What Helped Me Learn More About Rusyns

Growing up, I was hardly connected to my Rusyn roots, if at all. For a long time, I was told my family was one thing, then another, and yet another as many of us were. Eventually, I would become mature enough to begin researching our family members myself. Going into my efforts, I knew my great grandfather and my great-great-grandfather were both clergy in the Russian Orthodox Church but beyond that, I wasn’t particularly aware of any other significance my family held other than simply being my family. At least until I looked into my great uncle Peter. To me, Great Uncle Peter had just been a man who loved New York and someone who had fallen victim to my father’s childhood shenanigans when he sprayed Uncle Peter’s bed with a garden hose.  According to one google search, he was Peter Wilhousky, an American composer of Rusyn descent. If I had to mark a starting point of my descent into the rabbit hole of my heritage, this event would be it. Having something solid to grasp made my walk towards returning to my roots far more steady than before. 

Even with this, I, like many others who were alienated from their heritage in America, was unsure where to start with returning to my roots. Rusyn culture is a beautiful thing to learn about though, and beginning the learning process may be incredibly daunting to some. There are so many stones, how could one possibly know which ones to turn over? To ease your difficulties I’d like to share some things that helped me.

The rest of this article below will be broken down into sections based on the medium of the information. Whether that be physical books, online publications, videos, radios, and organizations, these have all been of use. This is done with the hope of providing those who are wholly uncertain about where to start roots from which to grow their knowledge. 


Books: 

With Their Backs To The Mountains by Paul Robert Magocsi

This was the first book I picked up when I began my journey in researching my way back home. I found Professor Magocsi’s writing to be easy to digest and highly informative. Magocsi has written many books on the history of Rusyns, among other topics. With Their Backs To the Mountains is a great starting point for those just starting their research. Magocsi walks his readers through the history of the Carpatho-Rusyn communities and the Carpathian mountains from early history to post-Soviet movements for recognition. This work offers a well-rounded and detailed guide through Rusyn history. An added benefit of this book is that it provides a section dedicated to directing its audience to further reading, encouraging readers to go forth, collect their own information and develop their own viewpoints.

The Quest for The Rusyn Soul by Keith P. Dyrud

This text offers a focus on a short, but significant, period in Rusyn history. His focus on a short time period allows him to go through 1890 through the early 20th century with a fine-toothed comb. In this, he analyzes the experiences of the Rusyn people from their time spent under the rule of the Austrian Empire to what conflicts they experienced upon coming to America. Similar to the text above, Dyrud’s text provides a bibliography that offers the opportunity for further compilation of informative content. This book resonated heavily with me on an emotional level in that it was an analysis of a period close to the one that my own family experienced, and having access to those insights made my personal efforts feel far more grounded. 

Our People: Carpatho-Rusyns and Their Descendants in North America by Paul Robert Magocsi

Yet another text written by Professor Magocsi, similar to With Their Backs To The Mountains, Our People: Carpatho-Rusyns and Their Descendants in North America is an orderly guide to the culture of the Rusyn diaspora in North America. Magocsi begins with their migrations and patterns of settling before moving towards analyzing individual aspects of Rusyn-American life such as organization, religion, and culture. On top of an extensive bibliography, this text provides an Appendix entitled A Root Seeker’s Guide to the Homeland which covers a list of Carpatho-Rusyn villages detailing names, former districts, and present subdivision and country. While the list is based upon a Hungarian census from the early 20th century, 1910, to be precise, it provides a list that likely will be beneficial. Similar to the previous book, this text provided a lot of emotional stock for me, as it better connected me to the experience of my own family in a way that was definable. Finishing this book is what made me register that I could very well become a part of the Rusyn community, even if I was not raised within it. 

In the Seventy-Seventh Kingdom: Carpatho-Rusyn Folktales by Mikhal Hiryak, Patricia A. Krafcik, and Anna Gajová

I have always had a love for folklore and mythology, having always found value in the window fiction provides into the societies it is a part of. Besides, who doesn’t love a good story? This book covers ten folktales of Rusyn origin; The Fox and the Wolf, How Dear Old Grandfather Went to School, Ash Boy, Lord Debriansky, How the World Thanks You for Doing Good, The Peasant and the Devil, The Seven Raven Brothers and Their Sister, The Legend of the Brigan Madei, The Laborer, and The Miraculous Little Machine. This beautifully illustrated book is written in both Rusyn and English, placing the languages parallel to each other on each page. While this book does not go into history or informational writing until its About section, some may find value in understanding some of the stories themselves from simply a storytelling point of view, rather than an academic one.

