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<ref name="Vilkas">Leonardas Vilkas, [http://www.darski.info/?darski=kraje&go=estonia_elali LITEWSKA, ŁOTEWSKA I ESTOŃSKA DROGA DO NIEPODLEGŁOŚCI I DEMOKRACJI: PRÓBA PORÓWNANIA] (Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Way to Independence: An Attempt to Compare], on homepage of Jerzy Targalski, professor of [[University of Warsaw]]</ref>
<ref name="Vilkas">Leonardas Vilkas, [http://www.darski.info/?darski=kraje&go=estonia_elali LITEWSKA, ŁOTEWSKA I ESTOŃSKA DROGA DO NIEPODLEGŁOŚCI I DEMOKRACJI: PRÓBA PORÓWNANIA] (Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Way to Independence: An Attempt to Compare], on homepage of Jerzy Targalski, professor of [[University of Warsaw]]</ref>


The [[United States Department of State]] noted, in a report issued in 2001, that the Polish minority had issued complaints with regard to its status in Lithuania, and that members of the [[Sejm|Polish Parliament]] criticized the government of Lithuania over alleged discrimination against the Polish minority. <ref>[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/eur/691.htm Lithuania -Country Reports on Human Rights Practices]. [[US Department of State]], February 23, 2001. Accessed September 14, 2007.</ref> In recent years, the Lithuanian government budgets 40,000 [[Lithuanian litas|litas]] (~15,000$) for the needs of the Polish minority (out of the 7 million litas budget of the Department of National Minorities).<ref>{{pl icon}} Tadeusz Andrzejewski, [http://www.tygodnik.lt/200612/aktualia3.html IX posiedzenie podzespołu ds. edukacji mniejszości narodowych w sprawach litewskiej oświaty na Sejneńszczyźnie], Tygodnik Wileńszczyzny, 23 - 29 marca 2006 r. nr 12 </ref> In 2006 Polish Foreign Minister [[Stefan Meller]] noted that Polish educational institutions in Lithuania are severly underfunded.<ref>{{pl icon}} [http://ks.sejm.gov.pl:8009/kad5/010/50101113.htm 5 kadencja, 10 posiedzenie, 1 dzień (15.02.2006) 2 punkt porządku dziennego: Informacja Ministra Spraw Zagranicznych o zadaniach polskiej polityki zagranicznej w 2006 r.]</ref> Similar concerns were voiced in 2007 by a Polish parliamentary commission <ref>{{pl icon}} [http://www.ryszardbender.pl/senat/komisja.html Posiedzenie Komisji w dniu 11 kwietnia 2007 roku], Komisja Spraw Emigracji i Łączności z Polakami za Granicą.</ref>
The [[United States Department of State]] noted, in a report issued in 2001, that the Polish minority had issued complaints with regard to its status in Lithuania, and that members of the [[Sejm|Polish Parliament]] criticized the government of Lithuania over alleged discrimination against the Polish minority. <ref>[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/eur/691.htm Lithuania -Country Reports on Human Rights Practices]. [[US Department of State]], February 23, 2001. Accessed September 14, 2007.</ref> In recent years, the Lithuanian government budgets 40,000 [[Lithuanian litas|litas]] (~15,000$) for the needs of the Polish minority (out of the 7 million litas budget of the Department of National Minorities).<ref>{{pl icon}} Tadeusz Andrzejewski, [http://www.tygodnik.lt/200612/aktualia3.html IX posiedzenie podzespołu ds. edukacji mniejszości narodowych w sprawach litewskiej oświaty na Sejneńszczyźnie], Tygodnik Wileńszczyzny, 23 - 29 marca 2006 r. nr 12 </ref> In 2006 Polish Foreign Minister [[Stefan Meller]] noted that Polish educational institutions in Lithuania are severly underfunded.{{dubious}}<ref>{{pl icon}} [http://ks.sejm.gov.pl:8009/kad5/010/50101113.htm 5 kadencja, 10 posiedzenie, 1 dzień (15.02.2006) 2 punkt porządku dziennego: Informacja Ministra Spraw Zagranicznych o zadaniach polskiej polityki zagranicznej w 2006 r.]</ref> Similar concerns were voiced in 2007 by a Polish parliamentary commission {{dubious}}<ref>{{pl icon}} [http://www.ryszardbender.pl/senat/komisja.html Posiedzenie Komisji w dniu 11 kwietnia 2007 roku], Komisja Spraw Emigracji i Łączności z Polakami za Granicą.</ref>


