The "Ruska Bursa Annual" is a scholarly Lemko studies journal, mainly in the Lemko language. It has been published since 2005 by the Ruska Bursa Association in Gorlice, Poland. In the four main sections: Documents; Discussion; Inspiration; Reviews and Reports, there is a mix of history, literary studies, linguistics, cultural studies, political science, and other articles, about the Lemko homeland in general and the broader Carpathian Rus’.  The writing is of an international character, from the page publishing authors, known as Lemko and Carpatho-Rusyn studies specialists from Europe and North America, its readership, and above all, its Editorial Board.
Analysis and Classification of the Rusyn Language Using the OpenAI Whisper ASR Model
ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE RUSYN LANGUAGE USING THE OPENAI WHISPER ASR MODEL The paper presents a linguistic analysis of the Rusyn language, focusing on its complex and dynamic aspects, such as pronunciation and individual, regional, and historical variations. The study employed a neural network based on the OpenAI Whisper automatic speech recognition (ASR) model. While trained on data from a majority of official state languages, the model lacked direct training on Rusyn language samples due to its localized and minority/ethnic nature. Consequently, speech samples were classified using the closest available language labels, enabling the identification of similarities between Rusyn and other Slavic languages. The study encompassed a diverse range of speakers across gender, age, and location (Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Serbia), revealing significant similarities to the dominant languages in these respective countries. Furthermore, the research highlights correlations between the identified linguistic similarities and the age of the speakers.
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New Trends in the Development of Contemporary Linguistics in Serbia
NEW TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTEMPORARY LINGUISTICS IN SERBIA Depending on the theory of the origin of the Rusyns/Rusnaks in Bačka and their language, the Bačka-Srem Rusyn language was treated as a dialect of the Russian language, a dialect of the Slovak language, a dialect of the Ukrainian language and as a Rusyn language. In the first part of the paper, the author gives an overview of the Rusyn language research so far, and in the second part, contemporary research is presented, which has been enabled by the acquisition of the ISO-code (RSK). As a result of obtaining this code, conditions were created for the Rusyn language to be assigned a numerical code, according to which librarians in the country and abroad would classify books in the Rusyn language of the Bačka-Srem Rusyns. Havrijil Koljesar devoted himself to providing the necessary number of entries for Wikipedia in the Rusyn language, and Mihajlo Fejsa to providing the necessary lexicographic literature for translation on the English-Rusyn and Rusyn-English relations. Based on his doctoral thesis, in which Fejsa compared the verb structures of the English and Rusyn languages (Фејса 2005), he published the results of the comparison of the sentence constructions of the English and Rusyn languages (Fejsa 2015в), and satisfied the first condition for the realization of machine translation on the relations between English and Rusyn. By publishing the English-Rusyn Dictionary (Фейса, Шлемендер, Чельовски 2022) the second of the three necessary conditions is satisfied. The third condition is the publication of the Rusyn-English Dictionary.
The Main Transformations in the Field of Lemko Studies Discourse Over the Last 25 Years
THE MAIN TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE FIELD OF LEMKO STUDIES DISCOURSE OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS The article provides a broad overview of the processes occurring in Lemko studies in the 21st century, focusing on the most significant changes compared to the state of the field at the end of the 20th century. It is presented as a critical reflection based on formulated opinions grounded in observed publishing and project-related facts. These observations highlight four main tendencies: 1. The emergence of “mass production” of less original texts with weak research methodology, often “copying” a fixed repertoire of information about the Lemkos, and in some cases bordering on outright plagiarism. 2. The blurring of the line between academic and popular or popular-scientific texts. This phenomenon is influenced by both a decline in the quality of academic works and the publishing ambitions of certain social organizations or local publishers, which are unable to meet the standards of original research-based publications. 3. The continuation of ideologically driven publications, although in a somewhat altered form. The publication of politically charged works with ideological theses persists, but a potentially new phenomenon includes a visible rhetoric of “a defense of a threatened fortress,” as communicated in these publications. Institutions in Ukraine are the primary publishers of such works about the Lemkos, but similar publications are also produced in Poland and Slovakia. However, in these cases, ideological messages are often conveyed in a more covert manner. 4. The development of internal Lemko studies grounded in the adoption of a Lemko-centric perspective; this work has resulted in numerous publications in the Lemko language. Spaces for developing and presenting this type of research include the Richnyk Ruskoi Bursŷ and the Center for Engaged Research on Cultural Continuity at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw. This perspective is also evident in the research and publications of individual scholars. The conclusion explains the author’s research positionality and its role in developing the critical reflection with regard to the phenomena observed and in shaping her opinions.
