Vilniaus miesto gyventojai 1920-1939 metais

LTStraipsnyje analizuojama Vilniaus miesto demografinė raida 1920-1939 m., aptariama etninė Lenkijos politika, Vilniaus miesto etninių bendruomenių bruožai, gvildenamas to meto statistinių šaltinių patikimumas. Dėl Lenkijos vykdytos etninės asimiliacijos, socialinės-ekonominės politikos, Vilniaus miesto statuso ir subjektyvių veiksnių miesto gyventojų sudėtis darėsi vis labiau monoetniška: lenkų skaičius nuosekliai augo (nuo 56 iki 70 proc.), nedominuojančių gyventojų grupių - mažėjo (nuo 44 iki 30 proc.). [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Demografinė raida; Demografinė struktūra; Miesto gyventojai; Tarpukaris; Tautinė sudėtis; Vilnius; Demographic structure; Demographic transition; Ethnic structure; Interwar period; Town residents; Vilnius.

ENOn the basis of archival and historiographical material, the paper deals with the ethnic-demographic situation and its specificity in the city of Vilnius between 1920 and 1939. The author examines three aspects: 1) what the demographic situation of the city of Vilnius was at that time, what factors determined it, and whether the sources of statistical data are reliable and what they show; 2) the policies and aspirations of the Polish authorities in the context of the population of the city of Vilnius; 3) the attitude of the Polish public authority institutions to the ethnic communities of the city. During the period between 1920 and 1939, the demographic development of Vilnius is divided into three stages: 1) 1920-1925, a dramatic growth in the number of residents; 2) 1926-1932, a slowdown in the growth rate; 3) 1932-1939, the period of a stable demographic situation. Migration, which had a major impact on demographical dynamics and on the changes in ethnic composition, served as a common denominator of the first two stages. During the period under discussion, people of about twenty nationalities resided in Vilnius, though the Poles and the Jews shared the dominant position. However, Vilnius played an important role in the visions of the Polish political authorities. It had to be the centre for the dissemination of Polish culture and influence in the eastern territories of the country. Poland pursued a differentiated ethnic policy, according to which quantitatively "small" communities of Vilnius (the Karaites, the Tatars, and the Russian Old Believers) were favoured and supported, and quantitatively more numerous or politically "more significant" communities (Jews, Lithuanians) were strictly controlled and their activity was limited and restricted.Lithuanians, Belarusians, Jews and the representatives of other ethnic groups residing in Vilnius, and first of all the intelligentsia of these groups, cooperated and supported one another. Their relations can be defined as co-existential. [From the publication]