A report by the [[Council of Europe]], issued in 2007, stated that on the whole, minorities were integrated quite well into the everyday life of Lithuania. The report expressed a concern with [[Lithuanian nationality law]], which contains a [[right of return]] clause, and recommended additional financial support for translations of textbooks.<ref>[[https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1134263&BackColorInternet=DBDCF2&BackColorIntranet=FDC864&BackColorLogged=FFC679#P192_38971
A report by the [[Council of Europe]], issued in 2007, stated that on the whole, minorities were integrated quite well into the everyday life of Lithuania. The report expressed a concern with [[Lithuanian nationality law]], which contains a [[right of return]] clause, and recommended additional financial support for translations of textbooks.<ref>[[https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1134263&BackColorInternet=DBDCF2&BackColorIntranet=FDC864&BackColorLogged=FFC679#P192_38971

Revision as of 10:20, 2 October 2007

Poles constitute 31,223 or about ~80% of the population in Šalčininkai district municipality.

The Polish minority in Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lenkai; Polish: Polacy) numbers 234,989 persons and, at 6.74% of the population of Lithuania, forms the largest ethnic minority in modern Lithuania. Poles are concentrated in the Vilnius region, and form the majority of population in Vilnius district municipality and Šalčininkai district municipality. People of Polish ethnicity have lived on the territory of modern Lithuania for many centuries.

Statistics

The Polish minority in Lithuania numbers 234,989 persons.[1] The Polish minority (or Polonia), forming 6.74% of the population of Lithuania, is the largest ethnic minority in modern Lithuania; the second largest being Russian minority in Lithuania.[1] 187,918 people in Lithuania consider the Polish language to be their mother tongue.[2]

Poles are concentrated in the Vilnius region. The vast majority of Poles live in Vilnius county (216,012 people, forming 26% of the county's population); Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, has 101,526 Poles, who form 19.3% of the city's population.[3] Especially large Polish communities are found in Vilnius district municipality (61.3% of the population) and Šalčininkai district municipality (79.5%).[3]

History

Historically, the number of Poles on modern Lithuanian territory was different in different historical periods. Polish culture began to influence the Grand Duchy of Lithuania around the time of the Union of Lublin (16th century), and during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795) much of the Lithuanian nobility polonized and joined the Polish-Lithanian szlachta class.

Much of the Vilnius area was also controlled by the Second Polish Republic in the interwar period, particularly the area of the so called Central Lithuania, which contained significant Polish population (for example, the Wilno Voivodeship in 1931 contained 59.7% Polish speakers and only 5.2% Lithuanian speakers[4]). From 1918 to 1921 several conflicts - such as activity of Polish Military Organization, Sejny uprising, tht was met with massive outrage in Lithuania[5] and discovered attempted of Polish coup on Lithuanian government, the Polish-Lithuanian War and Żeligowski's Mutiny contributing to constant worsening of Polish-Lithuanian relations; increasingly Polish people were viewed with suspicion in Lithuania.[citation needed]

Hence in the interwar period Polish minority was persecuted by the administration of independent Lithuania.[6] The Lithuanian census of 1923 showed that Poles constitued 65,600 of Lithuania inhabitants (3.2% of total population).[7] In interwar Lithuania, people declaring Polish ethicity were officially described as polonized Lithuanians who merely needed to be re-Lithuanianized, Polish-owned land were confistacted, Polish religious services, schools, publications, and voting rights were restricted.[8]

During the WWII expulsions and shortly after the war period, the Soviet Union, during its struggle to establish the People's Republic of Poland, forcibly resettled many Poles who found themselves in the Lithuanian SSR and were seen as 'enemies of the state' into Siberia. After the war, in 1945-1948, the Soviet Union aloowed to leave 197,000 of Poles to Poland; in 1956-1959, another 46,600 were able to leave.[9][10] In 1950s the remaining Polish minority was a target of several attempted campaigns of Lithuanization by Communist Party of Lithuania, which tried to ban any teaching in Polish language; those attempts where however vetoed by Moscow which saw them as too nationalistic.[11] The Soviet census of 1959 showed 230,100 Poles concentrated in the Vilnius region (8.5% of the Lithuanian SSR's population).[12] The Polish minority increased in size, but more slowly than other ethnic groups in Lithuania; the last Soviet census of 1989 showed 258,000 Poles (7.0% of the Lithuanian SSR's population).[12] The Polish minority, subject in the past to massive, often voluntary [13] Russification and Sovietization, and recently to mostly voluntary processes of Lithuanization, shows many and increasing signs of assimilation with Lithuanians.[12]

