A Conversation With Jevhen Župan

About the Carpatho-Rusyn movement in Subcarpathian Rus', the Červena Ruža festival and the possibilities of cultural evolution.

– Greetings, Mr. Župan! The first thing I usually ask is: where and when were you born?

– I was born in Rakošyno on December 30, 1950, but my documents say January 1, 1951. That was my father’s decision.

– As a child, did you notice that the language spoken in Rakošyno was different from the one spoken in cities like Mukačovo and Užhorod?

– We spoke our [Rusyn] language in Rakošyno. It was common for people to use Ukrainian in school during the lessons, but our Rusyn was the language of choice during breaks, outside and at home. Those were the Soviet times and the state policy was aligned towards russification, so the Russian language was forced not only in cities, but also in villages. At the time, thanks to my dad, I already knew that we are Rusyns, I knew what the Rusyn language was. He was a Rusyn teacher during Czechoslovakia and “the second Hungary”¹.

– Where was your father teaching?

– In the 1920s, when Rusyn schools were formed where only Hungarian schools had existed before, he was sent to Vylok (Hungarian: Tiszaújlak)—now an urban-type settlement in the Berehovo district—as a young teacher. The children there only knew Hungarian, but dad soon changed that: he created choirs, opened a school theater. That was such a huge shift: 30 students signed up, then, after a year, 60 more joined and so on. Then Hungarians started writing articles about him, saying he was luring kids into the Rusyn school. In the Soviet times dad would tell me that we are Rusyns, our language is Rusyn, but that it was forbidden to say that out loud.

– Have you heard him sing the Rusyn anthem²?

– He would sing it but said that nobody must know about it.

– Did you go on to study in Užhorod?

– Yes, right after school I applied to the Faculty of Medicine at Užhorod State University.

– What was the situation like with the language, communication; what language were the lectures delivered in?

The lectures were mostly delivered in Russian. We had maybe two lecturers who conducted them in Ukrainian. The literature and the handbooks were all in Russian.

– Nobody tried to teach in Rusyn?

– Not during the lectures. While on breaks, though, some professors (the ones who were Rusyns) would speak Rusyn. Especially when we’d go on practice, a lot of doctors there would communicate only in Rusyn.

– Mr. Župan, you were there during the very conception of the Third Rusyn Renaissance, so here is a question for you: how did you join the Rusyn movement?

– Before the fall of the Soviet Union there was a moment when the national minorities started to ask for rights. At the time, there were still many people who remembered the Rusyn schools in Czechoslovakia. The question of organizations came up. That is how the Carpatho-Rusyn Society was founded in Užhorod in 1989. That got people in Mukačovo thinking about something similar. I had a very nice colleague, the head of the surgical department Stepan Popovyč. He asked me to help him create a Rusyn organization in Mukačovo. I was happy about it: a non-partisan organization aimed towards the revival of our culture, traditions, history. What could be better? He would go on to become the head of the newly-founded Carpatho-Rusyn Society, while I became one of his first assistants. A lot of different organizations popped up back then, the government was tolerant to all of them. They also helped us, the Rusyns. Popovyč (while not a linguist) was one of the first to start writing a Rusyn language grammar book. Then, Almašij and someone else from Svaľava joined in³. They started updating the information about our Awakeners⁴ and scientists of the past.

– The founding conference of A. Duchnovyč Transcarpathian Regional Cultural and Educational Society was held in the Rusyn House in Mukačovo on April 12, 1994. You appear in the meeting minutes as an avid supporter of Mychail Almašij. How did it all go?

– Almašij laid the groundwork for the conference. I was there in the presidium. Almašij presented a report with his vision for future work. Before the vote, many of those present were reluctant to support Almašij because he read the report in Ukrainian. I stood up and said that Mr. Almašij was an Honored Teacher of Ukraine who had done a massive amount of work. I said that we should give him some time—and he would switch to the Rusyn language. It took me some time to switch, and he was a teacher! Then, Sočka and Šepa along with their people left the conference in protest and elected Šepa somewhere else. But their organization (later a district branch) never passed the registration process. It only joined Almašij’s Carpatho-Rusyn Society when it was led by Serhij Bysaha… The Duchnovyč Society in Užhorod still hasn’t joined the A. Duchnovyč Transcarpathian Regional Society. And Almašij later proved that I was right about him.

– What can you say about Mychail Almašij himself?

– A scrupulous man. Whatever he started, he would make sure to bring to an end. Never got into conflicts. Rusyns love to get in rows with each other, but he was diplomatic and avoided that. He proved himself as an organizer, as a scientist, as a teacher. What’s most important: his organization had been working on culture, as intended. Rusyn-language schooling, village anniversaries, book printing—it all worked on a continuous basis.

– During the founding conference, Almašij said: “Our society must also think about creative unions, such as the Union of Rusyn Writers, Composers, Artists, Teachers… A. Duchnovyč Society will revive the scouts, engage the youth in sports as a mean to make the Rusyn nation physically and spiritually healthy.” Out of all of this, what was successfully implemented?

– A lot was done. For example, the folk bands and choirs, the Rusyn Sunday schools. The Union of Rusyn Writers was founded as a separate organization. Many books, dictionaries, and scientific publications came out. Many other initiatives planned by Mr. Almašij were implemented. But some fell behind, with the main reason being the lack of public funding. Although a lot of the things listed still work today.

– The National Council of Transcarpathian Rusyns was founded in 2005. Whose idea was it to unite the Carpatho-Rusyn organizations?

