State, Community, and Identity Borders – Challenges for Research on Russians, Ukrainians, and Ruthenians in the Republic of Croatia

Abstract

Since the 19th century, the ancestors of current Croatian citizens and nationals who belong to three minorities in the Republic of Croatia, stating their nationality as Russian, Ukrainian, and Ruthenian in the censuses, have immigrated to the Croatian ethnic and historical area. The article examines the challenges that researchers face when separating data on immigration, ethnonyms, statistical data related to ethnicity/nationality, mother tongue, religion, and associations of minorities whose members nurture, preserve, and promote their identities. The article points to the transformation (and hybridity) of identity, the importance of careful and critical readings of sources and previous research. The authors emphasise the complexity of researching the identities of Russians, Ukrainians and Ruthenians living in the Republic of Croatia.