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Red Ruthenia Red Rus' Ruś Czerwona (Polish) Червона Русь (Ukrainian)
Historic region
From top, left to right: Market Square, Lviv Panorama of Przemyśl Pidhirtsi Castle Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ternopil
Location of Red Ruthenia
Country	Poland  Ukraine
Largest city	Lviv

Red Ruthenia, also called Red Rus' or Red Russia, is a term used since the Middle Ages for the south-western principalities of Kievan Rus', namely the Principality of Peremyshl and the Principality of Belz. It is closely related to the term Cherven Cities ("Red Cities").

First mentioned by that name in a Polish chronicle of 1321, Red Ruthenia was the portion of Ruthenia incorporated into Poland by Casimir the Great during the 14th century. Following the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, Red Ruthenia was contested by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the Gediminids), the Kingdom of Poland (the Piasts), the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia. After the Galicia–Volhynia Wars, for about 400 years, most of Red Ruthenia became part of Poland as the Ruthenian Voivodeship.

Nowadays, the region comprises parts of western Ukraine and adjoining parts of south-eastern Poland. It has also sometimes included parts of Lesser Poland, Podolia, Right-bank Ukraine and Volhynia. Centred on Przemyśl and Belz, it has included major cities such as: Chełm, Zamość, Rzeszów, Krosno and Sanok (now all in Poland), as well as Lviv and Ternopil (now in Ukraine).

Ethnography

The first known inhabitants of northern Red Ruthenia were Lendians and White Croats, while subgroups of Rusyns, such as Boykos and Lemkos, lived in the south.

Later Walddeutsche ("Forest Germans"), Jews, Armenians and Poles also made up part of the population. According to Marcin Bielski, although Bolesław I Chrobry settled Germans in the region to defend the borders against Hungary and Kievan Rus' the settlers became farmers. Maciej Stryjkowski described German peasants near Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Sanok, and Jarosław as good farmers. Casimir the Great settled German citizens on the borders of Lesser Poland and Red Ruthenia to join the acquired territory with the rest of his kingdom. In determining the population of late medieval Poland, colonisation and Polish migration to Red Ruthenia, Spiš and Podlachia (whom the Ukrainians called Mazury—poor peasant migrants, chiefly from Mazowsze) should be considered.

During the second half of the 14th century, the Vlachs arrived from the southeastern Carpathians and quickly settled across southern Red Ruthenia. Although during the 15th century the Ruthenians gained a foothold, it was not until the 16th century that the Wallachian population in the Bieszczady Mountains and the Lower Beskids was Ruthenized. From the 14th to the 16th centuries Red Ruthenia underwent rapid urbanization, resulting in over 200 new towns built on the German model (virtually unknown before 1340, when Red Ruthenia was the independent Kingdom of Halych).

A minority of ethnic Poles have lived since the beginning of the second Millennium in northern parts of Red Ruthenia. The exonym "Ruthenians" usually refers to members of the Rusyn and/or Ukrainian ethnicity.

History

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1199 to 1772

During the early Middle Ages, the region was part of Kievan Rus' and, from 1199, the independent Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia.

In 1340, the Romanovichi house of princes of Galicia and Volhynia died out, causing the Galicia–Volhynia Wars (1340–1392). Casimir the Great of Poland managed to take control of Galicia in 1340, while the Grand Duchy of Lithuania obtained Volhynia. During his reign from 1333 to 1370, Casimir the Great founded several cities, urbanizing the rural province. Under Polish rule, 325 towns were founded from the 14th century to the second half of the 17th century, most during the 15th and 16th centuries (96 and 153, respectively).

In October 1372, Władysław Opolczyk was deposed as count palatine. Although he retained most of his castles and goods in Hungary, his political influence waned. As compensation, Opolczyk was made governor of Hungarian Galicia. In this new position, he contributed to the economic development of the territories entrusted to him. Although Opolczyk primarily resided in Lwów, at the end of his rule he spent more time in Halicz. The only serious conflict during his time as governor involved his approach to the Eastern Orthodox Church, which angered the local Catholic boyars.

The Polish name Ruś Czerwona (translated as "Red Rus") came into use for the territory extending to the Dniester, centring on Przemyśl. The Polish region was divided into a number of voivodeships, and an era of German eastward migration and Polish settlement among the Ruthenians began. Armenians and Jews also migrated to the region. A number of castles were built at this time, and the cities of Stanisławów (Stanyslaviv in Ukrainian, now Ivano-Frankivsk) and Krystynopol (now Chervonohrad) were founded. Red Ruthenia consisted of three voivodeships: Ruthenia, whose capital was Lviv and provinces were Lviv, Halych, Sanok, Przemyśl and Chełm; Bełz, separating the provinces of Lviv and Przemyśl from the rest of the Ruthenian voivodeship; and Podolia, with its capital at Kamieniec Podolski. Since the reign of Władysław Jagiełło (d. 1434) the Przemyśl Voivodeship was called the Ruthenian Voivodeship (województwo ruskie), centring on Lwów. The Ruthenian Voivodeship consisted of five regions: Lwów, Sanok, Halicz (Halych), Przemyśl, and Chełm. The town of Halych gave its name to Galicia.

