Hungarians in Contemporary Ukraine: Identities and Representations

Hungarians in Contemporary Ukraine: Identities and Representations. The paper deals with Hungarians in Ukraine as one of the most active ethnic minorities in Ukraine. Ethnic composition of the population of Ukraine and historical peculiarities of its formation are considered. Process of minorities’ activation in the circumstances of post-soviet transformations is described. The particular features of the ethnic minorities study in Ukraine are represented on the example of the results of the Hungarian ethnic minority study within the framework of the international research project ENRI-East “Interplay of European, national and regional identities: nations between the states along the new borders of the European Union." The features of interaction between different forms of identity in the minds of Ukrainian Hungarians are analyzed; the ethnic, regional and European identities of Ukrainian Hungarians are described; differentiating factors of Hungarian ethnic identity are distinguished; the hierarchy and the peculiarities of satisfaction of cultural needs of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine are described; the involvement of Ukrainian Hungarians into the political life in Ukraine and the cohesion of this ethnic group are studied.