Current situation

The situation of the Polish minority in Lithuania has caused occasional tensions in Polish-Lithuanian relations during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. When Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, Gorbachev sought help from the Polish minority[14]. Polish minority, still remembering the 1950s attempts to ban Polish language,[dubious – discuss][11] was much more supportive of the Soviet Union and afraid that the new Lithuanian government might want to reintroduce the Lithuanization policies;[dubious – discuss][11] according to surveys conducted in the spring of 1990, 47% of Poles in Lithuania supported the pro-Soviet Communist party (in contrast to 8% support among ethnic Lithuanians), while 35% supported Lithuanian independence.[11] The regional authorities in Vilnius and Šalčininkai region, under Polish leadership, with support from Soviet authorities, argued for the establishment of an autonomous region in South Eastern Lithuania, a request that was declined by the Lithuanian government and left lasting resentment among some residents.[15] The same regional leaders later voiced support for the Soviet coup attempt of 1991 in Moscow.[15] Government of Poland however never supported the separationist tendencies of the Polish minority in Lithuania, and the former Polish ambassador to Lithuania, Jan Widacki, has criticized some Polish organizations in Lithuania as being extreme far-right and nationalist.[16]

This situation is further aggravated by fringe Lithuanian extremist nationalist organization Vilnija. [17] [18] [19] The organization was formed in 1988, and its primary aim was the Lithuanization of ethnic Poles living in the Eastern part of Lithuania. [11] The organization's goal is also to counter perceived growing Polish influence in Lithuania, which Vilnija sees as a threat to that nation.[11] Vilnija has been seen by Polish government and media to often organize or support anti-Polish actions. [20] [21] [22]

The United States Department of State noted, in a report issued in 2001, that the Polish minority had issued complaints with regard to its status in Lithuania, and that members of the Polish Parliament criticized the government of Lithuania over alleged discrimination against the Polish minority. [23] In recent years, the Lithuanian government budgets 40,000 litas (~15,000$) for the needs of the Polish minority (out of the 7 million litas budget of the Department of National Minorities).[24] In 2006 Polish Foreign Minister Stefan Meller noted that Polish educational institutions in Lithuania are severly underfunded.[dubious – discuss][25] Similar concerns were voiced in 2007 by a Polish parliamentary commission [dubious – discuss][26]

A report by the Council of Europe, issued in 2007, stated that on the whole, minorities were integrated quite well into the everyday life of Lithuania. The report expressed a concern with Lithuanian nationality law, which contains a right of return clause, and recommended additional financial support for translations of textbooks.[27] The citizenship law was under discussion during 2007; it was deemed unconstitutional on 13 November 2006.[28] A proposed constitutional amendment would allow the Polish minority in Lithuania to apply for Polish passports.[29].

According to a report issued by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in 2004, Poles in Lithuania were the second least-educated minority group in Lithuania.[30] The Lithuanian government is obligated to ensure non-discrimination on the basis of The Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-neighbourly Co-operation between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Lithuania (Vilnius, January 13, 1992), which says: Both Parties will seek the possibilities of fully satisfying linguistic, cultural, religious and educational needs of the Polish minority in Lithuania and the Lithuanian minority in Poland, including studying in their mother tongue, educating minority members in their mother tongue on all levels of the school system, as well as to ensuring non-discrimination in political, social and economic life and also enabling persons belonging to minority to retain unrestricted contacts with the other country.[31].

Tensions have been reported between the Lithuanian Roman Catholic clergy and its Polish parishioniers in Lithuania.[2] [3] [4]

Some Poles living in the south of Lithuania speak a dialect of Polish, containing many substratical relics from Lithuanian and Belarusian language.[32]

Organizations

Lithuanian Polonia has several organizations.

Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos lenkų rinkimų akcija, Polish: Akcja Wyborcza Polaków na Litwie) is an ethnic minority-based political party formed in 1994, able to exert significant political influence in the administrative districts where Poles form a majority or significant minority. This party has held 1-2 seats in the parliament of Lithuania for the past decade; in the last general elections it got about 4% of votes. The party is more active in local politics and controls several municipal councils.[33]

The Association of Poles in Lithuania (Polish: Związek Polaków na Litwie) is an organization formed in 1989 to bring together Polish activists in Lithuania. It numbers between 6,000 to 11,000 members. It defends the civil rights of the Polish minority and engages in educational, cultural and economic activities.[33]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ a b Population by ethnicity. Data from Statistikos Departamentas, 2001 Population and Housing Census.
  2. ^ Population by ethnicity and mother tongue. Data from Statistikos Departamentas, 2001 Population and Housing Census.
  3. ^ a b Population by some ethnicities by county and municipality. Data from Statistikos Departamentas, 2001 Population and Housing Census.
  4. ^ Template:Pl icon "Drugi Powszechny Spis Ludności z dnia 9 XII 1931 r.". Statystyka Polski. D (34). 1939. See ethnic history of the region of Vilnius for details.
  5. ^ Editors: dr. Gintautas Surgailis; habil. dr. prof. Algirdas Ažubalis; habil. dr. prof. Grzegosz Blaszyk; dr. doc. Pranas Jankauskas; dr. Eriks Jekabsons; habil. dr. prof. Waldemar Rezmer; et al. (2003). Karo archyvas XVIII. Vilnius: Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija. pp. pp.188-189. ISSN 1392-6489. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Fearon, James D. (2006). "Lithuania" (pdf). Stanford University. p. 4. Retrieved 2007-06-18. The nationalizing Lithuanian state took measures to confiscate Polish owned land. It also restricted Polish religious services, schools, Polish publications, Polish voting rights. Poles were often referred to in the press in this period as the "lice of the nation". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Does not include Vilnius and Klaipėda regions. Census of 1923 is the only census carried out in Lithuania during the interwar period. Template:Lt icon Vaitiekūnas, Stasys (2006). Lietuvos gyventojai: Per du tūkstantmečius. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. p. 189. ISBN 5-420-01585-4.
  8. ^ Fearon, James D. (2006). "Lithuania" (pdf). Stanford University. p. 4. Retrieved 2007-06-18. Lithuanian nationalists resented demands by Poles for greater cultural autonomy (similar to that granted to the Jewish minority), holding that most of Lithuania's Poles were really deracinated Lithuanians who merely needed to be re-Lithuanianized. Resentments were exacerbated when Lithuanian Poles expressed a desire to "re-unite" the country with Poland. As a result, the nationalizing Lithuanian state took measures to confiscate Polish owned land. It also restricted Polish religious services, schools, Polish publications, Polish voting rights. Poles were often referred to in the press in this period as the "lice of the nation" {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Eberhardt, Piotr. "Liczebność i rozmieszczenie ludności polskiej na Litwie] (Numbers and distribution of Polish population in Lithuania)" (in Polish). Retrieved 2007-06-18. Było to już po masowej "repatriacji" Polaków z Wileńszczyzny, która w latach 1945-1948 objęła 197 tys. Polaków (w tym z Wilna - 107,6 tys.) oraz kolejnej z lat 1956-1959, która umożliwiła wyjazd do Polski 46,6 tys. osób narodowości polskiej.
  10. ^ Stravinskienė, Vitalija (2004). "Poles In Lithuania From The Second Half Of 1944 Until 1946: Choosing Between Staying Or Emigrating To Poland (English Summary)". Lietuvos istorijos metraštis. 2. Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e f Template:En icon Dovile Budryte (2005). Taming Nationalism?: Political Community Building in the Post-Soviet Baltic States. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 147–148. ISBN 0754637573.
  12. ^ a b c Eberhardt, Piotr. "Liczebność i rozmieszczenie ludności polskiej na Litwie] (Numbers and distribution of Polish population in Lithuania)" (in Polish). Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  13. ^ Fearon, James D. (2006). "Lithuania" (pdf). Stanford University. p. 4. Retrieved 2007-06-18. For example, in Vilnius where in the Soviet years education in Polish was offered by some 13–14 schools, only 25 percent of the children born to monoethnic Polish families attended Polish schools. Fifty percent of them chose Russian schools, and only 10 per cent Lithuanian schools. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Lithuania. Stanford University, 2006
