Rusyns
Rusyns (Rusyn: Русины, romanized: Rusynŷ), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (Rusyn: Карпаторусины or Карпатьскы Русины, romanized: Karpatorusynŷ or Karpaťskŷ Rusynŷ), Ruthenians, or Rusnaks (Rusyn: Руснакы or Руснаци, romanized: Rusnakŷ or Rusnacy), are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central 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 Slavic people and they are recognized as such in Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia, where they have official minority status. Alternatively, some identify more closely with their country of residence (i.e. Polish, Slovak), while others are a branch of the Ukrainian people.
Flag of Rusyns, approved by the World Congress of Rusyns in 2007 The Rusyn coat of arms, based on the coat of arms of Subcarpathian Rus The Greater coat of arms of Rusyns, approved by the World Congress of Rusyns in 2023 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 110,000–1,762,500 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Slovakia | 63,556–250,000 (2021, 2012) |
| Serbia | 14,246–20,000 (2013, 2012) |
| Poland | 10,531–30,000 (2011, 2012) |
| Ukraine | 10,183 853,000 (2012 ancestry estimate) |
| United States | 7,583 620,000 (2012 ancestry estimate) |
| Romania | 834 (2022) 4,090-14,000 (estimates) |
| Croatia | 1,343 (2021) |
| Hungary | 2,342–6,000 (2016, 2012) |
| Czech Republic | 608–10,000 (2021, 2012) |
| Russia | 225 (2010) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 32 (2019) |
| Canada | est. 20,000 (2012) |
| Australia | est. 2,500 (2012) |
| Languages | |
| Rusyn · Ukrainian · Slovak Polish · Serbian · Hungarian · Romanian | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Eastern Catholic (Ruthenian Greek Catholic) minority Eastern Orthodoxy | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other East Slavs (primarily Ukrainians) | |
Rusyns are descended from an East Slavic population which inhabited the northeastern regions of the Eastern Carpathians. In those regions, there are several Rusyn groups, including Dolinyans, Boykos, Hutsuls and Lemkos.
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. This is largely because some census-taking authorities classify them as a subgroup of the Ukrainian people, while others classify them as a distinct ethnic group.