nobility often intermarried with theHungarian nobles to the south.Prince Rostislav, a Ruthenian noble unable to continue his family's rule of Kiev, governed a great deal of Transcarpathia from 1243 to 1261 for hisfather-in-law,Béla IV of Hungary.[16] The territory's ethnic diversity increased with the influx of some 40,000Cuman settlers, who came to the Pannonian Basin after their defeat byVladimir II (Monomakh) in the 12th century and their ultimate defeat at the hands of theMongols in 1238.[17]
During the early period of Hungarian administration, part of the area was included into theGyepű border region, while the other part was under county authority and was included into the counties ofUng, Borsova andSzatmár. Later, the county administrative system was expanded to the whole of Transcarpathia, and the area was divided between the counties of Ung,Bereg,Ugocsa, andMáramaros. At the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century, during the collapse of the central power in the Kingdom of Hungary, the region was part of the domains of semi-independent oligarchsAmadeus Aba andNicholas Pok. Although KingLeo I ofGalicia–Volhynia (Lev Danylovych) attempted to extend his influence over parts of the Carpathian region during the late 13th century, there is no reliable historical evidence that north-western Carpathian Ruthenia was permanently annexed to his kingdom.[18] A document from 1299 provesvassal relations of theCount of Bereg with "Leo, Prince of Ruthenians", but Galician rulers are not mentioned in latter documents from the area.[19] Contemporary Hungarian royal charters from the period confirm that the region — including key fortresses like Huszt and Munkács — remained under the control of the Kingdom of Hungary.[20]
Historians such as Gyula Kristó and Pál Engel agree that Leo's interventions were temporary and opportunistic, taking advantage of internal conflicts within Hungary, but they did not lead to lasting occupation.
Thus, the claim that north-western Carpathian Ruthenia belonged to theKingdom of Galicia–Volhynia between 1280 and 1320 is not supported by primary sources or mainstream historical scholarship.[21]
The assumption that Transcarpathia briefly came under the rule of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia is, in this context, primarily the result of Ukrainian historiography’s attempt to establish historical rights and continuity over the region — suggesting that "medieval Ukraine" had annexed it even before 1946.
This narrative is further reinforced by the frequent appearance of Transcarpathia on maps of Kievan Rus' as if it had been part of, or directly linked to, Kievan Rus'. However, this claim is not supported by either archaeological or historical evidence. On the contrary, both the historical sources — which indicate the settlement of Ruthenians in the region during the 13th and 14th centuries — and the archaeological record — which shows a lack of Orthodox church remains from that period — argue against such interpretations.
Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the area was probably colonized byEastern Orthodox groups ofVlach (Romanian) highlanders with accompanyingRuthenian populations. Initially, the Romanians were organized into theVoivodeship of Maramureș, formally integrated into Hungary in 1402. All the groups, including localSlavic population, blended together, creating a distinctive culture from the mainRuthenian-speaking areas. Over time, because of geographical and political isolation from the main Ruthenian-speaking territory, the inhabitants developed distinctive features.[citation needed]
In 1526 the region was divided between theHabsburg Kingdom of Hungary and theEastern Hungarian Kingdom. Beginning in 1570 the latter transformed to thePrincipality of Transylvania, which soon fell underOttoman suzerainty. The part of Transcarpathia under Habsburg administration was included into theCaptaincy of Upper Hungary, which was one of the administrative units of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. During this period, an important factor in the Ruthenian cultural identity, namely religion, came to the forefront. TheUnion of Brest (1595) andUnion of Uzhhorod (1646) were instituted, causing theByzantine Orthodox Churches of Carpathian and Transcarpathian Rus' to come under the jurisdiction ofRome, thus establishing the so-called"Unia" ofEastern Catholic churches, theRuthenian Catholic Church and theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church.
In the 17th century (until 1648) the entire region was part of thePrincipality of Transylvania and between 1682 and 1685 its north-western part was administered by the Ottoman vassal state ofUpper Hungary, while the south-eastern parts remained under the administration of Transylvania. From 1699 the entire region eventually became part of theHabsburg monarchy, divided between theKingdom of Hungary and the Principality of Transylvania. Later, the entire region was included into the Kingdom of Hungary. Between 1850 and 1860 the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary was divided into five military districts, and the region was part of theMilitary District of Kaschau.
After 1867, the region was administratively included intoTransleithania or the Hungarian part ofAustria-Hungary.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, many nationalist groups vied for unification or alignment with many different possible nationalities, all arguing that the Rus people would be better off uniting with that nation for security or staying within the nation of Hungary. Many of these groups utilized the ethnic makeup of the region, with ideas such as the Lemko-Boiko-Hutsul schema looking to prove the Slavic nature of the Rus, and therefore justifying union with Russia (or later a Ukrainian state) under the claim that the Rus were part of that Slavic cultural sphere. These Rus or Ruthenians would argue this point until the early 1900s when action would be taken.[22]
In 1910, the population of Transcarpathia was 605,942, of which 330,010 (54.5%) were speakers ofRuthenian, 185,433 (30.6%) were speakers ofHungarian, 64,257 (10.6%) were speakers ofGerman, 11,668 (1.9%) were speakers ofRomanian, 6,346 (1%) were speakers ofSlovak orCzech, and 8,228 (1.4%) were speakers of other languages.