History and Historiography in Relation to Lemko Studies in Poland over the Last Three Decades
HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY IN RELATION TO LEMKO STUDIES IN POLAND OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES The article discusses the progress of research on the history of Lemkos and the Lemko Region (Lemkovyna) in Poland over the past three decades, that is, since the previous overview presented by the author during the conference “The Lemkos and Lemko Studies in Poland” (Kraków 1995), whose text was published in a volume of the same title (Zięba 1997a). The review encompasses contributions created or published in Poland, including works by foreign authors. In addition to the work of historians, the article also addresses the analytical contributions to understanding and remembering the past of this region made by researchers from other disciplines, such as cultural anthropologists, literary scholars, sociologists, and political scientists. The author reflects on the prospects for institutionalizing and stabilizing Lemko historiography (the Lemko historical school) as an independent trend in the debate on the history of Lemko Region, currently conducted primarily either from the perspective of Polish and Ukrainian national historiographies or within Carpatho-Rusyn studies.
Literature Review on the State of Research on Church Architecture in the Lemko Region from 1989 to 2024
LITERATURE REVIEW ON THE STATE OF RESEARCH ON CHURCH ARCHITECTURE IN THE LEMKO REGION FROM 1989 TO 2024 This paper focuses on discussing the body of research on church architecture in the Lemko Region (Lemkovyna). The earliest publications in this field appeared during the interwar period, as exemplified by the works of Franciszek Strzałka and Mykhailo Dragan. After World War II and the displacement of the Lemko population, the subject became more difficult to explore. Nevertheless, research was continued by scholars such as Ryszard Brykowski, Jerzy Tur, Barbara Tondos, Marian Kornecki, and Zofia Szanter. A particular revival of interest in church architecture occurred in the 1980s, reflected by the publication of a groundbreaking monograph by Ryszard Brykowski. After 1989, a new generation of researchers, including Piotr Krasny, Jarosław Giemza and Eugeniusz Zawałeń, joined the field, and numerous conferences and academic sessions led to additional publications. The works cited here represent only a fraction of the extensive body of literature devoted to the sacred architectural heritage of the Lemko region. Despite growing scholarly attention, many aspects remain unexplained. Currently, multi-layered research projects utilize the latest, often digital, analytical methods, which open up new avenues of inquiry. At the same time, the contribution of earlier generations of scholars – who had more limited resources at their disposal – continues to serve as a foundation for ongoing studies into the history and architectural form of Lemko churches.
The Golden Age of Lemko Literature: Helena Duć-Fajfer’s Treading Paths (in Lemko)
Рецензиi i справозданя • Reviews and reports
Reflections on the 30th Anniversary of the Codification of the Rusyn Language in Slovakia
REFLECTIONS ON THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CODIFICATION OF THE RUSYN LANGUAGE IN SLOVAKIA It has been 30 years since the moment when the Rusyns in Slovakia, in the capital of their country – Bratislava, performed a historic act by solemnly proclaiming the codification of the Rusyn language in Slovakia. They were the in the Carpathian region to achieve the main goal of the First Congress of the Rusyn Language, which took place in 1992. This article attempts to assess the progress made by Rusyns in Slovakia, as well as by Rusyns in general, in achieving their goals, with reference to the demands of the aforementioned linguistic congress, the status of the Rusyn language and its presence in Slovakia, and studies concerning its codification.