Ruthenian Voivodeship

• Chełm Land (Ziemia Chełmska), Chełm
  • Chełm County, (Powiat Chełmski), Chełm
  • Powiat of Ratno, (Powiat Ratneński), Ratno
• Halych Land (Ziemia Halicka), Halicz
  • Powiat of Halicz, (Powiat Halicki), Halicz
  • Kolomyja County, (Powiat Kołomyjski), Kołomyja
  • Trembowla County, (Powiat Trembowelski), Trembowla
• Lwów Land (Ziemia Lwowska), Lwów
  • Powiat of Lwów, (Powiat Lwowski), Lwów
  • Powiat of Żydaczów, (Powiat Żydaczowski), Żydaczów
• Przemyśl Land (Ziemia Przemyska), Przemyśl; Its area was 12,000 km. and in the 17th century it was divided five smaller regions (county, powiaty).
  • Przemyśl County (Powiat Przemyski), Przemyśl
  • Powiat of Sambor, (Powiat Samborski), Sambor
  • Powiat of Drohobycz, (Powiat Drohobycki), Drohobycz
  • Powiat of Stryj, (Powiat Stryjski), Stryj
• Sanok Land (Ziemia Sanocka), Sanok
  • Sanok County (Powiat Sanocki), Sanok: Intensive settlement occurred from the 13th to 15th centuries in an area flanked by the Wisłok, San and Wisłoka Rivers. The Vlachs primarily engaged in agriculture; moving west, they established a number of villages during the 15th century. In Sanok Land were six Jewish communities, with synagogues and kahal organizations. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Jewish Communities were also autonomous in criminal law.

Bełz Voivodeship

• Belz County, (Powiat Bełzski), Bełz
• Grabowiec County, (Powiat Grabowiecki), Grabowiec
• Horodło County, (Powiat Horodelski), Horodło
• Lubaczów County, (Powiat Lubaczowski), Lubaczów
• Busk Land, (Ziemia Buska), Busk

Ruthenia was subject to repeated Tatar and Ottoman Empire incursions during the 16th and 17th centuries and was impacted by the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648–1654), the 1654–1667 Russo-Polish War and Swedish invasions during the Deluge (1655–1660); the Swedes returned during the Great Northern War of the early 18th century.

1772 to 1918

Red Ruthenia (except for Podolia) was conquered by the Austrian Empire in 1772 during the First Partition of Poland, remaining part of the empire until 1918. Between World Wars I and II, it belonged to the Second Polish Republic. The region is currently split, with its western portion in southeastern Poland (around Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Zamość and Chełm) and its eastern portion (around Lviv) in western Ukraine.

Largest cities

		City	Population (2022)	Country	Administrative
1		Lviv	717,273		Lviv Oblast
2		Ivano-Frankivsk	238,196		Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
3		Ternopil	225,004		Ternopil Oblast
4		Rzeszów	198,609		Subcarpathian Voivodeship
5		Drohobych	73,682		Lviv Oblast
6		Kalush	65,088		Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
7		Chervonohrad	64,297		Lviv Oblast
8		Kolomyia	60,821		Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
9		Stryi	59,425		Lviv Oblast
10		Zamość	58,942		Lublin Voivodeship
11		Chełm	57,933		Lublin Voivodeship
12		Przemyśl	57,568		Subcarpathian Voivodeship
13		Krosno	44,322		Subcarpathian Voivodeship
14		Jarosław	35,945		Subcarpathian Voivodeship
15		Sanok	34,687		Subcarpathian Voivodeship
16		Sambir	34,152		Lviv Oblast
17		Boryslav	32,473		Lviv Oblast
18		Novoiavorivsk	31,366		Lviv Oblast
19		Truskavets	28,287		Lviv Oblast
20		Chortkiv	28,279		Ternopil Oblast

• Lviv
• Ivano-Frankivsk
• Ternopil
• Rzeszów
• Drohobych
• Kolomyia
• Zamość
• Chełm
• Przemyśl
• Krosno

See also

• Ruthenia
• White Ruthenia
• Black Ruthenia
• Cherven Cities
• Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
• Slovak invasion of Poland
• Stanisławów Voivodeship
• Eastern Galicia
• District of Galicia
• Lwów Voivodeship
• Ruthenian Voivodeship

Sources

• "Monumenta Poloniae Historica"
• Akta grodzkie i ziemskie z archiwum ziemskiego. Lauda sejmikowe. Tom XXIII, XXIV, XXV.
• Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (Digital edition)
• Lustracja województwa ruskiego, podolskiego i bełskiego, 1564-1565 Warszawa, (I) edition 2001, pages 289. ISBN 83-7181-193-4
• Lustracje dóbr królewskich XVI-XVIII wieku. Lustracja województwa ruskiego 1661—1665. Część III ziemie halicka i chełmska. Polska Akademia Nauk - Instytut Historii. 1976
• Lustracje województw ruskiego, podolskiego i bełskiego 1564 - 1565, wyd. K. Chłapowski, H. Żytkowicz, cz. 1, Warszawa - Łódź 1992
• Lustracja województwa ruskiego 1661-1665, cz. 1: Ziemia przemyska i sanocka, wyd. K. Arłamowski i W. Kaput, Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków. 1970
• Aleksander Jabłonowski. Polska wieku XVI, t. VII, Ruś Czerwona, Warszawa 1901 i 1903.

