Romanians of Chernivtsi Oblast
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Chernivtsi Oblast (Romanian: Regiunea Cernăuţi) comprises a significant Romanian community which was persecuted by Soviet authorities on ethnic grounds, especially in the first 16 years after the region was taken from Romania, following the June 1940 Soviet Ultimatum. All official declarations referring to this issue since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, both those of the representatives of the Romanian community and those of the Romanian government, have stated that there is no intent to revise the present internationally recognized border. However, the Romanian community has constantly addressed the following seven demands to the Ukrainian government: [1]
- To be officially recognized with the status of "native population" (cf. Article 11 of the Constitution of Ukraine).
- To be officially recognized as a "population that was subject to deportations on ethnic grounds", as the Crimean Tatars, Germans, Armenians, Poles, and Jews are recognized, and to have official condemnation of the consequences of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, such as the massive deportations of civilian populations, the massacres at Lunca and Fântâna-Alba, the disappearance of whole villages, such as Frunza, Albovat, etc.
- To have the historic toponyms and geographic names changed back; cf. the 24 December 1989 decision of the Congress of Deputies (Parliament) of the USSR, still legally binding in Ukraine.
- Representation in the Ukrainian Parliament.
- Re-opening of the Romanian University in Chernivtsi (Cernăuţi).
- Re-opening of the Metropolitanate of Bukovina.
- Return of the property (buildings) of Romanian cultural organizations, confiscated during the Soviet occupation.
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[edit] Geographic distribution
The bulk or 88% of the Romanian population in Northern Bukovina (Ukrainian: Chernivtsi Oblast, Romanian: Regiunea Cernǎuţi) is generally concentrated in four of the eleven districts (raions), situated closer to the border with Romania. In the Hertsaivskyi Raion (Romanian: Herţa), Romanians comprise about 95% of population. In Novoselytskyi Raion (Romanian: Nouǎ Suliţi), Moldovans represent about 60% of population. In Hlybotskyi Raion (Romanian: Adâncata), Romanians and Moldovans sum up to 50%. Storozhynetskyi Raion (Romanian: Storjineţ) has a compact Romanian population in the south, especially around the village of Crasna, comprising 37% of the total district's population. Other villages with a Romanian majority and important historical heritage are Boian, Cernăuca (the famous home of the Hurmuzachi brothers).
Other raions have smaller Romanian populations, usually never exceeding more then a few hundred people. Exceptions are the Khotynskyi Raion (Romanian: Hotin) with 5,000 Romanians (7% of the raion's population) and Sokyrianskyi Raion (Romanian: Secureni) with 1,500 Romanians (3% of the total raion population).[2]
[edit] Demographic evolution
| census | Ukrainians | Romanians and Moldovans | Russians | Jews | Germans, Poles, etc | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 (last Romanian census) | 383,028 | 227,187 | 46,946 | 88,772 | 59,709 | 805,642 |
| 47.6% | 28.2% | 5.8% | 11.0% | 7.4% | ||
| 1959 (first Soviet census) | 518,189 | 151,435 | 51,268 | 42,140 | 11,089 | 774,121 |
| 66.94% | 19.56% | 6.62% | 5.44% | 1.43% | ||
| 1989 (last Soviet census) | 666,095 | 184,836 | 63,066 | 16,469 | 10,334 | 940,801 |
| 70.8% | 19.65% | 6.7% | 1.8% | 1.1% | ||
| 2001 (first Ukrainian census) | 689,056 | 181,780 | 37,881 | 1,443 | 8,868 | 919,028 |
| 75.0% | 19.8% | 4.1% | 0.2% | 0.965% | ||
| 1930 - 1959 difference | +135,161 | -75,752 | +4,322 | -46,632 | -48,620 | -31,521 |
| +35.29% | -33.34% | +9.21% | -52.53% | -81.43% | -3.91% | |
| 1959 - 1989 difference | +147,906 | +33,401 | +11,798 | -25.671 | -755 | +166,680 |
| +28.54% | +22.06% | +23.01% | -60.92% | -6.8% | +21.53% | |
| 1930 - 1989 difference | +283,067 | -42,351 | +16,120 | -72,303 | -49,375 | +135,159 |
| +73.9% | -18.64% | +31.44% | -81.45% | -82.7% | +16.78% | |
| 1989 - 2001 difference | +22,961 | -3,056 | -25,185 | -15,026 | -1,466 | -21,773 |
| +3.45% | -1.65% | -39.9% | -91.24% | -14.2% | -2.3% | |
| 1930 - 2001 difference | +306,038 | -45,407 | -9,065 | -87,329 | -50,841 | +113,386 |
| +79.9% | -19.99% | -19.31% | -98.4% | -85.15% | +14.07% |
- Note: The data in this table are based on the official census data in Romania (1930), the Soviet Union, and Ukraine, and reflect the composition of the population according to the present boundaries: the administrative divisions in the past were different. The numbers were obtained by adding them settlement by settlement according to today's configuration of the region (see Gabriel Gherasim, Românii din Ucraina (2) and sources therein). In the 1930 census no one was reported as Moldovan. In the 1959, 1989 and 2001 censuses, there were two "ethnicities"—Romanian and Moldovan. Column 3 contains for these three censuses the sum of the number of people reported in these censuses as Romanian and those reported as Moldovan.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ (Romanian) Gabriel Gherasim, Românii din Ucraina (2) ("Romanians in Ukraine (2)"), Noi, NU!, August 7, 2005. Accessed online October 31, 2006.
- ^ (Romanian) Gabriel Gherasim, Românii din Ucraina (1) ("Romanians in Ukraine (1)") Noi, NU!, August 2005. (Page 4.) Accessed online October 31, 2006.
- ^ (Romanian) Gabriel Gherasim, Românii din Ucraina (2) ("Romanians in Ukraine (2)"), Noi, NU!, August 7, 2005. (Page 2.) Accessed online October 31, 2006.
[edit] External link
- (Romanian) Gabriel Gherasim, "Românii bucovineni sub cizma străină", Ziua, August 16, 2005
