Ruthenia

Ruthenia is a historical term used to describe various lands and people in Eastern Europe. It is an exonym, which means it is a name used by outsiders to describe a region. In the Middle Ages, Western European writers used it for lands inhabited by East Slavic people.

These territories covered much of modern Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of western Russia. The term has shifted in meaning over many centuries. It once described the vast territories under Kievan dominion. Later, it became associated with specific regions like Galicia or the Carpathian Mountains. Even a chemical element, ruthenium, was named after this region in 1844.

The concept of Ruthenia evolved through several distinct stages of political power. In the early Middle Ages, the term was closely linked to the Kievan Rus' state. This state was organized around tribes like the Polanians, whose principal city was Kiev.

As the power of Kiev declined, the name's meaning changed. After the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, western principalities became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Polish Kingdom also claimed the title of King of Ruthenia after annexing Galicia. Eventually, these lands were part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Different regions within these lands had their own specific identities and names. For example, the southern territories included Galicia, White Ruthenia, and Black Ruthenia. Red Ruthenia referred to western Ukraine and southeast Poland. Another area was known as Carpathian Ruthenia, located in the Carpathian Mountains.

In the 14th century, the southern areas of Rus' joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This union with Catholic Poland in 1384 eventually formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. Because these groups used the Latin script rather than Cyrillic, they were often called Ruthenia in Western documents.

History shows how different powers competed for control over these territories. By the 15th century, the Moscow principality began fighting Lithuania for Ruthenian lands. In 1547, the Moscow principality adopted the title of the Tsardom of the Whole Rus. This title claimed sovereignty over all the Rus', though Poland did not recognize it. The population in Muscovy was Eastern Orthodox. They often preferred the Greek name Rossiya over the Latin Ruthenia. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Hungary held parts of the region, such as Transcarpathia, starting in the 11th century. Hungarian kings used the title "King of Galicia and Lodomeria" until 1918.

Historical accounts provide specific details about the geography and resources of the region. In the 1520 treatise *Mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium*, Johann Boemus described the land. He wrote of a country extending from the Baltic Sea to the Caspian Sea. He also noted it stretched from the Don River to the northern ocean.

Boemus described the region as a source of beeswax. He also mentioned forests that held many animals with valuable fur. He noted that the capital, Moscow, was 14 miles in circumference. This city was named after the Moskva River.

The transition into the modern era changed how people identified themselves. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the term "Ukrainian" became more popular. This caused the old name to be used only by smaller groups. In the Carpathian Mountains, a group known as Carpatho-Ruthenians remained. They were the last East Slavic people to keep the historical name. After 1918, the name Ruthenia narrowed to the area south of the Carpathian Mountains. This area included cities like Mukachevo, Uzhhorod, and Prešov. In 1939, Carpatho-Ukraine declared independence, but it was quickly occupied by the Royal Hungarian Army.

Today, the legacy of Ruthenia is seen in modern ethnic identities and languages. The term Rusyn is used to describe the ethnicity and language of Ruthenians. These people have different views on their national identity. Some are Russophiles, seeing themselves as part of the Russian nation. Others are Ukrainophiles, who consider themselves part of the Ukrainian nation. There are also Ruthenophiles, who believe they are a separate nation. They wish to develop a native Rusyn language and culture. Even in modern Ukraine, some people in the Zakarpattia Oblast still identify as Rusyn.