AfterWorld War I, theAustro-Hungarian monarchy collapsed and the region was briefly (in 1918 and 1919) claimed as part of the independentWest Ukraine Republic.[dubious –discuss] However, for most of this period the region was controlled by the newly formed independentHungarian Democratic Republic, with a short period of West Ukrainian control.
On November 8, 1918, the first National Council (the Ľubovňa Council, which later reconvened as thePrešov Council) was held in western Ruthenia. The first of many councils, it simply stated the desire of its members to separate from the newly formed Hungarian state but did not specify a particular alternative—only that it must involve the right toself-determination.[23]
Other councils, such as the Carpatho-Ruthenian National Council meetings in Huszt (Khust) (November 1918), called for unification with theWest Ukrainian People's Republic. Only in early January 1919 were the first calls heard in Ruthenia for union withCzechoslovakia.[23]
Throughout November and the following few months, councils met every few weeks, calling for various solutions. Some wanted to remain part of the Hungarian Democratic Republic, but with greater autonomy; the most notable of these, theUzhhorod Council (November 9, 1918), declared itself the representative of theRusyn people and began negotiations with Hungarian authorities. These negotiations ultimately resulted in the passage ofLaw no. 10[23] by the Hungarian government on December 21, 1918, thereby establishing the autonymous Rusyn province ofRus'ka Krajina from the Rusyn-inhabited parts of four eastern counties (Máramaros County, Ugocha County,Bereg County,Ung County.[24]
On February 5, 1919, a provisional government for Rus'ka Krajina was established. The "Rus'karada" (or Rusyn Council), was made up of 42 representatives from the four constituent counties and headed by a chairman, Orest Sabov, and vice-chairman, Avhustyn Shtefan. The following month, on March 4, elections were held for a formaldiet of 36 deputies. Upon election, the new diet requested the Hungarian government define the borders of the autonomous region, which had not yet been elaborated; without an established territory, the deputies argued that the diet was useless.[24]
On March 21, 1919, the Democratic Republic of Hungary was replaced by theHungarian Soviet Republic, which then announced the existence of a "Soviet Rus'ka Krajina". Elections organized by the new Hungarian government of a people'ssoviet (council) on April 6 and 7, 1919 led to Rus'ka Krajina then had two councils: the original diet, and the newly elected soviet. Representatives from both councils then decided to join, forming theUriadova rada ("Governing Council) of Rus'ka Krajina.[24]
Prior to this, in July 1918,Rusyn immigrants in the United States had convened and called for completeindependence. Failing that, they would try to unite withGalicia andBukovina; and failing that, they would demand autonomy, though they did not specify under which state. They approached the American government and were told that the only viable option was unification withCzechoslovakia. Their leader,Gregory Zatkovich, then signed the "Philadelphia Agreement" with Czechoslovak PresidentTomáš Garrigue Masaryk, guaranteeing Rusyn autonomy upon unification with Czechoslovakia on 25 October 1918.[25] A referendum was held among American Rusyn parishes in November 1918, with a resulting 67% in favor. Another 28% voted for union withUkraine, and less than one percent each for Galicia, Hungary and Russia. Less than 2% desired complete independence.
In April 1919,Czechoslovak control on the ground was established, whenCzechoslovak Army troops acting in coordination withRoyal Romanian Army forces arriving from the east—both acting underFrench auspices—entered the area. In a series of battles they defeated and crushed the local militias of the newly formedHungarian Soviet Republic, which had created theSlovak Soviet Republic and whose proclaimed aim was to "unite the Hungarian, Rusyn and Jewish toilers against the exploiters of the same nationalities". Communist sympathizers accused the Czechoslovaks and Romanians of atrocities, such as public hangings and the clubbing to death of wounded prisoners.[26] This fighting prevented the arrival ofSoviet aid, for which theHungarian Communists hoped in vain; theBolsheviks were also too preoccupied with their owncivil war to assist.
In May 1919, a Central National Council convened in the United States under Zatkovich and voted unanimously to accept the admission of Carpathian Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia. Back in Ruthenia, on May 8, 1919, a general meeting of representatives from all the previous councils was held, and declared that "The Central Russian National Council... completely endorse the decision of the American Uhro-Rusin Council to unite with the Czech-Slovak nation on the basis of full national autonomy." Note that the Central Russian National Council was an offshoot of theCentral Ruthenian National Council and represented a Carpathian branch of theRussophiles movement that existed in the Austrian Galicia.[c]
The Hungarian left-wing writerBéla Illés claimed that the meeting was little more than a farce, with various "notables" fetched from their homes by police, formed into a "National Assembly" without any semblance of a democratic process, and effectively ordered to endorse incorporation into Czechoslovakia. He further asserts thatClemenceau had personally instructed the French general on the spot to get the area incorporated into Czechoslovakia "at all costs", so as to create a buffer separating Soviet Ukraine from Hungary, as part of the French anti-Communist "Cordon sanitaire" policy, and that it was the French rather than the Czechoslovaks who made the effective decisions.[28]
The Article 53,Treaty of St. Germain (September 10, 1919) granted the CarpathianRuthenians autonomy,[29] which was later upheld to some extent by theCzechoslovak constitution. Some rights were, however, withheld by Prague, which justified its actions by claiming that the process was to be a gradual one; and Ruthenians representation in the national sphere was less than that hoped for. Carpathian Ruthenia included former Hungarian territories ofUng County,Bereg County,Ugocsa County andMáramaros County.