– There are lots of Rusyn organizations that often fail to communicate properly with each other. I recall stumbling into Jurij Čorij and Volodymyr Bilanyn at the regional administration. We discussed the idea. I pointed out that before the Czechs came, we had national councils like the ones in Užhorod, Chust, Svaľava, Stará Ľubovňa and so on. That’s why we called our association the National Council of Transcarpathian Rusyns. The three of us discussed the idea first. Then, we suggested to everyone else to form an association of Rusyn organizations. We put together a charter, which specified that every member organization retained its independence upon joining the association, but we would stand as one when holding discusssions with the state and so on. No individual organization has the right to speak on behalf of the National Council. 90% of Rusyn public organizations joined the association. I was elected to head it.

– This was in 2005?

– Yes, those were the times of a Rusyn revival of sorts. Viktor Juščenko took up the reins of government, there was an improvement in democracy. With that in mind, many district and regional officials supported us and provided assistance. I will even go as far as to say that we have always had a great understanding with local government officials. After all, they were born and grew up here. That’s why the congress of the National Council of Transcarpathian Rusyns was attended by government officials as well as scientists, politicians and writers.

– You were a member of the Mukačovo City Council in 1990–1994, then a member of the Trancarpathian Regional Council for five consecutive terms (1994–2019). How did you manage to use this position to the benefit of the Carpatho-Rusyn people?

– I had two objectives in mind. One: as a pediatrician, I was concerned with healthcare: how do we provide medical aid to children? Two: community service. I’ve always tried to discuss the issues Carpatho-Rusyns had to deal with. These were mostly cultural issues: festivals, book printing etc. Out of the five volumes of Jurij Čorij’s Rusyn dictionary (Slovarʼ rusynsʼkoho jazŷka) one was paid for by the government. The Červena Ruža Festival used to be partially state-sponsored. I’ve done much over my 25 years of governing. In 2006, the United Nations suggested that Ukraine recognize Rusyns as a national group. Following my proposals, on March 7, 2007, the Transcarpathian Regional Council voted to recognize the Rusyn people and add them to the list of the region’s national groups. There were 71 votes in favor, two against, and two abstentions. Two Rusyn organizations (the National Council and the Duchnovyč Society) participated in the contest for a new regional flag. But our proposal did not pass. On December 22, 2009, a vote was held for the Transcarapathian regional anthem. Our option was voted in, but one vote was withdrawn later, and so the proposal was ultimately rejected. On November 4, 2011, I passed on an appeal from the All-Transcarpathian Rusyn Congress to the Transcarpathian Regional Council, asking to open a Rusyn Language and Literature department at the Uzhhorod National University. I also visited the nationalities’ committee in Kyiv, where I would always argue that Rusyns had to be recognized. But something always held this process back. They were afraid that the Rusyn movement transform from a cultural into a political movement. Even though we always said it wasn’t going to happen.

– The National Council of Transcarpathian Rusyns had a nice tradition of conducting the annual Červena Ruža Festival. How many have already been organized and who started it?

– We started the festival a few years before the founding congress of the National Council of Transcarpathian Rusyns. The initiative came from the Society of Carpatho-Rusyns led by I. Turʼanycʼa and L. Lecovyč’s Society of Subcarpathian Rusyns. The festival was once held under the name Horŷ doroži od zlata ("Mountains Dearer than Gold"), but other than that, it was called Červena Ruža ("The Red Rose"). In total, there were 21 annual festivals. We first skipped a year because of CoVID-19, then due to war. Over the years, the festival grew in popularity so much that people would eagerly wait for it. The venue was always full.

– Was it difficult to organize such a festival? Were there many artists willing to perform?

– At first, it was difficult to find performers. Sometimes the authorities would hinder us indirectly, it did happen. But later on, there would be no shortage of those willing to perform at Červena Ruža. In fact, there would be so many candidates that they had to compete to perform. The Mukačovo City Council and the Užhorod Regional Council helped us, so did the Regional Department of Culture, The Nationalities’ Center and others. Our work proved that we enrich the Ukrainian culture as well as the Rusyn culture, that we are loyal to the Ukrainian state and would like to be treated in the same positive way.

– What activities do you organize currently?

– It is a time of war, and so we try to reduce the number of activities we run. A sovereign state was brutally attacked, so the time is not appropriate for festivals like Červena Ruža. But we haven’t stopped the work completely. Together with the Rusyn Culture Studies Club and the A. Duchnovyč Society, we organize book presentations and commemorations for Rusyn Awakeners, whenever it is possible.

– Does your organization participate in any international minority associations?

– For the past 27 years, the National Council of Transcarpathian Rusyns has represented the Rusyn people in Ukraine within the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN). The FUEN unites over 180 organizations. It is an advisory body for the European Council and the United Nations. We have an opportunity to see how minorities are treated around the world. That’s how we know that we’re not the only ones facing issues; developed countries have their own problems in this regard. We’ve visited many other minority groups, we’ve seen a lot. For example, the Czech schools in Croatia are often attended by Croatian children, who wish to benefit from support coming from both Croatia and Czech Republic. We tell people that Ukraine doesn’t recognize us, but we aren’t persecuted either; that we are allowed to develop our own culture and have our public organizations.

– What is your vision for our people’s future? What awaits us?

– First of all: the war must end. Secondly, we support Ukraine in its European integration. We believe that will be when Ukraine will recognize the Rusyn people; as it must according to the laws of the European Union. And after that recognition we’ll be able to step up the work on the development of the Carpatho-Rusyn people.

– Thank you, Mr. Župan, we will be eagerly waiting for the end of the war and the 22nd Červena Ruža Festival!