Карпатська наша Русь, гордиме ся тобов.
Край наш рӯдный, у сердцьови є, з собов.
Нарӯд наш є чесный, гордый тай благый.
Край наш дуже давньый, горами заллятый.
Мы любиме йсї горы, хащы тай рїкы, долины.
Тай не ганьба нам повісти, ож сьме карпатські русины.
Карпатская Русь, мы гордимся тобой.
Никогда не забудем край наш родной.
Народ наш смирный, но добрый, гордый.
Край наш древний, красивый и горный.
Мы любим свои горы, леса, реки, долины.
Гордимся тем, что мы карпатские русины.
Carpathian Rus, we are proud of you.
We will never forget our native land.
Our people are meek, but good and proud.
Our land is ancient, beautiful, and mountainous.
We love our mountains, forests, rivers, and valleys.
We are proud that we are Carpathian Rusyns.
From the author:
Ten years ago, I discovered the truth about my Carpathian Rusyn heritage, so 2022 is a special year for me. It wasn’t until I was 16 that I did my own research and pieced together my grandmother’s sporadic references to “Carpathian Ruthenia” and childhood memories of “Russian Christmas,” and learned that my great-grandparents were not Slovaks, but Rusyns. I listed myself as Rusyn on the 2020 US census, and my younger brother did the same, no doubt the result of my propaganda of our Rusyn origins. While I am a proud Rusyn, I don’t consider myself a good Rusyn. I have an interest in Rusyn history and folk music, but I lack deep knowledge of Rusyn culture. Instead, I have become progressively Russified in language and culture. Initially, this was the result of my very mistaken belief that Rusyns are the westernmost branch of the Russian people, but it took on a logic of its own after I studied in Russia twice.
Paradoxically, my time in Russia both deepened the role that the Russian language and culture play in my daily life while also making me more aware of my distinct Rusyn heritage. I am now a more nuanced Russophile, and my maxim is that my language is Russian while my heritage is Rusyn. This is just who I am. Since last year, I have decided to learn more about the Rusyn world, and I would be lying if I said that the Rusyn Literature Society did not play a role in this journey. This is the first poem I have written, and it is special to me because it is an organic synthesis of my Rusyn and Russian-speaking identities. It is a tribute not just to the Rusyn people and our Carpathian homeland, but also to Russia’s very small but officially recognized Rusyn population (225 per 2010 All-Russian Population Census). It is a personal honor to see my work translated into the Rusyn language, which I wish to learn myself one day.