The Rusyn-language press has a long history, starting in 1867 with Svit (The Light, Užhorod, 1867-1871), Novŷj Svit (The New World, Užhorod, 1871-1872) and Karpat (Carpathian, Užhorod, 1873-1886). All three of these newspapers used a Subcarpathian version of literary Russian, which was used as the Rusyns’ literary language at the time. Later additions to the Rusyn press like Nauka (Science, Užhorod, 1897-1922) and Nedilja (Budapest, 1898-1919) moved away from Russian, using more of the Rusyn vernacular on their pages.

During the inter-war period, Nedilja (The Week, Užhorod, 1935-1938) was the only newspaper in Subcarpathian Rus’ to maintain the separateness of the Rusyns from the Ukrainians; the language it used was based on local dialects, though of course there was no codified Rusyn language at that time.

With the end of World War II and the official liquidation of the Rusyn identity, the use of Rusyn in the press died throughout Central Europe. The only exception was in Yugoslavia, where the weekly newspaper Ruske Slovo has been published continuously since 1945.

With the fall of Communism throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the Rusyn language press has been reborn. Starting in Poland in 1988 with appearance of the bimonthly Besida (Speech), Rusyn newspapers and magazines have sprung up in almost every country where Rusyns live (see table).

The Rusyn Press

Country/City	Title	Frequency	Date est.
Canada/Kitchener	Hlasnjik	Quarterly	1996-2001
Canada/Kitchener	Rusnaci u Švece	Quarterly	2002
Croatia/Vukovar	Nova Dumka	Bimonthly	1971
Czech Republic/Prague	Podkarpatská Rus	Bimonthly	1991
Germany/Munich	Rusnaci-Ruthenen Kulturno Informativni Magazin	3x annually	2002
Hungary/Budapest	Rusynskŷj Žŷvot	Biweekly	1995
Hungary/Budapest	Vsederžavnŷj Rusynskŷj Visnyk	Monthly	1999
Poland/Krynica	Besida	Bimonthly	1989
Poland/Zyndranowa	Zahoroda	Bimonthly	1993
Romania/Bucharest	Rus’ka Vira	3x annually	2002
Slovakia/Prešov	Rusyn	Bimonthly	1990
Slovakia/Prešov	Narodnŷ Novynkŷ	Biweekly	1991
Ukraine/Užhorod	Podkarpats’ka Rus’	Irregular	1992
Ukraine/Khust	Rusyns’ka Hazeta	Monthly	1995
Ukraine/Užhorod	Khrystijans’ka Rodyna	Bimonthly	1996
Ukraine/Užhorod	Rusyns’ka Bysjida	Monthly	1997
United States/Yonkers	Karpatska Rus'	Bimonthly	1940
United States/Minneapolis	Trembita	Quarterly	1988
United States/Pittsburgh	New Rusyn Times	Bimonthly	1994
Yugoslavia/Novi Sad	Ruske Slovo	Weekly	1945
Yugoslavia/Novi Sad	Zahradka	Monthly	1946
Yugoslavia/Novi Sad	Švetlosc	Quarterly	1952
Yugoslavia/Novi Sad	Dzvoni	Monthly	1993
Yugoslavia/Novi Sad	MAK	Monthly	2001

While the new political circumstances may allow the Rusyn word to be freely printed, political changes have also brought a host of new problems, particularly financial ones.

Funding problems have led to irregular publication schedules for many of the newspapers and magazines. For example, though Yugoslavia’s Novi MAK is intended to be a monthly magazine, only three issues were published between September 2001 and April 2002. Similarly, Ukraine’s Rusyns’ka Bysjida is supposed to be a monthly newspaper, but only published fourteen issues between September 1997 and April 2001.

Another major problem facing the Rusyn-language press is low circulation. Given the small size of the Rusyn population in every country where they live, this is to be expected. However, no Rusyn-language periodical has much of a reach outside of a small circle of subscribers even within the small community. On the other hand, this is a major opportunity for the Rusyn-language press, since there is definitely room to grow. The only question is how.

Creating a language

Using the term “Rusyn-language press” is a bit of a misnomer, since it actually refers to publications which use a variety of standardized languages and non-standardized dialects. The Rusyn language was standardized in Yugoslavia in the early 20th century, and has been used in the press, as well as in education and even the government, ever since.

The drive to create a Rusyn standard in Slovakia started simultaneously with the rebirth of the Rusyn movement when Communism fell in Czechoslovakia in 1989. Both Narodnŷ Novynkŷ and Rusyn were used as laboratories where linguistic experiments were conducted until the Rusyn language was finally codified in Slovakia, in 1995. Today, both publications use that standard, which is also taught in schools and, as of May 2002, used on the radio.

In Poland, scholars and writers continue to work towards creating a Rusyn standard. A grammar of the local Lemko-Rusyn has been published, but no formal codification has been declared so far. Besida serves the same purpose there that Narodnŷ Novynkŷ and Rusyn did in Slovakia, allowing contributors to tinker with the language before setting grammatical and orthographical rules in stone.

The Rusyns of Ukraine are much further away from creating a literary standard for themselves. The various publications there use different norms which are often very different from one another. However, this in and of itself is an interesting phenomenon worthy of further attention.

Renovating the culture and the language

Rusyn culture today is no less schizophrenic than its “language.” On the one hand, there is a folk culture based on village life, folk festivals, skansens, miracle-working icons and wooden churches; on the other, there is the cult of Andy Warhol, the father of Pop Art, the Rusyns’ most famous son (which of course sweeps his experiences with drugs, homosexuality and the like under the carpet!).

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