The History of Poles in Lithuania describes the history of Polish culture and language in Lithuanian lands, as well as the process of formation in the Polish community there before 1990.
During the Polish–Lithuanian union, there was an influx of Poles into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the gradual Polonization of its elite and upper classes. At the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, almost all of Lithuania's nobility, clergy, and townspeople spoke Polish and adopted Polish culture, while still maintaining a Lithuanian identity.[1] In the late 19th century, due to the processes of Polonization of Lithuanian and Belarusian peasants Polish population lived mainly on a long strip of land, stretching to Daugavpils and including Vilnius. The rise of the Lithuanian national movement led to conflicts between both groups. Following World War I and the rebirth of both states, there was the Polish–Lithuanian War, whose main focus was Vilnius and the nearby region. In its aftermath, the majority of the Polish population living in the Lithuanian lands found themselves within the Polish borders. However, interwar Lithuania still retained a large Polish minority. During World War II, the Polish population was persecuted by the USSR and Nazi Germany. Post-World War II, the borders were changed, territorial disputes were suppressed as the Soviet Union exercised power over both countries and a significant part of the Polish population, especially the best-educated, was forcefully transferred from the Lithuanian SSR to the Polish People's Republic. At the same time, a significant number of Poles relocated from nearby regions of Byelorussian SSR to Vilnius and Vilnius region.
Currently, the Polish population is grouped in the Vilnius region, primarily the Vilnius and Šalčininkai districts. In the city of Vilnius alone there are more than 85,000 Poles, who make up about 15% of the Lithuanian capital's population. Most Poles in Lithuania are Roman Catholic and speak Polish, although a minority of them speak Russian or Lithuanian, as their first language.
^Stone, Daniel Z. (1 July 2014). The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386–1795. University of Washington Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-295-80362-3.
and 24 Related for: History of Poles in Lithuania information
The PolesinLithuania (Polish: Polacy na Litwie, Lithuanian: Lietuvos lenkai), also called LithuanianPoles, estimated at 183,000 people in the Lithuanian...
Union ofPolesinLithuania (Polish: Związek Polaków na Litwie, ZPL; Lithuanian: Lietuvos lenkų sąjunga) is an organization formed in 1989 to bring together...
such as Poles (6.3%), Russians (5.0%), Belarusians (2.1%) and Ukrainians (1.7%). PolesinLithuania are the largest minority, concentrated in southeast...
The historyofLithuania dates back to settlements founded about 10,000 years ago, but the first written record of the name for the country dates back...
as both Lithuania and Poland claimed Vilnius (known in Polish as Wilno) region. Demographically, the main groups inhabiting Vilnius were Poles and Jews...
population of Poland and GDL in 1493 is estimated as 7.5 million, of whom 3.25 million were Poles, 3.75 million Ruthenians and 0.5 million Lithuanians. With...
population ofLithuania identified themselves as Lithuanians, 6.5% as Poles, 5.0% as Russians, 1.0% as Belarusians, and 1.1% as members of other ethnic...
(etymology of the demonym) Pole and Hungarian brothers be Polesin France Polesin Germany Polesin Latvia PolesinLithuaniaPolesin Norway Polesin Romania...
The historyofPolesin the United States dates to the American Colonial era. Poles have lived in present-day United States territories for over 400 years—since...
The historyof the Jews inLithuania spans the period from the 14th century to the present day. There is still a small community in the country, as well...
monarchy. Throughout Lithuania'shistory there were three ducal dynasties—the House of Mindaugas, the House of Gediminas, and the House of Jagiellon. Despite...
The city of Vilnius, the capital and largest city ofLithuania, has an extensive history starting from the Stone Age. Vilnius was the head of the Grand...
ethnic Lithuanians, 6.74% as Poles, 6.31% as Russians, 1.23% as Belarusians, and 2.27% as members of other ethnic groups. PolesinLithuania are concentrated...
Grand Duchy ofLithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom ofLithuania, to the late...
Polesin France form one of the largest Polish diaspora communities in Europe. Between 500,000 and one million people of Polish descent live in France...
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and after a brief period of independence became an autonomous area under the Russian Empire. In this region some Poles and...
numbers of Belarusian Poles to Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Few Belarusian Poles now live in Siberia and the Russian Far East, and some of those...
predominance ofLithuaniansin the city of Vilnius, but ofPolesin the Vilnius district outside the city.[vague] Already in the 1st century, Lithuanian tribes...
Poland and Lithuania as the "land of the Poles and the Lipkas". By the 17th century the term Lipka Tatar began to appear in the official documents of the Polish–Lithuanian...
PolesinLithuania, which began to be discussed in autumn 1988, when Lithuania was regaining its independence from the Soviet Union. As a result of perestroika...
preparatory conference in the summer of that year. Differences in objectives became clear between ethnic Jews and ethnic Lithuanians and Poles, with the former...
Poles were in fact Polonised Lithuanians. Today, the Po prostu dialect is the native language for Polesin Šalčininkai District Municipality and in some...
Global Information