Ukrainians of Romania

Ukrainians in Romania

Distribution of Ukrainians in Romania (2002 census)
Total population
(51,703 (2011 census)[1] - 300,000 (estimate)[2])
Regions with significant populations
northern Romania, in areas close to the Ukrainian border
Languages
mainly Ukrainian and Romanian
Religion
Ukrainian Orthodox,
Pentecostal and Greek-Catholic

The Ukrainians (Ukrainian: Українці, Romanian: Ucraineni) are the third-largest ethnic minority in Romania. According to the 2011 Romanian census they number 51,703 people, making up 0.3% of the total population.[1] Ukrainians claim that the number is actually 250,000-300,000.[2] Ukrainians mainly live in northern Romania, in areas close to the Ukrainian border. Over 60% of all Romanian Ukrainians live in Maramureş County (31,234), where they make up 6.77% of the population. Sizable populations of Ukrainians are also found in Suceava County (5698 people), Timiş County (5953), Caraş-Severin County (2600), Satu Mare County (1397), Tulcea County (1317) and Arad County (1295). Ukrainians make up a majority in seven communes of Maramureş County (Bistra, Bocicoiu Mare, Poienile de sub Munte, Remeți, Repedea, Rona de Sus and Ruscova) and three in Suceava County (Bălcăuţi, Izvoarele Sucevei and Ulma), as well as in Ştiuca, Timiş and Copăcele, Caraş-Severin. According to the 2002 census, 79% of Ukrainians were Eastern Orthodox, organized into the Ukrainian Orthodox Vicariate Sighetu Marmației; 10% Pentecostal; 2.8% Greek-Catholic, organized into the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Vicariate Rădăuţi; 2.1% Seventh-day Adventist; 1.2% Lipovan Orthodox and 2.9% stated they belonged to "another religion".[3]

A second group of Ukrainians in Romania live in the Dobruja region of the Danube Delta. These are descendents of Zaporozhian Cossacks who fled Russian rule in the 18th century. In 1830 they numbered 1,095 families.[4] Over the years they were joined by other peasants fleeing serfdom in the Russian Empire. In 1992 their descendants numbered four thousand people according to official Romanian statistics,[5] while the local community claims to number 20,000.[4] Known as Rusnaks,[6] they continue to pursue the traditional Cossack lifestyle of hunting and fishing.

As an officially-recognised ethnic minority, Ukrainians have one seat reserved in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies. Ştefan Tcaciuc held the seat from 1990 until his 2005 death, when he was replaced by Ştefan Buciuta.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 (Romanian) "Comunicat de presă privind rezultatele provizorii ale Recensământului Populaţiei şi Locuinţelor – 2011", at the 2011 census site; accessed February 2, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "The Ukrainians: Engaging the 'Eastern Diaspora'". By Andrew Wilson. (1999). In Charles King, Neil Melvin (Eds.) Nations Abroad. Wesview Press, pp. 103-132. ISBN 0-8133-3738-0
  3. ↑ (Romanian) Populaţia după etnie şi religie, pe medii, at the 2002 Census official site; accessed January 4, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Union of Ukrainians in Romania website
  5. ↑ Calculated from statistics for the counties of Tulcea and Constanţa from "Populaţia după etnie la recensămintele din perioada 1930–2002, pe judete" (pdf) (in Romanian). Guvernul României — Agenţia Naţională pentru Romi. pp. 5–6, 13–14. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
  6. ↑ "Dobrudja". Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved December 21, 2006.

External links

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