Notes

1. In some older English-language literature, Red Russia is used as a synonym for Red Ruthenia, although the latter was eventually favoured by authors. For example, in his 1916 book on Poland, George Slocombe narrated how Bolesław II the Bold of Poland briefly took control of the Cherven Cities in the mid-11th century: "On two occasions Boleslaw restored Izaslaw, Grand Duke of Kieff, to the throne from which that ruler had been driven by his insurgent brothers. The Polish King's price for this assistance was the province of Red Russia, or, as it should more strictly be called, Red Ruthenia, which, however, did not long remain a part of Poland." After the 1917 October Revolution, Red Russia became a synonym for Soviet Russia in English.
2. Ukrainian: Червона Русь, romanized: Chervona Rus'; Polish: Ruś Czerwona; Latin: Ruthenia Rubra; Russia Rubra; Russian: Червoнная Русь, romanized: Chervonnaya Rus' or Russian: Красная Русь, romanized: Krasnaya Rus'; Romanian: Rutenia Roșie.
3. 'Galicia remains in Poland for over four hundreds years , where it becomes known as "Red Ruthenia", named after the "Red Strongholds" (also called "Cherven Cities") in its western region.'

References

1. Slocombe, George (1916). Poland. London: T.C. & E.C. Jack. p. 16. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
2. Sparks, Alan E. (2020). Into the Carpathians: A Journey Through the Heart and History of East Central Europe (Part 2: The Western Mountains). Boulder, Colorado: Rainy Day Publishing. p. 361. ISBN 9780578705729. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
3. Janeczek, Andrzej (2022). "Atlas historyczny Rzeczypospolitej. Ruś Czerwona w drugiej połowie XVI wieku – koncepcja i program projektu". Studia Geohistorica (in Polish) (10): 224–238. ISSN 2300-2875.
4. Rozwałka, Andrzej (2008). "Pobuże region as an object of research and protection of the archaeological heritage from the period of Early Middle Ages". In Zięba, Maciej St. (ed.). Our Bug. Creating conditions for development of the border areas of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus through enhancement and preservation of natural and cultural heritage (PDF). Catholic University of Lublin. p. 109. ISBN 978-83-7363-508-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011.
5. Magocsi, Paul Robert (1983), Galicia: A Historical Survey and Bibliographic Guide, University of Toronto Press, pp. 56–58, ISBN 9780802024824
6. "were mainly Germans, Poles, Armenians and Jews, but also Karaims, Crimean Tatars, Greeks or Wallachians "Kwartalnik historii kultury materialnej: t. 47, PAN. 1999. p. 146
7. Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte, 1992
8. M. H. Marunchak. The Ukrainian Canadians, 1982
9. Czajkowski, 1992; Parczewski, 1992; Reinfuss, 1948, 1987, 1990
10. Kwartalnik historii kultury materialnej: t. 47, PAN. 1999. p. 146
11. "The dominant population of Galicia, or Red Rus', called itself “Rusyn” ... and was considered by Russophile authors to be Russian, or, more specifically, Little Russian. That view began to gain ground after the publication in the Russian Empire of a Russian translation of Pavol Šafárik's Slovanský národopis in 1843." (Serhii Plokhy, Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation, New York, Hachette, p. 168.
12. „Karte von Germania, Kleinpolen, Hungary, Walachai u. Siebenbuergen nebst Theilen der angraenzenden Laender“ von des „Claudii Ptolemaei geographicae enarrationis libri octo“, 1525, Strassburg
13. H. H. Fisher, "America and the New Poland (1928)", Read Books, 2007, p. 15
14. N. Davies, God's playground: a history of Poland in two volumes, Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 71, 135
15. Anna Beredecka, NOWE LOKACJE MIAST KRÓLEWSKICH W MAŁOPOLSCE W LATACH 1333–1370
16. A. Janeczek, Town and country in the Polish Commonwealth, 1350-1650, in: S. R. Epstein, Town and Country in Europe, 1300-1800, Cambridge University Press, 2004, p. 164
17. Franciszek Kotula. Pochodzenie domów przysłupowych w Rzeszowskiem. "Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej" Jahr. V., Nr. 3/4, 1957, S. 557
18. K. Kocsis, E. K. Hodosi, Ethnic Geography of the Hungarian Minorities in the Carpathian Basin, Simon Publications, 1988, p. 84

• History of Red Ruthenia
• Historical regions in Poland
• Historical regions in Ukraine
• History of Subcarpathian Voivodeship
• History of Lviv Oblast
• History of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
• History of Ternopil Oblast
• Ruthenians in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
• History of Carpathian Ruthenia