Pannonian Rusyns

Rusyns in Pannonia, or simply Rusyns or Ruthenians (Rusyn: Руснаци or Русини, Croatian: Rusini, Serbian: Русини), are a Slavic minority in Serbia and Croatia. They are officially considered a separate nationality in Serbia and Croatia.

They are also considered to be a part of the northern Rusyns (Ruthenians) who live mostly in Ukraine and in Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, and Hungary. The main difference between Rusyns in Pannonia and northern Rusyns is language: the language of the Rusyns in Pannonia has more Western Slavic features than the language of the northern Rusyns.

Demographics

Rusyns in Pannonia mostly live in the autonomous province of Vojvodina in Serbia. There are 14,246 declared ethnic Rusyns in Serbia (2011 census). The village of Ruski Krstur in the Kula municipality is the cultural centre of the Pannonian Rusyns. There is a considerable concentration of Rusyns in Novi Sad, where in 1820 the construction of St. Peter and Paul Greek Catholic parish church started and was subsequently completed in 1834/1837. Other villages with a Rusyn majority include Kucura in the Vrbas municipality, and Bikić Do in the Šid municipality. There are Pannonian Rusyn communities in Slavonia (Croatia), forming a majority in the village of Petrovci, Bogdanovci municipality, in Vukovar-Srijem county.

Rusyns

Rusyns, also known as Carpatho-Rusyns or Ruthenes (Rusyn: Русины Rusyny; also sometimes referred to as Carpatho-Russians or Rusnaks), are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an East Slavic language, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early 20th century. The use of the term Rusyn was prohibited by some governments, as seen after 1945 in Soviet Transcarpathia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.

Today, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Croatia officially recognize contemporary Rusyns (or Ruthenes) as an ethnic minority. In 2007, Carpatho-Rusyns were recognized as a separate ethnicity in Ukraine by the Zakarpattia Regional Council, and in 2012 the Rusyn language gained official regional status in certain areas of the province. Most contemporary self-identified ethnic Rusyns live outside of Ukraine.

Of the estimated 1.2 million people of Rusyn origin, only 98,900 have officially identified themselves politically or ethnically as such, according to contemporary censuses, due to among other reasons, the Ukrainian government's refusal to list Rusyn as an ethnic identity on any census forms. The ethnic classification of Rusyns as a separate East Slavic ethnicity distinct from Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians is, however, politically controversial. The majority of Ukrainian scholars consider Rusyns to be an ethnic subgroup of the Ukrainian people. This is disputed by some Lemko scholars. According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census about a third of Rusyns in Ukraine speak the Ukrainian language, while others stick to their native form.

Croatia

Coordinates: 45°10′N 15°30′E / 45.167°N 15.500°E / 45.167; 15.500

Croatia (ⁱ/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska,  listen ), is a sovereign state at the crossroads of Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean. Its capital city is Zagreb, which forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, along with its twenty counties. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.28 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.

The Croats arrived in the area of present-day Croatia during the early part of the 7th century AD. They organised the state into two duchies by the 9th century. Tomislav became the first king by 925, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the unrecognised State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs which seceded from Austria-Hungary and merged into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A fascist Croatian puppet state existed during World War II. After the war, Croatia became a founding member and a federal constituent of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a constitutionally socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence, which came into effect on 8 October of the same year. The Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration.

Croatian wine

Croatian wine (vino, pl. vina) has a history dating back to the Ancient Greek settlers, and their wine production on the southern Dalmatian islands of Vis, Hvar and Korčula some 2,500 years ago. Like other old world wine producers, many traditional grape varieties still survive in Croatia, perfectly suited to their local wine hills. Modern wine-production methods have taken over in the larger wineries, and EU-style wine regulations have been adopted, guaranteeing the quality of the wine.

There are currently over 300 geographically defined wine regions, and a strict classification system to ensure quality and origin. The majority of Croatian wine is white, with most of the remainder being red, and only a small percentage is rosé wines. In 2010, Croatia ranked 30th in wine producing countries with an estimated 50,000 tonnes.

Wine is a popular drink in Croatia, and locals traditionally like to drink wine with their meals. Quite often, the wine is diluted with either still or sparkling water - producing a drink known as gemišt (a combination of white wine and carbonated water), and bevanda (a combination of red wine and still water).

Croatia (European Parliament constituency)

In European elections, Croatia is a constituency of the European Parliament, currently represented by twelve MEPs. It covers the member state of Croatia.

Members are elected by proportional representation using open lists.

Election results

2013

2014

See also

References