The Golden Age of Lemko Literature: Helena Duć-Fajfer’s Treading Paths
The Carpatho-Ruthenica Collection of Paul Robert Magocsi
Archive, Land, Nation, Text: The Lives of the Carpatho-Ruthenica Library
Archive, Land, Nation, Text: The Lives of the Carpatho-Ruthenica Library (in Lemko)
Imagogy: On the Application of Ethnicity to Making Sense of the World
IMAGOLOGY: ON USING ETHNICITY TO MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD This article outlines the theory and method of imagology, the discursive study of ethnotypes (stereotypical attributions of national character). Imagology has a respectable history and academic presence, but adjustments are needed in the light of recent developments. These include: (a) the replacement of the national-modular categorization of literary traditions by a polysystemic approach; (b) the decline of print fiction as a the premier narrative medium, and the rise of film, TV, and other media; (c) the realization that ethnotypes are often encountered in occluded form (deployed ironically or as “meta-images”; or in a “banal” or latent background presence, as dormant frames); (d) new, “intersectional” notions of identity formation; (e) the demise of Eurocentrism and the rise of postnationalism. While these emerging challenges call for an adjustment of imagological analysis, the present climate of identity politics also demonstrates an ongoing, indeed urgent need to address what remains the core business of imagology: deconstructing the discourse of national and ethnic essentialism.
Critical (Self)Reflections on Conducting Quantitative Research in the Lemko Community
OUR PEOPLE PO 40 LATACH. SEKCJA SPECJALNA Kiedy 40 lat temu została opublikowana książka Paula Roberta Magocsi’ego Our People: Carpatho-Rusyns and Their Descendants in North America (Nasi ludzie: Karpatorusini i ich potomkowie w Ameryce Północnej), była to pierwsza obszerna historia wspólnot imigrantów karpackorusińskich w Stanach Zjednoczonych i Kanadzie. Była zarówno tekstem naukowym, jak i popularnym, stając się „biblią” dla wielu karpackorusińskich Amerykanów i Kanadyjczyków, pomagając im zrozumieć, kim są, skąd pochodzą i dlaczego ich przodkowie opuścili Europę, aby zamieszkać w Nowym Świecie. Jednocześnie publikacja ta stała się punktem wyjścia dla naukowców zajmujących się tematem Rusinów Karpackich w Ameryce, którzy potraktowali jej narrację dotyczącą kształtu i przemian migracji karpackorusińskiej niemal jak dogmat. W 2023 r. opublikowano 5. poprawione wydanie książki Our People z odświeżonym tekstem i rozszerzoną narracją, co stało się okazją do przeprowadzenia panelu dyskusyjnego na dorocznym kongresie Asocjacji Studiów Słowiańskich, Wschodnioeuropejskich i Eurazjatyckich (ASEEES) w Filadelfii w Pensylwanii. Pięcioro naukowców – Patricia A. Krafcik (Evergreen State College), Richard Custer (Carpatho-Rusyns of Pennsylvania), Robert Zecker (Saint Francis Xavier University), Bogdan Horbal (New York Public Library) oraz Nicholas Kyle Kupensky (United States Air Force Academy) – podjęło dyskusję nad historią Magocsi’ego, przyjmując podejście pro et contra. Analizowali jego omówienia kultury, gospodarki, rasy, religii i społeczeństwa oraz krytycznie zestawili jego tekst z aktualnymi badaniami w dziedzinie studiów kulturowych, studiów nad diasporą, studiów migracyjnych, studiów transnarodowych i badań nad klasą pracującą. Na wzór podobnych, specjalnych sekcji poświęconych pracy Magocsi’ego, opublikowanych w „Nationalities Papers” (2011, 2019), niniejsza publikacja z sympozjum zatytułowana Our People at 40 (Nasi ludzie po 40 latach) zbiera i rozszerza odpowiedzi panelistów na 5. poprawione wydanie tej historii. Nawiązując do tematyki tego numeru „Rocznika Ruskiej Bursy”, autorzy omawiają znaczenie tego kanonicznego studium migracji Rusinów Karpackich i oceniają stan współczesnych badań nad Karpatorusinami w Ameryce.
Introduction to Paul Robert Magocsi Carpatho-Ruthenica Collection. An Exhibition Catalog
The Ruska Bursa Building in Gorlice – History and Architecture in the Light of Selected Archival Sources
What is Lemko/Rusyn Art and Does it Matter?
