The Ruthenia reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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Ruthenia

Ruthenia is a name that has been applied to parts of Eastern Europe which were the populated by Eastern Slavonic peoples, as well as to various states that existed in this territory in old times. Today this historical territory is divided among Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and a narrow strip of eastern Poland.

The name Ruthenia is latinized form of Rus (Ruś). In order to understand the historical application of the name Ruthenia, one must understand the early bivalent meaning of the term Rus'. Whatever the origin of the term (see Rus' (people), by the tenth century Rus' came to be applied in two ways. Most specifically, to a small territory around Kiev, (incorporating the cities of Chernigov/Chernihiv and Pereyaslav/Pereyaslavl. This narrow meaning gave rise to the term, Kievan Rus'. More generally (and more widely known) the term Rus' applied to a vast political state (of the territories mentioned above) ruled generally from Kiev.

Essentially the term Ruthenia, originally a translation of Rus' into the language of European learning, Latin, over the past millennium, was used to apply to the ethnos' or political state to which the small territory surrounding Kiev, (Kievan Rus') belonged. This process of historical change later became supplanted by a second process: the displacement of the name Rus' by a second term, Ukrayina (Ukraine) as a title for the ethnos of the people around Kiev, the people of "Kievan Rus'"! These two historical processes provide the hermeneutical key to understand the varied meanings of the term Ruthenia throughout history.

The following territories are applications of the name "Ruthenia".

The name Ruthenia has also been qualified to apply to smaller areas:

Table of contents
1 History
2 Concerning the English usage of "Ruthenia"
3 Related articles

History

1. The term "Ruthenia' is, for the most part, not used in modern English-language scholarship to apply to the small territory surrounding Kiev. Also, only a minority of scholars apply the name "Ruthenia" to the vast empire of Kievan Rus',the second more broader definition of Rus' at the time of the geographical inception of the term.

2. The term, "Ruthenia" becomes much more widely used as a term of opposition to the people well to the north of Kiev, of largely Finno-Ugric extraction and largely Old Slavonic language, who become linguistically separated from the Rus' at Kiev. "Rus'" thus becomes narrowed to the nations of Ukraine and Belarus' (Old Ruthenia) as the new language and nation of Muscovy is born. During this period, the bulk and center of Rus' is embodied by the nation of Halych-Volynia, whose leader is acclaimed as "King of Rus'". The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later in personal union with the Kingdom of Poland to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (The Commonwealth of the Two Nations) later comes to form the political state encompassing the bulk of the people of Ruthenia. There were serious attempts to change this union into the Commonwealth of the Three Nations: Poland, Lithuania (including Belarus), and Kievan Rus'(Ruthenia). During this time period (1400-1700, the Old Ruthenian language of Kiev and, more particularly Belarus' becomes the lingua franca of Lithuania and the Lithuanian portion of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

3. Ruthenia becomes further narrowed around 1700, when the language spoken around Kiev (Kievan Rus') becomes a different language from that spoken around Palatsk (Polotsk and Minsk, (White Ruthenian/Belarusian). Ruthenia then becomes synonymous with Ukraine. Also in the early 1700s, the nation of Muscovy, having recently expanded to include the Rus' at Kiev, changes its name to the Greek translation of Rus', and calls itself Rossiya.

4. After 1840, the intellectuals of Rus'/Ruthenia, led by the Brotherhood of Sts. Cyril and Methodius at Kiev, despairing over the increasing tendency of Europeans to equate Russia/Muscovy with Rus'/Ruthenia, resolve to change the name, "Ruthenia," to Ukrayina, drawing upon a name that appears on maps of Kiev and its local area (Kievan Rus') beginning in the 1100s. This name, Ukraine then spreads to all the lands of Ruthenia under the control of the Muscovite Tsarist Empire by 1880. From this point on, the scope of application of the name "Ruthenia" is governed by a second historical process: the supplanting of the name, "Ruthenia" by the name, "Ukraine."

