Pannonian Rusyns

 

During the 18th century, state authorities of the Habsburg monarchy initiated several programs of re-population and colonization of various regions that were recently liberated from the Ottoman rule. Since 1745, groups of Rusyns from north-eastern Carpathian regions of the Kingdom of Hungary (eastern parts of modern Slovakia and Carpathian regions of modern Ukraine) started to migrate towards southern regions, including Bačka, Srem and Slavonia. The first group settled in the village of Kula in Bačka (modern Serbia), as attested by the 1746 census.^[11][12]

During the following years, process of Rusyn colonization was intensified, and on 17 January 1751, regional administrator of Bačka, Franz Joseph von Redl signed an agreement with Mihajlo Munkači from the village of Červenovo, in the county of Bereg, allowing the arrival of 200 Rusyn families from the north-eastern Hungarian region known as the "Upper-Land" (Rusyn: Горнїца) to the village of Krstur (Rusyn: Керестур) in Bačka. In the same year, Munkači managed to settle many Rusyns from the Hungarian counties of Munkačka, Ungvar, Saltmars and Ogačka in Krstur. Ruski Krstur had 2,000 inhabitants by the end of the 18th century. The same administrator signed another agreement on 15 May 1763 with Peter Kiš from Kerestur, allowing the arrival of 150 Rusyn families from the "Upper-Land" to the village of Kucura (Rusyn: Коцур) in Bačka. Kiš, however, failed to bring 150 Ruthenian families to Kucura. In 1763, 41 Rusyn families came to Kucura, and in 1767, another 47 Rusyn families came.^[13] Both agreements, from 1751 and 1763, contained special clauses, requiring that Rusyn colonists in terms of their religious affiliation have to be Eastern Catholics.^[14] The State Chamber wanted Kucura to be a purely Catholic settlement, and in 1777 they ordered the Serbs, who were almost half of the population of Kucura, to move to Obrovac. In 1792, 258 Rusyn families already lived in Kucura.^[13]

As the population grew, many families from Krstur and Kucura migrated to the town of Novi Sad in 1766 and 1767. The census from 1767 for the whole Bács-Bodrog County (which then was part of Habsburg Monarchy and today comprises Bačka region in Serbia and Hungary) shows about 2,000 Rusyns. Later, Rusyns settled in Šid and Vajska, and in the early 19th century in Vukovar, Ilok, Jankovci, Grabovo, Miklusevci, Marinci, Rajevo Selo and Osijek.^[15] In Petrovci, Rusyns started to settle in 1833, and later in Bačinci in 1834.^[16] In May 1836, the first Ruthenian Greek Catholic parish was founded in Petrovci in the territory of today's Republic of Croatia.^[15]

 

 

After the Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (1918), southern Pannonian regions became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known since 1929 as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Since it was a South Slavic country, position of various Slavic minorities (including local Rusyns) was improved significantly, particularly in the fields of their cultural development and elementary education. During the interwar period (1918–1941), several Rusyn cultural organizations and periodical publications were established.^[17][18]

After the Second World War, in the socialist Yugoslavia, Rusyns were officially recognized as a distinct national minority, and their legal status was regulated in Yugoslav federal units of Serbia and Croatia. In the Constitution of Serbia, that was adopted on 9 April 1963, Rusyns were designated as one of seven (explicitly named) national minorities (Article 82),^[19][20] and the same provision was implemented in the Statute of Vojvodina (an autonomous province in Serbia) that was adopted in the same year (Articles 32-37). Further on, the Constitutional Law of 21 February 1969 regulated the position of Rusyn language as one of five official languages in Vojvodina (Article 67).^[21]

In spite of the fact that constitutional and legal recognition of Rusyn minority and its language in Vojvodina (Serbia) was achieved already in 1963/1969, some authors have overlooked those developments, and also claimed (persistently, in several works) that such recognition occurred later, in 1974,^{[22][23][24][25][26][27][28]} thus revealing the lack of basic knowledge on the evolution of Rusyn rights in former Yugoslavia. Those early developments (1963/1969) are also omitted from some scholarly analyses that are dedicated explicitly to the legal status of Rusyns in Vojvodina.^[29][30]