After theParis Peace Conference, Transcarpathia became part ofCzechoslovakia. Whether this was widely popular among the mainly peasant population, is debatable; clearly, however, what mattered most to Ruthenians was not which country they would join, but that they be granted autonomy within it. After their experience ofMagyarization, few Carpathian Rusyns were eager to remain under Hungarian rule, and they desired to ensure self-determination.[30] According to theCzechoslovak Constitution of 1920, the former region of the Kingdom of Hungary, Ruthenian Land (Ruszka Krajna), was officially renamed to Subcarpathian Ruthenia (Podkarpatská Rus).
In 1920, the area was used as a conduit for arms and ammunition for the anti-Soviet Poles fighting in thePolish-Soviet War directly to the north, while local Communists sabotaged the trains and tried to help the Soviet side.[31] During and after the war manyUkrainian nationalists inEast Galicia who opposed both Polish and Soviet rule fled to Carpathian Ruthenia.[32]
Gregory Žatkovich was appointed governor of the province by Masaryk on April 20, 1920, and resigned almost a year later, on April 17, 1921, to return to his law practice inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, US. The reason for his resignation was dissatisfaction with the borders with Slovakia.[33] His tenure is a historical anomaly as the only American citizen ever acting as governor of a province that later became a part of the USSR.
| Subcarpathian Rus' Podkarpatská Rus | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region ofCzechoslovakia | |||||||||
| 1928–1939 | |||||||||
 Subcarpathian Rus' withinCzechoslovakia (1928) | |||||||||
| Capital | Užhorod(1928–1938) Chust(1938–1939) | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• 1921 | 12,097 km2 (4,671 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1921 | 592,044 | ||||||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | ||||||||
• Region established | 1928 | ||||||||
| 2 November 1938 | |||||||||
• Autonomy | 22 November 1938 | ||||||||
• Name changed to Carpathian Ukraine | 30 November 1938 | ||||||||
• Proclamation of independence asCarpatho-Ukraine | 15 March 1939 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of |  Ukraine | ||||||||
In 1928,Czechoslovakia was divided into four provinces: Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, Slovakia, and the Subcarpathian Rus'.[34] The main town of the region, and its capital until 1938, wasUžhorod. It had an area of 12,097 square kilometres (4,671 sq mi), and its 1921 population was estimated as being 592,044.[citation needed]
In the period 1918–1938 the Czechoslovak government attempted to bring the Subcarpathian Rus', with 70% of the population illiterate, no industry, and a herdsman way of life,[34] up to the level of the rest of Czechoslovakia. Thousands of Czech teachers, policemen, clerks and businessmen went to the region. The Czechoslovak government built thousands of kilometers of railways, roads, airports, and hundreds of schools and residential buildings.[34]
The Rusyn people decided to join the new state of Czechoslovakia, a decision that happened parallel to other events that affected these proceedings.[clarification needed] At theParis Peace Conference, several other countries (including Hungary, Ukraine and Russia) laid claim to Carpathian Rus'. The Allies, however, had few alternatives to choosing Czechoslovakia. Hungary had lost the war and therefore gave up its claims; Ukraine was seen as politically unviable; and Russia was in the midst of a civil war. Thus the only importance of Rusyns' decision to become part of Czechoslovakia was in creating, at least initially, good relations between the leaders of Carpathian Rus' and Czechoslovakia. TheUkrainian language was not actively persecuted in Czechoslovakia during theinterwar period, unlike inPoland andRomania.[35] 73 percent of local parents voted against Ukrainian language education for their children in a referendum conducted in Subcarpathian Rus' in 1937.[36]
In November 1938, under theFirst Vienna Award—a result of theMunich Agreement—Czechoslovakia ceded southern Carpathian Rus toHungary. The remainder of Subcarpathian Rus' receivedautonomy, with Andrej Bródy asprime minister of the autonomous government. After the resignation of the government following a local political crisis,Avhustyn Voloshyn becameprime minister of the new government. In December 1938, Subcarpathian Rus' was renamed to Carpathian Ukraine.
Following theSlovak proclamation of independence on March 14, 1939, and theNazis' seizure of the Czech lands on March 15, Carpathian Ukraine declared its independence as theRepublic of Carpatho-Ukraine, withAvhustyn Voloshyn as head of state, and was immediately occupied and annexed byHungary, restoring provisionally the former counties ofUng,Bereg and partiallyMáramaros.[37]
On March 23, 1939, Hungaryannexed further territories disputed withSlovakia bordering with the west of the former Carpatho-Rus. The Hungarian invasion was followed by a few weeks of terror in which more than 27,000 people were shot dead without trial and investigation.[37] Over 75,000 Ukrainians decided to seek asylum in theSoviet Union; of those almost 60,000 of them died inGulag prison-camps.[37] Others joined the remaining Czech troops from theCzechoslovak army-in-exile.[37]
Upon liquidation ofCarpatho-Ukraine, in the territory annexed the Governorate of Subcarpathia was installed and divided into three, the administrative branch offices of Ung (Hungarian:Ungi közigazgatási kirendeltség), Bereg (Hungarian:Beregi közigazgatási kirendeltség) and Máramaros (Hungarian:Máramarosi közigazgatási kirendeltség) governed fromUngvár,Munkács andHuszt respectively, havingHungarian andRusyn language as official languages.
