The Polans (also known as Polanes, Polanians or Polians; Polish: Polanie) were a Lechitic, West Slavic tribe inhabiting the Warta river basin in the 8th century. In the late 9th century the Polans managed to subdue most of the Slavic tribes between the Odra (Oder) and Western Bug rivers and between the Carpathians and the Baltic Sea. By the 10th century they also managed to integrate the lands of Masovia, Kuyavia and Great Poland.

Newest archeological findings reveal four major strongholds or gords (Polish gr¨®d) in the early Polans' state:

Giecz - the place from where the Piasts gained control over other groups of Polans
Pozna¨½ - the largest and probably the main stronghold in the state
Gniezno - probably the religious centre of the state, although archeological findings that should prove this have not excavated so far
Ostr¨®w Lednicki - smaller stronghold halfway between Pozna¨½ and Gniezno
The tribal union led by the Piast dynasty developed into the state of Poland, whose name derives from that of the Polans. For more information see Prehistory of Poland and History of Poland (966-1385).

The Western Polans are not to be confused with Eastern Polans, a similarly named Slavic tribe. The latter lived near modern-day Kiev and played a key role in the creation of Ruthenia.

Rusyns (Rusyn: §²§å§ã§Ú§ß§í, also referred to as Carpatho-Rusyns and Rusnaks) are an Eastern Slavic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language or dialect known as Rusyn. Rusyns descend from Ruthenians who did not adopt the Ukrainian ethnic identity in the early twentieth century. Some governments have prohibited the use of the term Rusyn, as seen after 1945 in Soviet Transcarpathia and Poland, and by the early 1950s in Czechoslovakia.

Today, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Serbia and also Croatia officially recognise Rusyns as an ethnic minority. In 2007 Rusyns were recognized as a separate ethnicity in Ukraine by the Zakarpattia Regional Council. Rusyns within Ukraine have Ukrainian citizenship, and most have adopted a Ukrainian ethnic identity. Most contemporary self-identified ethnic Rusyns live outside of Ukraine.

Of the estimated 1.2 million people of Rusyn origin, only 55,000 have officially identified themselves politically or ethnically as Rusyns, according to contemporary censuses. The ethnic classification of Rusyns, however, is controversial, as few contemporary scholars claim it as a separate East Slavic ethnicity ¨C distinct from Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. The majority of Ukrainian scholars, as well as some Rusyns when considering their self-identification, consider Rusyns to be an ethnic subgroup of the Ukrainian people. This is disputed by some Lemko scholars.

The terms Rusyn, Rusniak, Lemak, Lyshak and Lemko are considered by some scholars to be historic, local, and synonymical names for Carpathian Ukrainians. Others hold that the terms Lemko or Rusnak are simply regional variations for Rusyn