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According to the last Ukrainian census in 2001, 152 thousand people declared Hungarian
ethnicity in Transcarpathia. Since that time, there is no reliable and up-to-date data on the
ethno-demographic development of the region’s population. It is especially hard to register the
migration flows particularly salient since the outbreak of the armed conflict in East Ukraine
in 2014. Based on four data sources (official Ukrainian and Hungarian statistics and two
representative surveys), the present study aims at revealing the volume of the permanent and
temporary migration of Hungarians in Transcarpathia and its impact on their number. We
found that the same migration flow is associated with various figures by each of the data sources
conducted with different methods and by different actors. According to the more reliable surveys,
9 to 14 thousand ethnic Hungarians emigrated from Transcarpathia since 2001; consequently,
the number of Hungarians is estimated at approximately 130 thousand people in the beginning
of 2017.

The purpose of this study was to submit the last years’ particularities of the hungarian
economical supports in ventures’ improvements of competitiveness, representing through the
transcarpathian business environment and a specific sector (credit unions). In the period when
the study was being carried out there were not such statistic data at service as the efficiency
of the supports could have been shown precisely, but in virtue of the first years’ experiences
those deviances and elements (which need minor corrections) have been clarified which can improve the plans’ fulfilment. On the other hand – which means the central point of the study –
the authors’ realization is over the non-refundable aids to grant micro or so called co-operative
credits which makes independent the economics’ process of quickening, which can give a longterm
insurance to the capitalization’s enhancement of the micro-, small- and medium-sized
enterprises (ventures). For this a good tool can be the resurrection of the credit union system and
the improvement of the infiltration to our economical system, which is widespread in Ukraine,
endemic in Transcarpathia but not peculiar in our hungarian region nowadays. The system’s
estimate of situation and the principle proposal for the future is drafted in this study.

The article, after a short historical presentation of those Slovakian (the Highland) and Ukrainian
(Transcarpathia) regions where Hungarians still play a major role in the population, focuses
on the perspectives of rural tourism development in the mentioned areas. The research was conducted
in more phases: 1) review of the relevant literature; 2) searching for the eligible hosts;
3) evaluation of the questionnaires distributed among the hosts involved in rural tourism in
Transcarpathia and in the Highland; 4) processing and evaluation of data.
The main aim of this empirical research was to compare the Highland questionnaire survey
findings with the Transcarpathian data to identify the similarities and differences in rural tourism
of these areas that have been developing at different pace and under different socioeconomic
conditions in the two countries.

The change of the linguistic landscape is a sore spot for the minority population that can be
driven out of the virtual language use. Linguistic landscape is not only indicative of the language
vitality of an area or region’s population, but can also reflect the real language ethnicity.
Extralinguistic factors are as important as the two basic functions of linguistic texts and
the models explaining the elements of the linguistic landscape. Such a factor is a small area
or region’s economic, in our case touristic development. The increased tourist demand of the
majority brings about numerous phenomena that are of significant influence on the linguistic
landscape of the minorities’ territory. This research is aimed at revealing the influence a local
economic investment makes (can make) on the formation of the territory’s linguistic landscape.
I would like to show the changes in the linguistic landscape recorded by Hodinka Antal Research Centre in its photo database of 2011–2012, February and September of 2016, as well as of 2017 on the
basis of my observations and photographs.

The study examines the linguistic landscape of the territories of Transcarpathia (Ukraine) which
are mostly inhabited by Hungarians in the context of language and economy. It will be presented
how economically prestigious world languages, English and Russian are displayed in this region.
We show that economic realities suppress the nationalism of the minority int he linguistic landscape.
We note that the language policy in support of the language maintenance of the national
minority can not be successful if it is not related to the development of the economy. If we want to
improve the economic situation of the Hungarians of Transcarpathia in a multilingual environment,
the teaching of languages is one of the areas where it is necessary to invest.

The relation between power and public space has been one of the main interest of geographical
research in the last decades (Massey 1994, Mitchell 2003). Researches have illustrated that
following a regime change, the symbolic space of the city – compiled of street names, statues
and monuments – usually gets reconfigured. Following the Euromaidan, in 2015, the laws on
decommunization were accepted in Ukraine, which disposed more comprehensibly than ever before the banishment of Communist symbols from the public space. The decommunization
besides toponymy, entangled other elements of public space resulting in major shifts the urban
landscape as well.
Main interest of present paper is to study the major shifts in symbolic landscape in the capital,
Kyiv and compare it to the processes that have taken place in the westernmost periphery of the
country, Transcarpathia. Based on the examples of Uzhhorod, Berehove raion and Berehove, our
further aim is to shed light on the role of locality and how local memory is represented in public
space.

 In spring 2017 a survey was carried out among 338 practicing Transcarpathian Hungarian teachers about their material and professional satisfaction and migration plans. The study highlighted that one of the most crucial problems of the teachers is the low salary. Among those who are contemplating migration the main push factor is material dissatisfaction, followed by family and partnership reasons. However, we cannot speak about professional burn-out in their case. 72% of the respondents, without being satisfied with their situation, still does not think about migration, or is pretty sure about staying at the homeland. 84 persons (25%) belong to an endangered group, in which people embrace the idea of migration. Only 5 persons have done concrete steps in this direction. In these two groups we find mainly youger teachers. The most important destination country is Hungary. Among the respondents there is high number of Hungarian citizenship holders, however it is not an obvious catalyst of migration: people who are willing to go or willing to stay cannot be differentiated according to this aspect.