During the same period, Rusyn minority was also recognized in the Yugoslav federal unit of Croatia, by the Constitutional Amendment IV, that was adopted in 1972.^[31] That provision was confirmed by the new Constitution of Croatia, adopted in 1974 (Article 137), that recognized not only local Rusyns but also local Ukrainians, thus designating them as separate and distinct national minorities.^[32]

In terms of their cultural development in socialist Yugoslavia, Rusyns had several institutions and organizations. Already in 1945, а publishing establishment, called the Rusyn Word (Rusyn: Руске слово) was founded, in Novi Sad. It became the main center for publication of Rusyn newspapers, literary works and school textbooks. In the same year, Rusyn high school was opened in Ruski Krstur. In 1970, the Society for Rusyn Language an Literature (Rusyn: Дружтво за руски язик и литературу) was established, in Novi Sad. Since 1972, at the Faculty of Philosophy (University of Novi Sad), Rusyn studies were initiated, and the Chair for Rusyn Language and Literature (Rusyn: Катедра за руски язик и литературу) was established in 1983.^[33][34]

 

 

After the breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–1992), its successor states continued to recognize Rusyns as a distinct national minority. In Croatia, they are officially recognized (under constitutional provisions from 1997) as an autochthonous national minority and as such, they elect a special representative to the Croatian Parliament, shared with members of eleven other national minorities.^[35]

In Serbia, recognition of Rusyn minority and its language was confirmed by the provincial statutes of Vojvodina (2009, 2014). Since 2002, Rusyns in Serbia have their autonomously elected representative body, the National Council of the Rusyn National Minority (Rusyn: Национални совит рускей националней меншини), headquartered in Ruski Krstur (the largest Rusyn settlement in Serbia). At the Faculty of Philosophy (University of Novi Sad), Rusyn studies were expanded in 2002, and the Department of Rusynistics (Rusyn: Одсек за русинистику) was established. In 2008, the Institute for Culture of Rusyns in Vojvodina (Rusyn: Завод за културу войводянских Руснацох) was founded, centered in Novi Sad.^[36][37]

Rusyns in modern states of Serbia and Croatia mostly live in the autonomous province of Vojvodina (Serbia), and in the region of Slavonia (Croatia). The census from 1991 in those regions (then within former Yugoslavia) shows about 25.000 Rusyns. Currently, the number of Rusyns declines and is estimated to be about 15.000. The main reason for this is the economic migration, since the increasing number of Rusyns is deciding to move to western countries, particularly to Canada.^[38]

There are 14,246 declared ethnic Rusyns in Serbia (2011 census). In terms of religious affiliation, 94,91% declared as Christians (75,43% Catholics, 18,53% Orthodox, 0,7% Protestansts).^[39]

 

The village of Ruski Krstur in the Kula municipality is the cultural centre of Rusyns in Serbia. Other villages with a Rusyn majority include Kucura in the Vrbas municipality, and Bikić Do in the Šid municipality. There is a considerable concentration of Rusyns in Novi Sad, where in 1820 the construction of St. Peter and Paul Greek Catholic parish church started and was subsequently completed in 1834/1837.

There are Rusyn communities in Slavonia (Croatia), forming a majority in the village of Petrovci, Bogdanovci municipality, in Vukovar-Srijem county.

Serbia

• Ruski Krstur (86%, 2002)
• Bikić Do (47,62%, 2002)
• Kucura (47,18%, 2002)
• Đurđevo (23,30%, 2002)

Croatia

• Petrovci, Croatia (57,17%, 1991)

Rusyns in Serbia and Croatia consider their linguistic variety, known as Pannonian Rusyn, to be one of four standardized versions of the Rusyn language,^[40] while some linguists also classify it as a microlanguage. They are using a standardized version of Rusyn Cyrillic alphabet.^[41]

Rusyn is one of the six official languages of provincial administration in Vojvodina, while in Croatia it is officially used in two settlements.^[42]

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pannonian Rusyns.

• Federation of Rusyns in Croatia
• National Council of the Rusyn National Minority, in Serbia