Dilemmas of Ethnic Identification and Socio- Political Representation of the Rusins in the Slovak Republic and Ukraine (on the Results of an Expert Survey)

Abstract

The article highlights the problem of ethnic identification and socio-political representation of Rusins in Slovakia and Ukraine. The author bases his presentation on the results of an survey among Slovak and Ukrainian experts. The object of research is the Rusin ethnic group of northwestern area in Slovakia (Prešov and Kosice self-governing regions) and Transcarpathian region of Ukraine. According to the survey among Slovak experts, 44% consider Rusins “a separate ethnic group, different from Ukrainians”; the same number of respondents defines Rusins “a sub-ethnic (ethnographic) group of Ukrainians”; 12 % cannot decide on this issue. Most of the respondents in Ukraine (44 %) define Rusins “a sub-ethnic (ethnographic) group of Ukrainian people”; 28 % are convinced that Rusins are representatives of a separate ethnic group, different from Ukrainians; 28 % stated their own options regarding the nature of ethnic identification of Rusins. The vast majority of Slovak experts (52 %) define “rather active” public and political participation of Rusins; 16 % state “active” participation; 16 % define it “rather passive”; 8% – “passive”, 8% were undecided about the answer. The Ukrainian respondent opinions were divided as follows: 48 % consider the public and political participation of Rusins “rather passive”; 28 % – “passive”; 16 % – “rather active”; 4% indicated the “active” role of Rusin national cultural associations with the remark that only older generations are involved; 4 % public and political participation of Rusins was defined as ”ineffective”. Slovak experts emphasized the active work of public and political leaders of Rusin origin Peter Krajnak, Miroslav Lajcak and Peter Medvid’. The respondents from Ukraine named Rusin leaders Yevhen Zhupan and Yuriy Prodan in Transcarpathian regional public and political environment.