The article reviews and reflects on the concept of Lemko/Rusyn art, aiming to obtain a general overview of the process of integrating ethnic perceptions about one’s art/culture into the field of modernity. Said reflection is based on the author’s experience in filling the cultural heritage of the community with texts interpreted in the code of indigenous values, which are given ethnic meanings and goals and are presented as a living process of identity building based on the continuity of community memory. On the basis of answers to questions from a survey sent to opinion-makers and interviews in which questions were asked about the meaning and content of the concept of Lemko/Rusyn art, as well as about the limits of this concept, the paper develops a reflection on the dilemmas, challenges, functions, exclusions and appropriations within the identity art of smaller communities that do not have institutional security for their cultural achievements. Furthermore, the article showcases a folklore mechanism operating based on the aesthetics of identity, which replaces institutions in delineating the boundaries of self versus other, by adapting external elements to one’s own, cohesive system of values, or in going beyond community boundaries on one’s own terms, without losing the connection with the native ground. The conclusion from these considerations is the statement that the mechanism of Lemko/Rusyn culture is still alive, which allows the community to face the challenges of the present day thanks to the modernity of values and cultural goods that empower and represent it.
From Research on Folk Stone Sculptures of the Virgin and Child in Central Lemkovyna and Their Presumed Creator
Research on folk stone carving in the Lemkovyna began only in the 1960s. Several researchers working on this topic, mainly ethnographers, have gathered basic knowledge about Lemko folk stonemasonry, the 19th and 20th century staff of the stonemasonry center in Bartne, Przegonina, Bodaki, and Folusz, the raw material resources for the individual workshops, as well as the basic artistic features of crosses, chapels, roadside figures, and tombstones made in the Lemkovyna. A detailed inventory of these forms along the roads within the Lemkovyna and in cemeteries resulted in interesting conclusions regarding the evolution of these sculptural works, in particular stone crosses. Until now, preserved examples of Lemkos’ stone figural sculpture were unknown. Therefore, the article attempts to stylistically analyze a compact set of sculptures of the Virgin Mary and Child, whose artistic features allow us to assume that these figures, dating from 1869–1894, were created by one Lemko artist. In the course of detailed research, while drawing significant connections between one of these figures and the stone roadside cross from Czarne (1869), it also became possible to reveal the name of this, hitherto anonymous, sculptor.
Genius loci we współczesnej sztuce łemkowskiej/rusińskiej
GENIUS LOCI IN CONTEMPORARY LEMKO/RUSYN ART In the second half of the 20th century, there was a significant change in the way art was practiced and defined. After the public presentation of Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box in 1964, the symbolic end of modernism was accepted, which meant that exploring the aesthetic language ceased to be the main goal of art. From that moment, the artists abandoned the postulate of their own separation from real life and took up non-aesthetic discourse. Areas of interest have become history, trauma, politics and memory, among others. In contemporary Lemko/Rusyn art, attempts to define genius loci have significantly become a source of inspiration in creation. Places “endowed with spirit”, “experienced”, “marked” began to act as orientation points. They have become an indicator of the culture of the region. The existence of a phenomenon called the spirit of a place obliges us to preserve it; saving both what contributes to this individual, unique quality, and the entire context. Important in this state of affairs is the concept of “relational art” created by Nicolas Bourriaud, which refers to the perception of this space in relation to the context, and Erwin Panofsky’s iconological interpretation. The article discusses the genius loci motif in contemporary Lemko/Rusyn art. The author presented the contexts of contemporary art understood as a place of meeting and relationship. It discusses the work of e.g., Julian Kolesar, Władysław Rewak, Dawid Zdobylak, Lucia Nimcova.
Memory of Place: In Search of Contemporary Lemko/Rusyn Commemorative Architecture
The article aims to define the concept of place and its relation to memory. It provides a definition of commemorative architecture and proposes a typology of four types of activities that aim to commemorate the displaced villages of Lemko/Rusyn origin. The case study presents a brief history of Biała Woda in Ruś Szlachtowska, along with the results of the work entitled “Biała Woda. The Pain of Oblivion”, conducted as part of a Master’s thesis at the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology. The typology of incomplete traces and the degree of their disappearance are provided, as well as the results of the field research, which led to a pictorial reconstruction of the pre-resettlement layout of the village. Finally, the elements included in the concept of the Cultural and Historical Path – six educational pavilions and the Doorframes of Remembrance installation – are discussed.