  15. ^ a b Template:En icon Robert G. Moser (2005 pages = p.130). Ethnic Politics After Communism. Aldershot: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801472768. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Missing pipe in: |year= (help)
  16. ^ Template:Lt-icon BNS. "Buvęs ambasadorius kritikuoja Lietuvos lenkų lyderius (Ex-ambassador criticizes leaders of Polish community)". Delfi.lt. Retrieved 2007-01-20.
  17. ^ [["Litewska prokuratura przesłuchuje weteranów AK". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Vilnija to organizacja skrajna, nacjonalistyczna, której głównym celem jest likwidacja skutków wielowiekowej dominacji Polski nad Litwą i tzw. okupacji Wileńszczyzny w międzywojniu. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Text "http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/swiat/1,34175,151474.html" ignored (help)
  18. ^ Template:Pl icon Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2004). "Dr Garsva - prezes nacjonalistycznego stowarzyszenia Vilnija (...)". Media zagraniczne o Polsce (Foreign Media on Poland). XIII (2409 (3162)). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  19. ^ Template:Pl icon "Uknuli prowokację". Tygodnik Wileńszczyzny. 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-15. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  20. ^ Template:Pl icon Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006). ""Antypolski tekst K. Garsvy" (Anti-polish text by K. Garsva)". Commentary on K.Garsva article "Kiedy na Wileńszczyźnie będzie wprowadzone zarządzanie bezpośrednie? (When Vilnius region will have direct self-government?)" in [[Lietuvos Aidas]], 11 -12.10". Media zagraniczne o Polsce (Foreign Media on Poland). XV (200/37062). Retrieved 2006-01-20. {{cite journal}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)[dead link]
  21. ^ Template:Pl icon Paweł Cieplak. "Polsko-litewskie stosunki (Polish-Lithuanian affairs)". Lithuanian Portal. Retrieved 2007-01-13.[dead link]
  22. ^ Leonardas Vilkas, LITEWSKA, ŁOTEWSKA I ESTOŃSKA DROGA DO NIEPODLEGŁOŚCI I DEMOKRACJI: PRÓBA PORÓWNANIA (Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Way to Independence: An Attempt to Compare], on homepage of Jerzy Targalski, professor of University of Warsaw
  23. ^ Lithuania -Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. US Department of State, February 23, 2001. Accessed September 14, 2007.
  24. ^ Template:Pl icon Tadeusz Andrzejewski, IX posiedzenie podzespołu ds. edukacji mniejszości narodowych w sprawach litewskiej oświaty na Sejneńszczyźnie, Tygodnik Wileńszczyzny, 23 - 29 marca 2006 r. nr 12
  25. ^ Template:Pl icon 5 kadencja, 10 posiedzenie, 1 dzień (15.02.2006) 2 punkt porządku dziennego: Informacja Ministra Spraw Zagranicznych o zadaniach polskiej polityki zagranicznej w 2006 r.
  26. ^ Template:Pl icon Posiedzenie Komisji w dniu 11 kwietnia 2007 roku, Komisja Spraw Emigracji i Łączności z Polakami za Granicą.
  27. ^ [[https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1134263&BackColorInternet=DBDCF2&BackColorIntranet=FDC864&BackColorLogged=FFC679#P192_38971 Memorandum to the Lithuanian Government Assessment of the progress made in implementing the 2004 recommendations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.]] Council of Europe, 16 May 2007.
  28. ^ Ruling On The Compliance Of The Provisions Of Legal Acts Regulating The Citizenship Relations With The Constitution Of The Republic Of Lithuania
  29. ^ Polish press review - Government & Economy. Wirtualna Polska, 10/08/2007
  30. ^ RAXEN_CC National Focal Point Lithuania
  31. ^ [1] Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-neighbourly Co-operation between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Lithuania. Zbiór Dokumentów, 1992
  32. ^ Valerijus Čekmonas, Laima Grumadaitė Kalbų paplitimas rytų Lietuvoje (The distribution of the languages in the east of Lithuania) in Lietuvos rytai; straipsnių rinkinys (The east of Lithuania; the collection of the articles) Vilnius 1993; p. 132; ISBN 9986-09-002-4
  33. ^ a b Template:Pl icon AKCJA WYBORCZA POLAKÓW NA LITWIE. Encyklopedia Interia. Last accessed 20 January 2007. Cite error: The named reference "ZPL" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

Bibliography

  • Łossowski, Piotr (2005). "Kraje bałtyckie w latach przełomu 1934-1944" (in Polish). Scientific Editor Andrzej Koryna. Warszawa: Instytut Historii PAN; Fundacja Pogranicze. ISBN 8388909428. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Kupczak, Janusz M. (1998). "Z problematyki stosunków narodowościowych na Litwie współczesnej". Politologia. XXII. ISSN 02396661.
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