Radios and Podcasts: 

Rusyn Heritage Radio Program

This radio show is put on by the Carpatho-Rusyn Society and hosted by Dean Poloka. The broadcast follows a format of a show you would listen to on the radio, sharing music, current events, conducting interviews and more. 


Carpatho-Rusyn Nationality with Paul Magocsi

This episode of The Slavic Connexion was recorded during the 2019 Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) Conference.  It offers a brief, easy-to-digest insight into Dr. Paul Magocsi’s work within the Rusyn community. The Slavic Connexion is a podcast put on by students and faculty at the University of Texas at Austin with the intent to share information with regard to Slavic culture, history, and current events in a digestible manner. This episode provided me with more insight about Dr. Magocsi’s work and guidance on where to look for more of his projects to deepen my research into Rusyn culture. 

Carpathian Rusyn #5

Slavstvuyte! Is a podcast with a focal point on Slavic languages and their analysis. It has an episode on Carpathian Rusyn as well as one on Pannonian Rusyn. These episodes are focused on the structure of the language, which may be beneficial or interesting to those interested in learning the Rusyn languages. The show also provides insights on influences from other languages that crossed paths with the Rusyn language and offers details on why Rusyn languages are their own language and not just a dialect of Ukrainian.  An added benefit is that the creator provides links with a transcript of the episode along with dialectical maps on her website. 

Lem.FM

A radio show that is put on entirely in Lemko Rusyn by Ruska Bursa, a Lemko social organization that is headquartered in Gorlice, Poland. Lem.FM is the radio arm of Ruska Bursa and broadcasts continuously, covering a range of topics. For those who do not speak Lemko Rusyn and are wanting to learn, this station provides a wonderful opportunity for immersion-style learning. I have always considered language to be a wonderful way to reconnect to one’s culture, especially since it can provide broader opportunities for learning. My Lemko Rusyn is at about the level of a one-year-old child and immersing myself in Lem.FM’s broadcasts have been beneficial to developing my ear for the language when I cannot sit and dedicate me to practicing during busier times in life. 

Videos: 

The Carpatho-Rusyn Society’s YouTube Channel

This channel is the creation of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, the largest Rusyn organization in the United States. The channel contains videos that discuss cuisine, holidays and other elements of Carpatho-Rusyn culture. Their content is informative and easy to process without losing details of history. 

Lemko With History YouTube Channel

This channel was created and is run by the Rusyn Literature Society’s founder, Starik Pollock. The channel is a host of short videos that cover many aspects of Rusyn history ranging from significant historical figureheads such as Alexander Dukhnovych to videos that guide the viewer on how to determine their ancestry. During a period when I was unable to dedicate enough time to sit down and read a book on Rusyn history, I found listening to this channel’s content to be informative and reaffirming my efforts in seeking reconnection and a deeper understanding of my ancestors’ culture. 

Organizations and Websites:

The Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center

The C-RRC is a non-profit organization that has dedicated itself to publishing and issuing assorted publications such as maps and books with a focus on Carpatho-Rusyn history and society. As someone who loves collecting resources, their extensive shop was inspiring and exciting to browse through. 

Carpatho-Rusyn Society

The Carpatho-Rusyn Society, as previously mentioned, is the largest Rusyn organization in the United States. Their website offers a number of resources that cover both written publications and genealogical work. They also provide opportunities for membership and ways to become involved in the Rusyn-American community. This is truly one of the best places to begin if you are truly unsure of how to orient yourself in your research. 

The Carpatho-Rusyn Knowledge Base

This website was created and run by Greg Gressa with the goal of “to provide a free electronic “knowledge base” for the benefit of Carpatho-Rusyns worldwide as well as to provide a resource for non-Rusyns wishing to learn more about our unique culture”. This site is successful in achieving that mission. It has sections dedicated to folk art, genealogy, spirituality, maps, traditions, books, and more. Most notably, it provides a list of Carpatho-Rusyn organizations from all over the world.  I found this site so easy to become lost in, spending hours of my free time going through each page and tab provided, entranced by the richness of the information. 



While this is by no means an exhaustive list of places to search for information and inspiration on reconnecting with one’s heritage, this list may provide some guidance on what rocks to begin turning over. Once you have some stepping stones, it is surprising how easy access to more and more information will flow and how reservations on everything ease in time. Grounded exploration and a broad view will be some of your greatest tools in reconnection. Using those as you go through the process of reconnection will help you gather more tools and methods that suit you best and will draw you further into your history.  Everyone’s journey home will look different, but what matters is that your journey home is one of learning and contentment.