Memoirs and historical studies provide much evidence that in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Rusyn-Jewish relations were generally peaceful. In 1939, census records showed that 80,000 Jews lived in the autonomous province of Ruthenia. Jews made up approximately 14% of the prewar population; however, this population was concentrated in the larger towns, especiallyMukachevo, where they constituted 43% of the prewar population. After theGerman occupation of Hungary (19 March 1944) the pro-Nazi policies of the Hungarian government resulted in emigration and deportation of Hungarian-speakingJews, and other groups living in the territory were decimated by war. During theHolocaust, 17 main ghettos were set up in cities in Carpathian Ruthenia, from which all Jews were taken toAuschwitz for extermination. Ruthenian ghettos were set up in May 1944 and liquidated by June 1944. Most of the Jews of Transcarpathia were killed, though a number survived, either because they were hidden by their neighbours, or were forced intolabour battalions, which often guaranteed food and shelter.
The end of the war had a significant impact on the ethnic Hungarian population of the area: 10,000 fled before the arrival ofSoviet forces. Many of the remaining adult men (25,000) were deported to the Soviet Union; about 30% of them died in Sovietlabor camps. As a result of this development since 1938, the Hungarian and Hungarian-speaking population of Transcarpathia was recorded differently in various censuses and estimations from that time: 1930 census recorded 116,548 ethnic Hungarians, while the contested Hungarian census from 1941 shows as many as 233,840 speakers of Hungarian language in the region. Subsequent estimations are showing 66,000 ethnic Hungarians in 1946 and 139,700 in 1950, while the Soviet census from 1959 recorded 146,247 Hungarians.
The Soviet takeover of the region started with theEast Carpathian Strategic Offensive in the fall of 1944. This offensive consisted of two parts: theBattle of the Dukla Pass in effort to support theSlovak National Uprising; and the Battle of Uzhgorod to break through to theHungarian plains and encircleGerman troops inTransylvania. On 28 October 1944, upon conclusion of the offensive campaign, most of Subcarpathian Ruthenia was secured by theWorkers-Peasants Red Army (RKKA).
The Czechoslovak government delegation led by minister František Němec arrived inKhust to establish the provisional Czechoslovak administration,[38] according to the treaties between theSoviet andCzechoslovak governments on 8 May 1944.[38] According to the Soviet–Czechoslovak treaty, it was agreed that once any liberated territory of Czechoslovakia ceased to be a combat zone of the Red Army, those lands would be transferred to full control of the Czechoslovak state.[38] However, after a few weeks, the Red Army andNKVD started to obstruct the Czechoslovak delegation's work. Communications between Khust and the government center in exile in London were obstructed and the Czechoslovak officials were forced to useunderground radio.[38]
On 14 November 1944 the underground radio "Vladislav" transmitted the following message from Khust to London: "The Red Army is subjugating everything to it. We are requesting information, whether it is discussed with the government. Our situation is critical. An open campaign is ongoing for uniting Subcarpathian Ukraine with the Soviet Union. Forced recruitment to the ranks of the Red Army. People are uneducated. Awaiting your recommendations. We urgently need instructions from the government."[38]
On 5 November 1944, in anticipation of Soviet rule, the Uzhgorod city council introducedMoscow time (2 hours ahead ofCentral European Time). According to Magdalena Lavrincova, this was perceived by many as a sign of thetotalitarianism to come.[39]
In November 1944, inMukachevo, there was a meeting of representatives ofCommunist Party organization from local districts, who created an organization committee to call for a party conference.[40] On 19 November 1944 at the conference in Mukachevo, the Communist Party of Zakarpattia Ukraine was established.[40] The conference also decided to unite Carpathian Ruthenia with theUkrainian SSR, to strengthen People's committees as organs of revolutionary authority, and to organize help for the Red Army.[40] The conference also elected its central committee and its first secretary, Ivan Turyanytsia, and agreed to hold a congress of the People's committees on 26 November 1944.[40]
The "National Council of Transcarpatho-Ukraine" was set up inMukachevo under the protection of the Red Army. On November 26 this committee, led byIvan Turyanitsa (a Rusyn whodeserted from theCzechoslovak army) proclaimed the will of Ukrainian people to separate from Czechoslovakia and joinSoviet Ukraine. After two months of conflicts and negotiations the Czechoslovak government delegation departed from Khust on February 1, 1945, leaving Carpathian Ukraine under Soviet control.
