Volume 46, Number 7 · April 22, 1999
Hail Ruthenia!
By Timothy Garton Ash
Whence they came, no one can tell. Nobody knows exactly who, how many, or where they are. They live in six states and in none. They are loyal to each of these states, and to none of them. Their language is written in five different versions; in the Cyrillic alphabet, but also in the Latin. Some regard themselves as Ukrainians, others as Slovaks, others as Poles. Or Romanians. Or Hungarians. Or Yugoslavs. But many insist they are 'Rusyns,' or 'Carpatho-Rusyns,' or rusnatsi. Or they throw up their hands and give the ancient answer of the peasant from Europe's Slavic borderlands: 'We're just from here.'
Feature, 2024 words
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