Mniejszość polska na Wileńszczyźnie : studium socjologiczne

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Vilniaus kraštas; Tautinės mažumos; Pasienio teritorija; Vilnius region; Ethnic minorities; Border area.

ENThe book examines the situation and changes of the Polish minority within the Lithuanian society which establishing and strengthening the state's self-determination, is consolidating the principles of free market economy and civil society. The situation of the Polish minority has been placed in a wider context of changes in ethnic relations and political transformations following the collapse of the Soviet system. Lithuania's independence saw a division into the majority and minorities, as - ideologically speaking - equal nations and nationalities were replaced by the Lithuanian majority, as the dominant group, and by minorities subordinated to it, with the Polish minority being the largest. The main research topic focuses on ethnicity and its transformations in the context of a conflict taking place in a historical borderland. That is why the author formulates the following questions: What are the situation and the social structure of the Polish minority? How do the common past and Polish-Lithuanian heritage shape the relations between the majority and the minority? How does the Vilnius region as a historical borderland influence today's neighbourhood of the two nationalities? Is there an ethnic conflict in the Vilnius region? How should we characterise the Lithuanian and the Polish nationalisms taking into account changing external determinants? What are the expectations of the Polish minority? How is the Polish minority changing in relation to a sovereign Lithuania and the European integration? In Chapter I, "Theoretical and methodological premises", the author outlines his preferred theories used in further analyses, in the presentation of study results, in explanations and interpretations. The Vilnius region is an area where ethnic conflicts take place and the same time the Vilnius region is a multicultural land whose inhabitants usually know three languages, understand religious differentness of their neighbours, understand traditions and customs.[...] Chapter II, "Polish domination and Lithuanian revival", is a direct reference to Polish-Lithuanian relations in the past, in particular to different interpretations of the Polish-Lithuanian history. Analyses show that the events and figures from the common past that are considered significant and eminent by Poles are perceived differently by Lithuanians. [...] Chapter III, "Lithuania's independence and the Polish autonomy", is an elaboration of the thought inscribed in the title. The author focuses on two processes - regaining of independence by Lithuania and creation of the basis for the Polish autonomy - and on the activities of the two national groups involved in those two processes. The Lithuanians, aiming at the restoration of independence and grouped around the Lithuanian Movement for Reconstruction, "Sajudis", represented Lithuanian national values hidden for half a century and associated with Lithuanian nationalism. [...] In Chapter IV, "Poles in the Vilnius region", the author presents the Polish minority on the basis of many sources, which makes it possible to give a fuller picture of its situation. After the mass exodus of Russians, the Poles have become the largest national minority in the Republic of Lithuania and according to the figures for 2001, they constitute 6.7% of Lithuania's population. [...] In Chapter V, "Polish minority as the source and victim of threat", the author concentrates on three issues. He presents the ethnic revival, expectations of the Polish minority and its strategies in the face of threat. Drawing on experiences of many nations, he shows that an ethnic revival among the national majority triggers an ethnic revival in minorities living in a given society. Due to the specific character of the presence of the Polish minority in the Vilnius region, Lithuanians and Poles have become the main rivals competing for dominance in the post-Soviet reality. [...] In Chapter VI."Lithuanian land expropriation", the author presents the dark sides of the Lithuanian reprivatisation. The analysis focuses on the restoration of land or, to be more precise, on actions that made it impossible for former owners among the Polish minority to regain their land. The author outlines the basic mechanism of removing Poles from their property. The Lithuanian authorities have introduced the so-called transfer of land to the Reprivatisation Act. [...] In Chapter VII, "Polish language and Polish education", the author describes the opportunities the Polish population in Lithuania has for using its mother tongue. It has to be emphasised here that a daily called "Kurier Wileński" ["The Vilnius Courier"] is published in Vilnius and it is the only Polish daily newspaper published in regions with Polish minorities in Europe. Another opportunity for contact with the Polish language is presented by Polish-language periodicals published as weeklies, bi-weeklies, monthlies and quarterlies. [...] The title of Chapter VIII is "The controversies surrounding the Home Army, greater Vilnius and greater Vilnius county as examples of national contradictions". The author shows here that Lithuanians and Poles differ not only by their attitudes to the events from a distant past, but also by their opinions on the events from recent history, if we can describe as such the events whose protagonists are still with us and which are present in the consciousness of a significant part of the society as personal experiences. [...] The last Chapter is entitled "Polish minority in fetters of the Giedroyc myth, European paradigm and internal strife". According to the author's concept, the Giedroyc myth is a set of notions about Poles and their eastern neighbours. The myth introduces the assumption about the necessity of co-operation between Poles and Lithuanians, Byelorussians and Ukrainians. [From the publication]

• Sociologija / Sociology
• Istorija / History