On 29 June 1945, Czechoslovakia signed a treaty with the Soviet Union, officially ceding the region.[41][42] Between 1945 and 1947, the new Soviet authorities fortified the new borders, and in July 1947 declared Transcarpathia as a "restricted zone of the highest level", with checkpoints on the mountain passes connecting the region to mainland Ukraine.[39]
In December 1944 the National Council of Transcarpatho-Ukraine set up a special people's tribunal inUzhgorod to try and condemn all collaborationists with the previous regimes—both Hungary and Carpatho-Ukraine. The court was allowed to hand down either 10 years of forced labour, or the death penalty. Several Ruthenian leaders, includingAndrej Bródy andShtefan Fentsyk, were condemned and executed in May 1946.Avgustyn Voloshyn also died in prison. The extent of the repression showed to many Carpatho-Ruthenian activists how it would not have been possible to find an accommodation with the coming Soviet regime as it had been with all previous ones.[39]
After breaking theGreek Catholic Church in EasternGalicia in 1946, Soviet authorities pushed for the return to Orthodoxy of Greek-Catholic parishes in Transcarpathia too, including by engineering an accident leading to the death of recalcitrant bishopTheodore Romzha on 1 November 1947. In January 1949 the Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo was declared illegal; remaining priests and nuns were arrested, and church properties were nationalised and parcelled for public use or lent to theRussian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), the only accepted religious authority in the region.[39]
Cultural institutions were also forbidden, including theRussophile Dukhnovych Society, theUkrainophile Prosvita, and the Subcarpathian Scholarly Society. New books and publications were circulated, including theZakarpatsk'a Pravda (130,000 copies). TheUzhhorod National University was opened in 1945 and over 816cinematographs were open by 1967. TheUkrainian language was the first language of instruction in schools throughout the region, followed byRussian, which was used in academia.[citation needed] Most new generations had a passive knowledge ofRusyn language, but no knowledge about local culture. XIX-century Rusyn intellectuals were labelled as "members of the reactionary class and instruments of Vatican obscurantism". The Rusyn anthem and hymn were banned from public performance. Carpatho-Rusyn folk culture and songs, which were promoted, were presented as part of Transcarpathian regional culture as a local variant of Ukrainian culture.[39][43]
In 1924, theComintern declared all East Slavic inhabitants of Czechoslovakia (Rusyns, Carpatho-Russians,Rusnaks) to beUkrainians. Starting with the 1946 census, all Rusyns were recorded as Ukrainians; anyone clinging to the old label was considered a separatist and a potential counter-revolutionary.
In February 1945, the National Council confiscated 53,000 hectares of land from large landowners and redistribute it to 54,000 peasant households (37% of the population).Collectivisation of land started in 1946; around 2,000 peasants were arrested during protests in 1948–49 and sent for forced labour in thegulags. Collectivisation, including of mountain shepherds, was completed by May 1950.Central planning decisions set Transcarpatia to become a "land of orchards and vineyards" between 1955 and 1965, planting 98,000 hectares with little results. Attempt to cultivatetea andcitrus also failed due to the climate. Mostvineyards were uprooted twenty years later, duringGorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign in 1985–87.[39]
The Soviet period also meant the upscaling of industrialization in Transcarpathia. State-owned lumber mills, chemical and food-processing plants widened, with Mukachevo's tobacco factory and Solotvyno's salt works as the biggest ones, providing steady employment to the residents of the region, beyond the traditional subsistence agriculture. And while traditional labour migration routes to the fields of Hungary or the factories of the United States were now closed, Carpathian Ruthens and Romanians could now move for seasonal work in Russia's North and East.[39]
The inhabitants of the region grew steadily in the Soviet period, from 776,000 in 1946 to over 1.2 million in 1989. Uzhgorod's population increased five-fold, from 26,000 to 117,000, andMukachevo likewise from 26,600 to 84,000. This population increase also reflected demographic changes. The arrival of the Red Army meant the departure of 5,100 Magyars and 2,500 Germans, while 15–20,000 Jewish survivors of the Holocaust also decided to move out before the borders were sealed. By 1945, around 30,000 Hungarians and Germans had been interned and sent for labour camps in Eastern Ukraine and Siberia; while amnestied in 1955, around 5,000 did not come back. In January 1946, 2,000 more Germans were deported. In return, a large number of Ukrainians and Russians moved to Transcarpathia, were they found jobs in the industry, the military, or the civilian administration. By 1989, around 170,000 Ukrainians (mainly from nearby Galizia) and 49,000 Russians were living in Transcarpatia, mainly in new residential blocks in the main towns of Uzhgorod and Mukachevo, where the dominant language had soon turned from Hungarian and Yiddish to Russian. They kept being considered newcomers (novoprybuli) due to their disconnect from the Rusyn- and Hungarian-speaking countryside.[39]
In July 1991 theUkrainian SSR adopted a law about referendums that lasted until 2012. Soon after theAugust coup in Moscow (19–22), on 24 August 1991 theVerkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) of theUkrainian SSR proclaimed declaration about its independence and also prohibited the Communist Party in the republic.[44] The localnomenklatura remained in confusion for several days following those events.[44] The localPeople's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) and other activists were organizing protests across the whole oblast (region).[44] The local council of Uzhhorod city renamed the Lenin Square to People's Square.[44] On 30 August 1991 during a protest in Uzhhorod a monument of Lenin was removed.[44]Monuments of Lenin were also removed in other settlements; however, this decision was not universally accepted and faced resistance in some instances.[44] InTiachiv, a municipality which also adopted the decision to remove the monument faced resistance from local "supporters of Lenin" of Roma ethnicity who clashed with Rukh activists.[44] Due to support of the Zakarpattia regional council of the putsch organizers in Moscow (GKChP), the local "democratic forces" were requesting for the council to announce its dissolution.[44] Among those "democratic forces" were members of the Uzhhorod city council, deputies of "Democratic platform" in the regional council,National Movement of Ukraine,Ukrainian Republican Party,Democratic Party of Ukraine, Hungarian Cultural Federation in Transcarpathia (KMKSZ), Shevchenko Association of Ukrainian Language and the regional branch ofProsvita.[44]
