Yugoslavia: Treatment of Ruthenians, in particular of elderly Ruthenians in Vojvodina (1999-June 2000)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 29 June 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | YUG34791.E |
| Reference | 4 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Yugoslavia: Treatment of Ruthenians, in particular of elderly Ruthenians in Vojvodina (1999-June 2000), 29 June 2000, YUG34791.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad816b.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No current information could be found on the treatment of Ruthenians, and in particular of elderly Ruthenians in Vojvodina, among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
The Ruthenians are also referred to as the (Carpatho-)Rusyns (Horbal 1998) and the Rusnaci or the Rusnatsi (in Yugoslavia) (RFE/RL 11 Jan. 2000; The Independent 6 Mar. 1999) among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
In 1997, the size of the Ruthenian community in Vojvodina was estimated at 1 per cent of 1,976,000 inhabitants, which means 19,760 individuals (Frémy 1998, 1225). In 1991, 17,887 of 18,099 Ruthenians registered in Yugoslavia were living in Vojvodina , mainly in the regions of Backa and Srem (Minority Rights Group International 2000, 17). Although no municipality in Vojvodina has a Ruthenian majority, Ruski Krstur is a virtually completely Ruthenian "locality" (ibid.). With regard to religious belief, the Vojvodina Ruthenians are divided into Roman Catholics and Orthodox, the majority being Catholic (ibid.).
The Ruthenians in Yugoslavia were granted the official status of 'national minority', which means that the use of their language and alphabet, the instruction in Ruthenian, the protection of their culture, among other things, are guaranteed (ibid.). According to Bogdan Horbal, Ruthenian is used in local and regional administration regardless of the level and in the media (written and audio-visual), in educational, cultural and religious institutions (1998).
The Ruthenians belong to the family of east Slavic peoples, like the Russians, the Belarussians and the Ukrainians (The Independent 6 Mar. 1999). Their four dialects are close to Ukrainian and are written with the Cyrillic alphabet (Horbal 1998).
For more background information on the Ruthenians, please visit the Website of the Carpatho-Rusyn Knowledge Base and the Carpatho-Rusyn Society located at http://www.carpatho-rusyn.org/ and the Website of the Rusyn Association of North America located at http://members.tripod.com/~rdsa/.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Response.
Frémy, Dominique and Michèle Frémy. 1998. Quid 1999. Paris: Robert Laffont.
Horbal, Bogdan. 1998. The Bachka Rusyns of Yugoslavia, the Lemkos of Poland. Their Languages and the Question of their Transliteration and Subject Cataloguing.
The Independent [London]. 6 March 1999. Timothy Garton Ash. "Long Live Ruthenia!" (LEXIS)
Minority Rights Group International [London]. 2000. Minority Rights in Yugoslavia.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) [Prague]. 11 January 2000. "Ukraine. Has 'Political Rusynism' Ended?"
Additional Sources Consulted
Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook 2000
The Europa World Year Book 1999
Minahan, James. 1996. Nations Without States: A Historical Dictionary of Contemporary National Movements. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 692 p.
Minority Rights Group International [London]. 1997. World Directory of Minorities. London: Minority Rights Group International, 840 p.
Political Handbook of the World 1999
Unsuccessful attempts to contact an oral source.
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International
The Balkan Human Rights Web Pages
The Carpathian Connection
Le Courrier des Balkans [Paris]
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) [Flensburg]
The European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations (ERCOMER) [Budapest]
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
International Helsinki Federation of Human Rights
Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative [Budapest]
Minorities at Risk Project
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
U.S. Department of State 1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
World News Connection (WNC)
Search engines including:
Fast Search
