The Lemko people, an ethnographic group of the Ukrainian nation, reside in the extreme Western part of Ukraine. The ethnographic territory of the Lemkos, which stretches from the Uzh River to the Borzhva River, contains Slovakia, parts of the Transcarpathian counties, and part of the Western Carpathian Mountains currently under Poland. The forefathers of the Lemko people, the Khorvatian tribe, settled the territories of Carpathian Mountains, Transcarpathia, and a large part of the Halychyna. These lands had a common binding relationship with Kyievan Rus' and were part of its territorial make up.
Research shows, and consequently proves, that the Ukrainian ethos was formed based on the Southern Ruthenians clans (Polyany, Siveryany, Byliby, Ulychi, Tevertsi, Khorvaty) and had linguistic terms of our forefathers have survived to the present day. Some of the words we presently use are: hay (wooded land), dil (depressed land), krynytsia (water well), zhyto (wheat), vovna (wool), and horb (small hill). Of course many other words are part of our daily Ukrainian language as well. It is without doubt that during the Kyievan Rus' era the names "Rusychi" and "Rus'" were spread throughout Ukraine, and further to the Southern regions, with the adoption of Christianity. All people who came unto contact with the "Rusychi" and "Rus'" people, a process that continued until the 13th century, adopted these names.
Historic research proves that the use of the name "Ukraina" (Ukraine) comes from the common antiquated word kray (country). From this comes the very common and frequently used Lemko word "krayan". Some Russian and Polish historians, basing their reasoning on political considerations, says "Ukraina" comes from the word "okraina". From this the Russian historians claim that "okraina" is Russian, and of course on the other side, the Polish historians make a claim that "okraina" is in fact Polish.
Another fascinating bit that history exposes to us is the ancient evidence of the blue and yellow national colors. These colors were very popular in Ukrainian antiquity, especially in the Halyc'ko-Wolyn' empire and in Transcarpathia. Under the blue and yellow colors the Syanik warriors went into combat. The Polish historian, Jan Dlugosh, has verified that the Peremyshl' kingdom knights fought in the famous Grunwald battle of 1410 under the blue and yellow colors.
The overwhelming evidence that Lemkos are an integral part of the Ukrainian nation can be found in every part of our history. We can clearly see this based on our Ukrainian Lemko common roots consisting of our language, history, culture, and religious beliefs. Also, the Lemkos, as part of the Ukrainian nation, share the same tragic fate if being scattered all over the continents of the world.
Undoubtedly, the most tragic events for all Lemkos occurred in the 20th century. The victory of Bolshevism over the totalitarianism of Nazi Germany during WWII brought our Lemkivshchyna not long awaited freedom, but terror and repression. These tragic events of forced repatriation that occurred in 1944-1946, as well as the barbaric operation "Wisla" in 1947, which forcibly removed all the Lemkos from their ancestral lands to barren coastal wastelands, were the paramount and final evil suffered by the Lemko people. These events of ethnocide against the ethnographic group of the Ukrainian Nation forced the Lemko people from their native land. These actions have placed the evolutions, as well as the very existence of the Lemko people, in dire peril.
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