LINGUISTIC TOTALITARIANISM OF 15 REPUBLICS OF THE FORMER USSR DID NOT END WITH THE COLLAPSE
The Austro-Hungarian Empire did not have an official language, but it did have 14 officially recognized languages: Croatian, Czech, German, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Ruthenian, and Serbian.
The language used in the empire varied by region and by purpose
Stalin’s Use of Ruthenian Identity to Expand Soviet Influence
During the period following the Russian Revolution and in the years leading up to and following World War II, Stalin and the Soviet leadership used various political and ideological tools to expand Soviet control, including exploiting linguistic and cultural similarities between Ruthenians and Ukrainians to justify territorial claims.
- “Reunification of Ukraine”:
- Stalin and the Soviet leadership promoted the idea of a “reunification of Ukraine” as part of their broader strategy to incorporate all ethnic Ukrainians and related populations into the Soviet sphere, especially in the aftermath of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918).
- The Soviet government framed the annexation of Western Ukrainian territories (like Galicia and Carpathian Ruthenia) as the reunification of all Ukrainians, even though the populations in these regions had different historical, cultural, and religious traditions from those in central and eastern Ukraine.
- Cultural and Linguistic Ties:
- Stalin and Soviet propaganda played up the linguistic and cultural similarities between the Ruthenian-speaking population of Galicia and the Ukrainian-speaking population of central and eastern Ukraine. The fact that Ruthenian and Ukrainian shared many similarities in language and culture (though not identical) was used as a justification for Soviet control.
- Soviet authorities sought to “reintegrate” the people of these western regions into the Ukrainian SSR by emphasizing the supposed commonality of their identity, despite the complex local histories and distinct traditions of the Ruthenians.
- Annexation of Western Ukraine:
- After the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (1939), parts of eastern Poland (including Western Ukraine) were annexed by the Soviet Union. Stalin’s regime emphasized that this was a “reunion” of the Ukrainian people, even though, as you pointed out, many Ruthenians did not identify as Ukrainians and had their own regional cultural identity.
- The incorporation of these regions, particularly after World War II, was part of a broader Soviet strategy to consolidate control over Eastern Europe and erase the cultural distinctions between various Slavic groups, forcing them into a singular Soviet identity.
The Ruthenians, as you noted, were a distinct group with their own cultural and linguistic heritage, which was often overshadowed or redefined by Soviet policies. Stalin’s regime effectively used the linguistic and cultural ties between Ruthenians and Ukrainians to justify the annexation of Western Ukrainian territories, but this was done with little regard for the historical or cultural identities of the people living there. The idea of “reunifying Ukraine” was more of a political strategy aimed at consolidating Soviet power, rather than a reflection of a genuine desire to reunite people with a shared historical identity.
In this way, Stalin’s policies manipulated the historical, linguistic, and cultural connections between Ruthenians and Ukrainians to facilitate the expansion of Soviet authority in the former Austro-Hungarian and Polish territories.
he historical identity of the Ruthenians and their relationship to modern Ukrainians is complex and has evolved significantly over time. The term “Ruthenian” originally referred broadly to East Slavic peoples in medieval times, including those from Kyivan Rus. Over centuries, the label came to apply primarily to Ukrainians under Austro-Hungarian rule, especially in regions such as Galicia, Bukovyna, and Transcarpathia. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the term was increasingly associated with those East Slavs who did not fully embrace modern Ukrainian national identity, opting instead for the traditional “Rusyn” identity. These populations often identified as distinct from both Ukrainians and Russians, particularly in regions like Transcarpathia, Slovakia, and Poland.
During Soviet rule, particularly after World War II, the Soviet authorities sought to assimilate Ruthenian identity into the Ukrainian nation. The Ruthenian designation was officially banned, and its use discouraged. Stalin’s policy aimed to present the incorporation of Transcarpathian Ruthenians into the Ukrainian SSR as a “reunification of Ukrainian lands.” This strategy leveraged cultural and linguistic similarities to integrate these populations into the Soviet framework of Ukrainian identity. Simultaneously, the Greek Catholic Church, a stronghold of Ruthenian identity, was suppressed in favor of the Orthodox Church aligned with Moscow.
Since the 1990s, Ruthenians in countries like Slovakia have reasserted their distinctiveness, with governments recognizing them as a separate ethnic group. The Rusyn language has even been codified in some regions, though debates over their identity persist, with Ukrainian nationalists often viewing them as an integral part of the Ukrainian nation.
For more details on this history, see sources such as the Encyclopedia of Ukraine and Le Monde Diplomatique’s exploration of Ruthenian identity, which highlight the shifting use of the Ruthenian label and the political implications surrounding it during Soviet and post-Soviet periods