LTReikšminiai žodžiai: etninės mažumos; etniniai konfliktai; Centrinė Europa. Keywords: ethnic minorities, ethnic conflicts, Central Europe.Reikšminiai žodžiai: Centrinė Europa (Central Europe); Lenkija (Lenkijos karalystė. Kingdom of Poland. Poland); Baltarusija (Belarus); Ukraina (Ukraine); Etninės mažumos; Etniniai konfliktai; Ethnic minorities; Ethnic conflicts.
ENThe paper presents, first, the numbers and the spatial distribution of the ethnic minorities in Poland. Then, the ethnic structures existing on the territories of the eastern neighbours of Poland, that is – in Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine, and the Kaliningrad district, are presented. Hypotheses are constructed on the basis of the statistical analysis and the historical-geographical assessment, concerning the possibility of emergence of conflicts of ethnic origin between various nationality groups inhabiting the four political units located on the eastern side of Poland. [From the publication]