Transcarpathia
Location / Size / Population
- The region of Transcarpathia (in Hungarian = Kárpátalja; in Ukrainian
= Zakarpatt'ya) is located in southwestern Ukraine, between the Carpathian
Mountains and the Hungarian border, that is, in the middle of Europe
(see map). Occasionally this region is also identified as Subcarpathia
or Carpatho-Ukraine.
- The regional capital is Ungvár/Uzhgorod, near the Slovak border.
- The largest river is the Tisza (Theiss), which has its source in
the Carpathians and flows into Hungary
- The land area of Transcarpathia is 12,900 km², or about 5.040 square
miles--slightly smaller than Connecticut or Northern Ireland.
- There are about 1.3 million inhabitants, according to the latest
Ukrainian census in December 2001
- The ethnic makeup is 20% Hungarian (ca. 220,000), 65% Ruthenian,
15% Russian and Ukrainian
- Thus the most common languages are Hungarian, Russian and Ukrainian.
There is an increasing knowledge of German and English as learned in
schools.
- There is practically nothing remaining of the formerly significant
proportion of Jewish inhabitants.
History
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| Village in the Carpathians |
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| Suspension bridge over a tributary of the
Tisza (Theiss) |
The Region of Transcarpathia belonged to Hungary until the end of World
War I and was awarded to Czechoslovakia when it was formed in 1918 as a result
of the peace treaties at the time. During World War II it belonged briefly
to Hungary again. As a result of secret negotiations between Stalin and
Benes, then president of Czechoslovakia, the region was annexed by the Soviet
Union.
It was militarily very important for the Soviet Union as an outpost beyond
the Carpathians to "keep watch" over its brother socialist states.
Beginning in 1947 gradually all male Hungarians between 18 and 50 were deported
to Soviet camps (altogether about 40,000 men), a large number of whom never
returned home.
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the region of Transcarpathia has
belonged to Ukraine.
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| Aklihegy on the Romanian border |
Economic & Social Conditions
The people fared relatively well during the Soviet period due to the strong
ruble and they enjoyed a moderate level of prosperity. After Ukraine's independence,
most people lost their savings overnight due to the devaluation of the currency
and became very poor. They often have barely enough to buy bread.
Long-lasting impoverishment and increasing disparity of income are the source
of pessimism and hopelessness. 75% of the population in Ukraine is " very
poor", and only 1.5% is "very rich". The daily struggle to survive has become
a hard reality for a great many.
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| Decrepit industrial area |
Chaos predominates in the economic sphere; there is a lack of any necessary
foundation for a functioning market economy. Many factories are ruined,
as is the market for goods in Russia. The economic situation in Ukraine
today is more catastrophic than at the time of the political change. Scarcely
10% of the population can afford basic medical care.
In the region of Transcarpathia about 80-90% of the people are unemployed. There is basically no social safety net.
Workers' wages are less than in neighboring countries (including Russia). Depending on occupation, wages are on average about 75 to 100 dollars a month. An average month's rent is about 65 dollars.
Many people see themselves forced to generate illegal sources of income.
A Ukrainian family spends about 66% of its monthly income for food.
Thus the region of Transcarpathia is surely among the poorest regions of central Europe!Click here for a visual journey through Transcarpathia
Additional Informations
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