Geography: Ruthenia and Galicia
Name: Rutenia i Galicja (RiG)
Location: Central Europe, south-east of Poland (please refer to Appendix 1 for the clarification of what “location” means in this context)
Area: 51,478 sq km
Land boundaries: total: 1,512 km; borders: Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia (please refer to Appendix 1 for the clarification of what “border” means in this context)
Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Terrain: rugged mountains in the southern part and lowlands in the centre and the north
Natural resources: oil, natural gas, brown coal and lignite, copper, magnesium, titanium
Population: 4,956,024 (2018 Census)
Ethnic groups: Ruthenians 57%, Poles 10.7%, Jews 10%, Ukrainians 8.5%, Slovaks 6.7%, Roma 2.3%, other and unspecified 3.1%, non-human and partly-human 1.7% (2018 census) (please refer to Appendix 2 for the meaning of “non-human and partly human”)
Religions: Ruthenian Orthodox 45.1%, Roman Catholic 14.8%, Roman Catholic (Uniate) 12.2%, Pre-Christian traditional Slavic 10.8%, Judaic, 6.1%, other or unspecified 11%, (2018 census)
Languages: Ruthenian (official), Polish, Yiddish, Ukrainian, Slovak, Roma
CIA World Factbook: Ruthenia and Galicia
“While RiG can be said to be situated between Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine, it does not actually occupy any physical space between these countries. For example, the River Uzh which until 1990 flowed seamlessly through the Slovakian-Ukrainian border now seems to vanish at the Ukrainian-RiG border (such as it is) and resumes its flow several hundred kilometres further to the west, on the RiG-Slovakian border (ditto). It bears stressing that the physical features of Ruthenia and Galicia do not in any way reflect the geographic features of its neighbours; hence the river that should be flowing through the country but in fact does not. It is a difficult concept to grasp.
“It also bears stressing at this point that this lack of geographic congruity between RiG and its neighbours has a further important consequence: unlike any other country, Ruthenia and Galicia cannot be entered by merely crossing the border along its any given point. In fact, there are only a few dozen 'gateways', or sections of the border of varying sizes that will allow a visitor to cross into RiG. Anyone trying to enter Ruthenia and Galicia at any other point of its ostensible border will merely find themselves still in the same spot, as if RiG was not there, which in a normal sense it is not. Thus, for example, if you were to take a boat ride down the River Uzh we mentioned above, you would find yourself smoothly carried from Ukraine to Slovakia, without noticing anything unusual along the way. That’s because the points at which the river seemingly disappears into and then flows out of RiG are not among the 'gateways' to the country.”
“Lonely Planet's Guide to Ruthenia and Galicia”, 2017 ed, p.6