Because of the situation in the region, on 26 August 1991 the deputy chairman of the regional council Yuriy Vorobets signed an order to hold an extraordinary session of the council on 30 August, but on 29 August the head of the council Mykhailo Voloshchuk (formerly the 1st secretary of theZakarpattia regional communist party committee) postponed it by a separate order.[44] On 28 August 1991 the demand for the extraordinary session was supported by the Zakarpattia Democratic League of Youth that previously was part of theKomsomol of Ukraine (LKSMU).[44] To relieve the pressure, Voloshchuk approved a composition of provisional deputy commission for inspection of activity of officials during the putsch that consisted of 17 members mostly of the recently dissolved Communist Party and couple of Rukh members (Mykhailo Tyvodar and Lyubov Karavanska).[44] At the same time Voloshchuk was urgently seeking for other managing positions for other party officials who lost their job with recent liquidation of the party.[44] Concurrently, the regionalispolkom (executive committee) suddenly registered 208 religious communities and transferred property ownership of 83 church buildings to them.[44]
The government of Zakarpattia decided to bet on separatist actions.[44] On 27 August 1991 the Mukachevo city council decided to ask the Zakarpattia regional council to adopt a decision about proclamation of the region as the "Zakarpattia autonomous land of Ukraine".[44] In two days the Mukachevo Raion council has decided to ask the regional council to petition before theVerkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) to "grant the Zakarpattia Oblast status of autonomous republic".[44] The latter decision was supported by the Berehove Raion council, Uzhhorod city council and Svaliava Raion council.[44] On 1 September 1991 in Mukachevo, the Association of Carpatho-Rusyns organized a picket with anti-Ukrainian slogans and accusations in "forceful Ukrainization of Rusyns".[44] At the gathering were adopted statement with demand for autonomy and carrying out a regional referendum on the issue.[44] On 15 September 1991 the same demand were put forward by KMKSZ.[44] Those Rusyns questioned legality of Zakarpattia unification with theUkrainian SSR in 1945.[44]
By the end of September 1991 inZakarpattia Oblast has formed two opposing political camps.[44] One camp pro-Ukrainian has united around theNational Movement of Ukraine also included URP, DemPU, Party of Greens, Shevchenko Association of Ukrainian Language, regional branches ofProsvita,Memorial and others.[44] The camp also supported by students of the Uzhhorod State University, several members of the Uzhhorod city council,Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, and small faction of deputies in the regional council.[44] The pro-Ukrainian camp was seeking to reelect the regional council.[44] The other camp consisted of sympathizers of the regionalnomenklatura officials (and formerly communist) who were supported by Association of Carpatho-Rusyns, later it was joined byKMKSZ (Association of Hungarian Culture of Zakarpattia).[44] The latter camp also was supported by the Zakarpattia eparchy of Russian Orthodox Church, selected members of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo as well as by the majority of the regional council.[44] The camp was aimed to prevent reelection of the regional council and obtain autonomous status for the region.[44]
On 27 September 1991 it was finally announced about the extraordinary session of the regional council.[44] The leadership of the council planned to end its work the same day, but the session stretched until 31 October 1991 and the center of political life inZakarpattia Oblast had relocated to the regional council and the People's Square in front of the council's building.[44]
In December 1991 Zakarpattia became a part of independentUkraine. A majority 92.59% of voters of Zakarpattia oblastapproved theDeclaration of Independence of Ukraine.[45] On the same day in Zakarpattia Oblast aregional referendum also took place. 78 percent of voters voted for autonomy within Ukraine, which was not granted.[46]
| Census | Ruthenians,Ukrainians andRusyns | "Czechoslovaks" (Czechs andSlovaks) | Germans | Hungarians | Jews | Romanians | Others | Total population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 244,742 (59.8%) | 8,611 (2.1%) | 31,745 (7.8%) | 105,343 (25.8%) | (not a census option) | 16,713 (4.1%) | 1,817 (0.4%) | 408,971 (100%) |
| 1921[47] | 372,884 (63.0%) | 19,737 (3.3%) | 10,460 (1.8%) | 102,144 (17.3%) | 80,059 (13.5%) | (with "others") | 6,760 (1.1%) | 592,044 (100%) |
| 1930[48] | 450,925 (62.2%) | 34,511 (4.8%) | 13,804 (1.9%) | 115,805 (16.0%) | 95,008 (13.1%) | 12,777 (1.8%) | 2,527 (0.4%) | 725,357 (100%) |
| 1959[49] | 686,464 (74.6%) | Slovaks 12,289 (1.3%) Czechs 964 (0.1%) | 3,504 (0.4%) | 146,247 (15.9%) | 12,169 (1.3%) | 18,346 (2%) | Russians 29,599 (3.2%) | 920,173 (100%) |
| 1970[50] | 808,131 (76.5%) | Slovaks 9,573 (0.9%) Czechs 721 (0.1%) | 4,230 (0.4%) | 151,949 (14.4%) | 10,856 (1%) | 23,454 (2.2%) | Russians 35,189 (3.3%) | 1,056,799 (100%) |
| 1979[51] | 898,606 (77.8%) | Slovaks 8,245 (0.7%) Czechs 669 (0.1%) | 3,746 (0.3%) | 158,446 (13.7%) | 3,848 (0.3%) | 27,155 (2.3%) | Russians 41,713 (3.6%) | 1,155,759 (100%) |
| 1989[52] | 976,749 (78.4%) | Slovaks 7,329 (0.6%) | 3,478 (0.3%) | 155,711 (12.5%) | 2,639 (0.2%) | 29,485 (2.4%) | Russians 49,456 (4.0%) Romani (1.0%) | 1,245,618 (100%) |
| 2001[53] | Ukrainians 1,010,100 (80.5%) Rusyns 10,100 (0.8%) | Slovaks 5,600 (0.5%) | 3,500 (0.3%) | 151,500 (12.1%) | no data | 32,100 (2.6%) | Russians 31,000 (2.5%) Roma 14,000 (1.1%) Others (0.4%) | (100%) |
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According to a 2015 survey, 68% of the population of Zakarpattia Oblast adheres toEastern Orthodoxy, while 19% are followers of theRuthenian Greek Catholic Church and 7% areRoman Catholics.Protestants andunaffiliated genericChristians make up 1% and 3% of the population respectively. Only one percent of the population does not follow any religion.[54][failed verification]
The Orthodox community of Zakarpattia is divided as follows:
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Carpathian Ruthenia is inhabited mainly by people who self-identify asUkrainians, many of whom may refer to themselves asRusyns,Rusnak orLemko.Places inhabited by Rusyns also span adjacent regions of theCarpathian Mountains, including regions of present-dayPoland,Slovakia,Hungary, andRomania. Ruthenian settlements exist in theBalkans as well.
