Ruthenians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ruthenians | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| Regions with significant populations | Ruthenia, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Galicia (Central Europe) |
| Language | Ruthenian |
| Religion | Roman-Catholicism, Greek-Catholicism |
| Related ethnic groups | other East Slavic peoples |
Ruthenians is a name applied to different ethnic groups at different times; for an explanation of the reasons for this, see Ruthenia.
Generally, in very old documents, the terms "Ruthenians" or "Ruthenes" refer to the people inhabiting what are now present-day Belarus and Ukraine. Through the centuries, however, the term "Ruthenian", derived from a Latin word for these peoples, became restricted to the western regions of the east Slavic world, i.e. Belarus and the western Ukraine, especially the Sub-Carpathian region. "Ruthenian" still is used nominally, by a significant group of Eastern Slavs residing in the U.S., and by minorities in the western Ukraine, Poland, and Slovakia. These last are treated under Rusyns.
