Hutzuls

a Ukrainian ethnic group living in the mountainous regions of the Ivano-Frankovsk and Chernovtsy oblasts, as well as in Rakhov Raion, Transcarpathian Oblast, Ukrainian SSR. They speak the Hutzul dialect of the Ukrainian language. Until the reunification of the Western Ukrainian lands with the USSR (1939–45), the Hutzuls were separated. From 1867 to World War I they were under Austro-Hungarian rule, and after World War I they were under the rule of Poland, Rumania, and Czechoslovakia. The unique conditions of the Hutzuls’ historical development determined the characteristic features of their economy, culture, everyday life, and language. From time immemorial-their principal occupations were the raising of cattle in mountain pastures, forest industries, and the floating of timber along mountain rivers. Agriculture (mainly fruit and vegetable farming) was of secondary importance. Artistic crafts were well developed, including wood carving and pyrography, the fashioning of leather and copper articles, pottery-making, and weaving. During the years of socialist construction, fundamental changes have occurred in the economy, culture, and everyday life of the Hutzuls.