Ruthenians - Memorandum On Reinstating of Supcarpathian Rus

Memorandum On Reinstating of Supcarpathian Rus

According to the "Kommersant-Ukraine" (Ukrainian edition) on October 29, 2008 the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Zakarpattia Oblast agents questioned the leaders of Subcarpathian Rusyns Dmytro Sidor and Yevgeniy Zhupan. They were summoned to SBU as witnesses in a criminal case on the infringement on territorial integrity of Ukraine initiated in June 2008. However the investigators were interested in the circumstances and sources of financing the 2nd European Congress of Rusyns that took place on October 25, at which the memorandum on reinstating the Rusyn's statehood was signed. According to Dmytro Sidor the Rusyn's movement is financed through a medium business. At the same time Rusyn leaders claim that do not infringe on territorial integrity of the country.

The criminal case (part 2, Art.110 of the Criminal Code) was initiated right after the 1st European Congress of Rusyns took place in Mukachevo on June 7, 2008. At that particular congress it was recognized the reinstating of the Zakarpattia's special status as special "territory of Rusys to the south of Carpathians" with self-government under the constitutional name Subcarpathian Rus. On Saturday, October 29, in Mukachevo at the 2nd Congress the memorandum was signed and was intended to go into force on December 1, 2008. Until then the authorities had to start a process on recognition of the Subcarpathian Rus autonomy.

Rusyns (Rusnaks, Karpatorussians) are indigenous Slavic population of the Carpathian Region. They consider themselves a separate nation and recognized in 22 countries around the globe. According to the 2001 All-Ukrainian Census in Zakarpattia Oblast live over 10,000 Rusyns. In 1992 and 2002 the regional council of Zakarpattia appealed twice to the members of the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) with a request to recognize Rusyns as a distinct nationality. In August 2006, the UN Committee on liquidation of racial discrimination urged the Government of Ukraine to recognize Rusyns as a national minority. In March 2007 the Zakarpatttia regional council recognized that ethnic group on territory of the region as a nationality.