In the 19th century and the first part of the 20th, the inhabitants of Transcarpathia continued to call themselves "Ruthenians" ("Rusyny"). After Soviet annexation the ethnonym "Ukrainian", which had replaced "Ruthenian" in eastern Ukraine at the turn of the century, was also applied to Ruthenians/Rusyns of Transcarpathia. Most present-day inhabitants consider themselves ethnicallyUkrainians, although in the most recent census 10,100 people (0.8% of Zakarpattia Oblast's 1.26 million) identified themselves as ethnicallyRusyn.
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The following data is according to the Ukrainian census of 2001.
The 1910 Austro-Hungarian census showed 185,433 speakers of theHungarian language, while the Czechoslovak census of 1921 showed 111,052 ethnic Hungarians and 80,132 ethnic Jews, many of whom were speakers of the Hungarian language. Much of the difference in these censuses reflects differences in methodology and definitions rather than a decline in the region's ethnic Hungarian (Magyar) or Hungarian-speaking population. According to the 1921 census, Hungarians constituted about 17.9% of the region's total population.
The end ofWorld War II had a significant impact on the ethnic Hungarian population of the area: 10,000 fled before the arrival ofSoviet forces. Many of the remaining adult men (25,000) were deported to the Soviet Union; about 30% of them died in Sovietlabor camps. As a result of this development since 1938, the Hungarian and Hungarian-speaking population of Transcarpathia was recorded differently in various censuses and estimations from that time: 1930 census recorded 116,548 ethnic Hungarians, while the contested Hungarian census from 1941 shows as much as 233,840 speakers of Hungarian language in the region. Subsequent estimations are showing 66,000 ethnic Hungarians in 1946 and 139,700 in 1950, while the Soviet census from 1959 recorded 146,247 Hungarians.
As of 2004[update], about 170,000 (12–13%) inhabitants of Transcarpathia declare Hungarian as their mother tongue. Homeland Hungarians refer toHungarians in Ukraine askárpátaljaiak.
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_and_Mukachevo_(right)%2c_1821.jpg)
Memoirs and historical studies provide much evidence that in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Rusyn-Jewish relations were generally peaceful. In 1939, census records showed that 80,000 Jews lived in the autonomous province of Ruthenia. Jews made up approximately 14% of the prewar population; however, this population was concentrated in the larger towns, especiallyMukachevo, where they constituted 43% of the prewar population. Most of them perished during theHolocaust.
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SeeCarpathian Germans for more information (mainly Germans fromBohemia,Moravia and the territories from present-day central and eastern Germany) about their settlement in the 16th to 18th centuries.
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Czechs in Carpathian Ruthenia are ethnoculturally distinct from otherWest Slavic groups like the Slovaks, as they originated from Czech-speaking groups from Bohemia and Moravia instead of Slovakia.
