(en)  Alexander Rusin I

At the end of World War I, when the international community recognized the right of nations (or ethnic groups) to self-determination, Ruthenians to the south of the Carpathians (along with other enslaved peoples of Europe), having officially received such a right, became a subject of international law. At that time, Ruthenians, exercising their right to self-determination, on a voluntary basis acceded to the newly formed Czechoslovakia with special status.

Resolution of the Central Russian People's Parliament (CRPP) of 8 May 1919 in Uzhgorod, stated: "... on behalf of all the people, we fully support the U.S.-Hungarian-Russian People's Parliaments’ decision to join the peoples of Czechoslovakia on the basis of full (broad ) national-territorial autonomy.
The resolution of CRPP from May 8, 1919 was included in the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919 in Art. 81 as follows: "Germany, in conformity with the action already taken by the Allied and Associated Powers, recognises the complete independence of the Czecho-Slovak State which will include the autonomous territory of the Ruthenians to the south of the Carpathians. Germany hereby recognises the frontiers of this State as determined by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and the other interested States." Almost identical statement was included in the Art. 53 of the Saint-Germaine peace treaty with Austria on September 10, 1919 and Art. 48 of the Trianon peace treaty with Hungary on June 4, 1920.
Art. 10-13 of the Saint-Germaine peace treaty with Czechoslovakia on September 10, 1919 fixed the terms of accession of the territory of the Ruthenians to the south of the Carpathians to Czechoslovakia. Article 2 of the Treaty of Sevres of August 10, 1920 only partially dealt with the borders of Subcarpathian Ruthenia with Romania and Hungary. Thus, the very recognition of the right to self-determination for the Ruthenians in their historic land (the territory to the south of the Carpathians) is recorded in a number of international legal instruments and cannot be disputed by anyone; it is a historical fact.
International practice knows several ways for the practical realization of granted to the people right to self-determination, - creation of an independent sovereign state (the highest form), free accession to another independent state with the mutually approved status, association with it (in various forms), or the provision of any other political status freely determined by the people. The people, people alone, and no one else have the right to decide their fate.
According to the resolution of CRPP from May 8, 1919, Ruthenians voluntarily delegated some of their sovereign rights to the central Prague government. But all this does in no way mean that they voluntarily abandoned or lost their sovereignty.
At that time such a move of authorized representatives of the Ruthenian people was well justified and pragmatic. When the Ruthenians were granted the right to self-determination, they lacked their own national intelligentsia, able to manage newly established independent state. In the prevailing at the time circumstances, Ruthenians could receive education only in Hungarian, in the Hungarian environment, and even after receiving it (education), they did not return to their own people, or if they did, they were already infected by the Hungarian-consciousness’ bacillus, - as "Magyar ones." Hence, the folk saying was born: "Huns are worse than Turks."
Because once granted to the people right to self-determination is immutable, inalienable, indefeasible and eternal (until at least one subject of these rights is alive), decision on their own historical destiny is granted exclusively to the people. During the annexation of Subcarpathian Ruthenia by "the father of all peoples", based on aforementioned, at least a formal expression of the Ruthenian people at the sharp turn of their fate was needed. Manifesto (first and last) of the Congress of "popular committees" in Mukachevo from 26.11. 1944 cannot be legitimate in expression of such will, neither in form nor in content.
The manifesto was adopted during the war, in the territory occupied by the foreign army, in the "conditions of martial law".
In November 26, 1944 Mukachevo was officially included in the "zone of combat operations," as part of the 4th Ukrainian Front (up to 01.02. 1945), i.e. it was the time when the high command of the occupying army took over the functions of sovereignty and full control of the territory. In those conditions the effects of civil rights were suspended. In such a situation we have absolutely no grounds to talk about the legitimacy of the procedure of expression of will of the people. But since at the time the "Red Army" was really "all the stronger" (from the taiga to the British seas), the question of the legitimacy of accession of the Subcarpathian Ruthenia to the USSR (with temporary administration of Ukrainian SSR), remained open for many years. "Ruthenian issue" has become tabooed.
And so, with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, when a new state-independent Ukraine was founded, the dormant "Ruthenian issue" once again rose to its full height. Sly Fox Leonid Kravchuk, who "walked between the raindrops" (the only leader of the country who took pride in his craftiness), was perfectly aware that for the formal legitimacy of accession of the territory of the Ruthenians to the south of the Carpathians to the newly established state, it was necessary to carry out the procedure of the declaration of will of the people. That is why the national referendum of December 1, 1989 in our region raised a question about the status of its accession to Ukraine (for example, in the Chernigov region, / or any other / such a question was not even discussed). Nevertheless, 78% of participating of the referendum of 1989 voted for accession to the new state, with the status of "self-governing territory." The fact that Ukraine's political leadership is trying to ignore the results of the referendum does not mean anything - their decisions came into force from the date of their publication (of the results) in the official organ that conducted the referendum (on the 4th December 1989), in accordance with the Law.
Our time produced abysmal darkness (per square kilometre) of "guardians of the people", who often try to act on behalf of the people (without any mandate of the people), behind people's back and, as a rule, with the objectives alien to them (the people). As could be seen from the above, the statement: "Ruthenians are not separatists" has no justification. All the people, 78% who voted in the referendum of 1991 for accession to Ukraine with the status of "self-governing territory", are separatists of the first water. For the definition of the term "separatism" is following, - "... the desire for separation ... desire to stand out from the common, creating for himself a special, different from the others position".
In our case - separatism is the “secession of the people with the right to self-determination (with their territory) from under the absolute jurisdiction of a larger state (to which, against their will, they belong.) And this is precisely the will of our people, expressed by them in the referendum of December 1991. Without regard to whether one likes it or not. For such is the logic of facts.