Lemkos, one of several small ethnic sub-groups inhabiting the Carpathian Mountains who also call themselves Rusyn. Their spoken language, which is uncodified, has been variously described as a Lemko language in its own right, or a dialect of the Ukrainian language.

In the Polish Census of 2011, 11,000 people declared Lemko nationality, of whom 6,000 declared only Lemko nationality, 4,000 declared double national identity – Lemko-Polish, and 1,000 declared Lemko identity together with non-Polish identity.

A large part of their history is linked to their land – Lemkivshchyna, that they had, at last to leave during the so-called “Operation Vistula”. This action was a state ordered removal of the civilian population, in a counter-insurgency operation to remove potential support for guerrilla war being waged by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in south-eastern Poland. Lemkos were sent to populate former German villages in areas ceded to Poland (called “recovered territories”). Later on, only few of them came back to their homeland.