There are approximately 25,000 ethnicRomani in present-day Transcarpathia. Some estimates point to a number as high as 50,000 but a true count is hard to obtain as many Roma cannot afford ID documents for themselves and their children.[55] Additionally, many Romani will claim to be Hungarian or Romanian when interviewed by Ukrainian authorities.[citation needed]
They are by far the poorest and least-represented ethnic group in the region and face intense prejudice. The years since thefall of the Soviet Union have not been kind to the Romani of the region, as they have been particularly hard hit by the economic problems faced by peoples all over the former USSR. Some Romani in western Ukraine live in major cities such as Uzhhorod and Mukachevo, but most live in ghettos on the outskirts of cities. These ghettos are known as "taberi" and can house up to 300 families. These encampments tend to be fairly primitive with no running water or electricity.[56]
Today some 30,000Romanians live in this region, mostly in northern Maramureș, around the southern towns of Rahău/Rakhiv and Teceu Mare/Tiachiv and close to theborder with Romania. However, there also are Romanians in Carpathian Ruthenia living outside Maramureș, mostly in the village ofPoroshkovo. They are usually calledvolohi in Romanian and live closer to Poland and Slovakia than Romania.[57]
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There are a few Greeks in Carpathian Ruthenia. They are also known as Carpatho-Greeks and Greek-Carpathians.[citation needed]
For 19th-century west-European readers, Ruthenia was an inspiration for "Ruritania", a rustic province lost in forested mountains.[citation needed] Conceived as a Central European kingdom, Ruritania was the setting for several ofAnthony Hope's novels, includingThe Prisoner of Zenda (1894).[citation needed]
A century laterVesna Goldsworthy, inInventing Ruritania: the Imperialism of the Imagination (1998), theorizes on ideas underpinning western views of Europe's "Wild East", especially Ruthenia and some Slavic Balkan areas. She sees these ideas as highly applicable to Transcarpathia and describes "an innocent process: a cultural great power seizes and exploits the resources of an area, while imposing new frontiers on its mind-map and creating ideas which, reflected back, have the ability to reshape reality."[citation needed]
Тут знайдено чимало предметів часів мідного віку, бронзового віку та залізного віку. Помірно континентальний клімат і природні багатства Закарпаття роблять цю місцевість привабливою для проживання. Тут свого часу осіли фракійські племена, які залишили після себе пам'ятки куштановицької культури, та кельти, репрезентовані пам'ятками латенської к-ри (див. Латенські пам'ятки). Вчені вважають, що в Закарпатті в 3–1 ст. до н. е. склалася змішана кельто-фракійська к-ра, на основі якої утворився досить стійкий симбіоз племен, що проіснував бл. 200 років і сприяв поширенню цивілізаційних досягнень із зх. на укр. тер. Пізніше на Закарпатті з'явилися бастарни (їхня етнічна приналежність не з'ясована). В 2 ст. н. е. ч. Закарпаття була приєднана до рим. провінції Дакія. В часи Великого переселення народів через Закарпаття проходили гуни й авари. На Закарпатті побували герм. племена, в т. ч. гепіди. З перших століть н. е. почалося розселення слов'ян. За археол. даними, з 2 ст. н. е. тут міцно осіло хліборобське слов'ян. нас. – білі хорвати (див. Хорвати), матеріальна й духовна к-ра яких була тісно пов'язана з к-рою східнослов'ян. племен, що населяли Прикарпаття, Волинь, Придністров'я і Придніпров'я. В 9–10 ст. Закарпаття входило до складу Болг. д-ви, а з 2-ї пол. 10 ст. перебувало у сфері впливу Київської Русі, про що свідчить, зокрема, міграція сюди нас. із Прикарпаття. В "Повісті временних літ" є згадки про участь білих хорватів у війнах київ. князів проти Візантії та про похід вел. кн. київ. Володимира Святославича на білих хорватів 992. З того часу за Закарпаттям закріплюється назва "Русь". Після смерті вел. кн. київ. Володимира Святославича (1015) Закарпаття почав завойовувати угор. король Стефан I, його син Емеріх мав титул "князь русинів". На поч. 13 ст. всі землі Закарпаття опинилися під владою Угорщини. До поч. 20 ст. Закарпаття, перебуваючи в складі Угорщини, Австрії та Австро-Угорщини, мало назву "Угорська Русь".
In Transcarpathia, descendants of the Thracian Hallstatt culture constituted the Kushtanovytsia culture in the 6th to 3rd centuries BC. In the course of the 2nd and 1st centuries BC the indigenous Thracian and proto-Slavic population of Transcarpathia, western Podilia, Bukovyna, Galicia, and Volhynia intermingled with the Celtic tribes of the La Tàene culture that spread there from central Europe.
In the Bronze Age (ca 1800 BC) Transcarpathia maintained continuity in its painted pottery style of the Stanove culture but gained metalworking skills (swords, knives, sickles, axes) as a result of the arrival of Thracian tribes from Transylvania. Subsequently Transcarpathia came under the control of the Celts, who arrived from the west and brought with them iron-smelting (ca 400–200 BC); the first local coins were minted in the 3rd century BC. Of the eastern nomadic peoples the earliest to influence Transcarpathia were the Iranian-speaking Scythians (expressed locally from the 6th century BC in the Kushtanovytsia culture) and then the Iazyges, a Sarmatian tribe confronting the Romans in Dacia (50 AD); their influence was followed by the invasions of the Turkic-speaking Huns (380 AD), the Avars (558 AD), and, finally, the Ugro-Finnic Magyars (896 AD). In the 2nd century AD neighboring Dacia (Transylvania) became a Roman province, and Roman merchants visited Transcarpathia. In the early Middle Ages Transcarpathia was traversed by Germanic tribes. Remnants of the Ostrogoths (the Gepidae) remained in neighboring Transylvania until the 10th century. The Slavic colonization of Transcarpathia began in the 2nd century, with migration from the north across the mountain passes. By the 8th and 9th centuries the lowlands of Transcarpathia were fairly densely peopled by White Croatians (at the time inhabiting both the north and the south side of the Carpathians). The Slavs in the upper Tysa River and in Transylvania were subject to the Avars (6th–8th centuries) and later to the Bulgarian kingdom (9th–10th centuries). With the collapse of Bulgaria in the second half of the 10th century, Transcarpathia came under the sphere of influence of the Kievan Rus'. The Kievan chroniclers noted the participation of the White Croatians in the campaigns on Byzantium. Following the incorporation of the White Croatians by Prince Volodymyr the Great into his realm, the name Rus' or Ruthenia became entrenched in Transcarpathia.
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