5. The delay in acceptance of the term "Ukraine" by the portion of Ruthenia under the domination of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Galicia) during the period, 1880-early 1900s, leads to the designation of Western Ukraine as "Ruthenia."

6. Upon the acceptance of the name "Ukraine" in Galicia/Halychyna at the dawn of the 20th century, the name "Ruthenia" becomes narrowed to the area south of the Carpathian mountain in Hungary a range incorporating the cities of Mukachiv/Mukachevo Munkács), Uzhorod/Ungvár and Preshov/Pryashiv ,Eperjes. This area had been known as "Magna Rus'," but was also called "Karpato-Rus'" or "Zakarpattya." and was the part of the Kingdom of Hungary since 907 A.D. After incorporation into Czechoslovakia between World War I and World War II, the area tried to declare its independence as "Carpatho-Ukraine" at the dawn of World War II.

7. The name, "Ruthenia" then came to mean an area of Eastern/Northeastern Slovakia after World War II. The people of the region rapidly became Slovakisized, and a substantial minority of Ruthenia then chose the modern name for Ruthenia, Ukraine.

Concerning the English usage of "Ruthenia"

There is a lot of confusion about "Ruthenia", "Russia", "Little Russia" and so on. What is the reason for this confusion? Basically, "Ruthenia" (as well as "Russia") was taken into the English language from Latin. It is a literary translation of the Slavic word "Rus". This word is translated into English in many forms, which differ mainly for political rather than etymological reasons. This article addresses all meanings of the word "Ruthenia":

It should be stressed that "Ruthenia" is always the translation of one Slavic word: Rus. The term "Ruthenia" has been used in English (and earlier in Latin) in all these meanings.

The problems with Latin and English word-usage began in the 15th and 16th centuries. The rulers of Muscovy started to be crowned Emperors and their country - Muscovy - "Rossiya" (see Imperial Russia). In following centuries this new term started also to be translated into English as "Russia". In the meantime, the territories of the historical Rus incorporated the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as can be seen from the full name, "Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus' and Samogitia", were still called "Rus", translated into Latin (and English) as "Ruthenia" and its inhabitants, "Rusiny", translated as "Ruthenians". The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, taken as a whole, was basically a Ruthenian state, as it was populated mainly by Ruthenians, its nobles were of Ruthenian origins, and a variant of Old Slavonic close to Belarusian is the sole language of most surviving official documents of the state prior to 1697. Toward the end of the 18th century, the Russian Empire, Prussia, and Austria conquered and divided the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in a series of partitions. The term "Rus" (translated as Ruthenia in Latin and English), was used until beginning of 20th century to refer to the territories of present-day Ukraine (not only the Austrian-ruled part). However, because of the influence of Russia on British scholars beginning in the 18th and 19th century, this region has also been known in English as "Little Russia."

To summarize: "Ruthenia" is always a translation of the word "Rus". "Russia" has been used, imprecisely, to translate two different (though etymologically related) Slavic words: (1) "Rus" and (2) "Rossiya" – the former Muscovy and present-day Russia.

The above problem does not exist in the Slavic languages. The different translations into English are mainly for political reasons. For example, a Russian would always translate Rus as Russia. On the contrary, a Ukrainian or Belorusian (especially a nationalist) would translate this word as Ruthenia.


For the ethnic history and culture of Ruthenian people, wherever they may live, see Ruthenians.


History

Before World War I Carpato-Ruthenia was part of Hungary. It became part of Czechoslovakia after the Treaty of Trianon in 1920.  Following Adolf Hitler's seizure of the country in 1939, Ruthenia briefly proclaimed its independence, before being annexed by Hungary. After World War II it was ceded to the Soviet Union and included into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic; the latter became the independent state of Ukraine in 1991, with Carpato-Ruthenia as a part of that state.


Related articles


Sources