Before Warhol: Anthony Kubek and the Problem of Carpatho-Rusyn American Art
PRZED WARHOLEM. ANTONI KUBEK I ZAGADNIENIE AMERYKAŃSKIEJ SZTUKI KARPACKORUSIŃSKIEJ Chociaż Andy Warhol jest najbardziej znanym amerykańskim artystą o karpackorusińskim pochodzeniu, to nie był on pierwszy. Niniejszy artykuł dowodzi, że pierwszym wybitnym amerykańskim karpackorusińskim artystą był nieznany dotąd malarz – ksiądz Antoni Kubek (1885–1971), najstarszy syn pisarza Emila Kubeka. Szkolony przez mistrzów szkoły monachijskiej i węgierskiego impresjonizmu, a także w technice plenerowej kolonii artystycznej Nagybánya, Kubek ugruntował swoją estetykę w głównych ośrodkach środkowoeuropejskiego modernizmu i zyskał sławę dzięki obrazom olejnym przedstawiającym miejskie i naturalne pejzaże oraz świeckie i sakralne martwe natury. Po wyemigrowaniu do Ameryki stał się znany dzięki swojemu malarstwu ściennemu o tematyce religijnej, często wykonywanemu anonimowo, które zdobi dziesiątki cerkwi greckokatolickich w Nowym Jorku, New Jersey i Pensylwanii. Wielu karpackorusińskich Amerykanów posiada kopię jego grafiki Ojcze nasz (1911), która przedstawia Modlitwę Pańską. Swoje dziedzictwo w nowym świecie ugruntował także poprzez zilustrowanie wierszy, opowiadań swojego ojca oraz pierwszej powieści napisanej w języku rusińskim Marko Šoltys (1923). Po przejściu na emeryturę w Kalifornii, Kubek kontynuował rozwijanie swoich artystycznych zainteresowań, pomagając szerzyć „ruską wiarę” na wybrzeżu Pacyfiku oraz rozwijając swoje talenty w zakresie ikonografii i portretu. Po śmierci Kubeka jego dorobek artystyczny w dużej mierze został zapomniany, jednak w świetle odkrycia blisko 100 obrazów w czterech prywatnych kolekcjach obecnie możliwe jest napisanie zarówno interpretacyjnej historii jego twórczości, jak i biografii artystycznej pierwszego amerykańskiego karpackorusińskiego artysty.
Artistic Talent in the Dubay Family over Four Generations
This paper is devoted to the Dubay family, founded by Dezider, a Greek Catholic priest from Orjabyna in the district of Stará Ľubovňa, and Anna, née Kalynjakova, from Vyšnij Mirošiv in the district of Svidník in Slovakia. Dezider and Anna got married in 1909 and had seven children. In 1920, Dezider went to the USA, to Pennsylvania, where he served as a Greek Catholic priest for the Rusyns living there. The money he sent to his family Anna invested in the education of their seven children: Myhal, Dezider, Marta, Pavel, Ladislav, Anna and Orest. In the interwar period, all Dubay children graduated from Mukachevo or Prešov eight-year junior high school, and then four of them graduated from Charles University in Prague, two from Comenius University in Bratislava, and Orest graduated from the Slovak Technical University. With their higher education, the six children of Dezider and Anna Dubay became important social representatives of post-war Slovakia. The article describes the artistic talent in the families of three of Anna and Dezider’s seven children. The material on which the paper is based was obtained from interviews with their grandchildren, who currently live in Prague, Bratislava, Košice and Prešov. The research, which was conducted for over two years among the third generation of the Dubay family, revealed a lot of previously unpublished information about the lives of its members.
Myhal Čabala – Through the Eyes of His Contemporaries
The paper attempts to analyze the work of Myhal Čabala, a Rusyn painter from Čabyny, who lived in Prešov throughout his professional life and whose rich and significant art expressed admiration and love for the Rusyn nation, its nature and the region. He was inspired not only by the region itself. What is important in Čabala’s painting is a sensitive perception of the traditional Rusyn folk culture and its creative power of expression, as well as inspiration with landscape and figurative motifs. Myhal Čabala’s art can be described as the apotheosis of the Rusyn region and people. Already during the artist’s lifetime, his work had a significant impact not only on the identity of the Rusyns living in Slovakia but also on the entire Slovakia, to which he was willing to devote his entire life and artistic career. What distinguishes Myhal Čabala is his great contribution to Slovak art and to the art of European painting as such.