Radio Slovakia International

Carpatho Rusyns in Slovakia

RSI

Carpatho Rusyns belong to the Slavic branch of Indo-European peoples. Their dialects are classified as East Slavic, but because they live in a borderland region Carpatho Rusyn dialects are heavily influenced by Polish, Slovak, and Hungarian vocabularies. Their national name, Rusyn, connects them to the east, since Rus' was the name of the inhabitants and territory of a large medieval state centred in Kiev. According to the statistics, there are around 120,000 Rusyns living in Slovakia. Their position and perhaps even the influence s on the Slovaks living in the eastern part of the country are quite significant. However, we may find also some important features that distinguish Carpatho Rusyns from their Slovak neighbours. First of all it is the religion, when majority of Rusyns are either Greek Catholics or orthodox, while majority of Slovaks belong to the Roman Catholic Church. However, the religion difference has never lead to any problems among the people. Also because of this eastern influence, Rusyns use the Cyrillic alphabet. But still, the traditions of people from Eastern Slovakia and those of Rusyns have many things in common.

Carpatho Rusyns in Slovakia - sound (stream)
Carpatho Rusyns in Slovakia - sound (download)