Cultivating and Сhallenging Patronizing Images of Subcarpathian Rus

Abstract

The article compares the main trends in the visual imagery relating to Hungarian/
Subcarpathian Rus which developed and dominated the territory of the Hungarian Kingdom and the First Czechoslovak Republic in the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. The research is based mainly on analysis of visual sources, primarily masscirculation postcards and private photographs from the family archives of Transcarpathians. The latter were chosen because they provide an opportunity to “hear” the so-called unrepresented majority. This cannot be provided by written texts, whose authors are usually representatives of the elite classes. The set of sources analyzed makes it possible to single out the dominant image which was created by “external” authors: scholars, journalists and photographers, and tourists, who were mainly representatives of the titular nations of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. It emphasized the pastoral and traditional nature of the local community, focusing on their conservative outlook and culture. This picturesque and colorful image was not wholly accurate. The second image comes from family photographs and shows the self-representation of the local population. It opposed the dominant pastoral image and proves that the processes of modernization and emancipation in the territory of the Carpathian Ruthenians continued consistently and irreversibly. Despite the existence of this alternative, it was the first image that was widely popular and used by the Czechoslovak authorities as a justification for the delay in granting the right of self-government to Subcarpathian Rus. During the time of Soviet power in Transcarpathia, the same image was used to criticize previous political regimes. This image still affects the way Transcarpathia is perceived in historical research, as well as the identification of its modern population.