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LT
Dėl sovietinės valdžios vykdytos politikos definicijos „migracija“ ir „Vilniaus kraštas“ – labai glaudžiai susijusios. Straipsnyje nagrinėjama, kaip sovietinė valdžia, siekdama politinių ir / ar socialinių tikslų, naudojo migracijas, kokia buvo jų specifika Vilniaus krašte, kaip jos pakeitė regiono etninę demografinę padėtį. Nors Vilniaus kraštas dėl istorinio paveldo 1944 m. buvo daugiatautis, dėl sovietinės valdžios vykdytos politikos nagrinėjamo laikotarpio pabaigoje jame tautinių bendrijų dar padaugėjo.
EN
The article, which is based on historiographical studies and archival materials, analyses the peculiarities of Soviet ethnic policy in East and Southeast Lithuania in 1944–1953, highlights the attitude that Lithuanian communists held towards the Polish and determines the reasons underlying the exceptional position of Lithuanian Poles as compared to the Polish minority in other Soviet republics. The following stages in the policy towards the Polish pursued by the authorities of LSSR are distinguished: 1) the period from 1944 to 1947 marked by attempts to minimize the influence of the Poles; 2) the period between 1948 and 1950 characterized by radical anti-Polish activities; 3) the period from 1950 to 1953 marked by the liberalization of the attitude towards the Polish. The following conclusions are presented at the end of the article: In 1944–1953 national policy of the USSR was dominated by repressive measures which were supposed to suppress all possible manifestations of ethnic tension. The said policy was also pursued in Lithuania striving for the elimination of certain ethnic groups with the help of migration processes. Key objectives of the repatriation of the Polish from Lithuania to Poland included minimization of the influence of the Polish in Lithuania and acceleration of the Sovietisation processes in East and Southeast Lithuania. A number of Russian speaking officials were assigned to the top-ranking administrative positions in the region thus assuring a stricter control of the republic and suppression of interethnic tension between Lithuanians and Poles in East and Southeast Lithuania. This resulted in the acceleration of the region’s Sovietisation and russification. Soviet Lithuanian administration implemented the national policy pursued by the USSR, however, when the situation allowed tried to adjust it in a more favourable for the republic way. It turned the repatriation campaign to advantage and attempted to eliminate the ‘Polish issue’ in East and Southeast Lithuania. Migration processes resulted in favourable circumstances for the Lithuanization of the region. However, due to the economic situation in the republic (threat of labour force shortage) and interests of the local authorities the situation was not fully availed. Owing to the radical changes in the ethnic composition of the citizens of vilnius and general tendencies in the development of the city (status of the capital, industrialization, etc.) the process of Lithuanization in vilnius was more tangible whereas the neighbouring districts saw the acceleration of russification. Assessment of the possibilities of various ethnic groups inhabiting LSSR to organize cultural-educational activities in their native language suggests that the Polish community was subjected to fewest restrictions and was granted the best possibilities to develop culture and education in the Polish language. Due to the variations in the strategy of the central leadership towards the Polish, their situation in Lithuania was exceptional as compared to the rest of the USSR. In Lithuania they had the possibility to sustain ethnic identity whereas in other Soviet republics the Polish underwent compulsory assimilation.
EN
The article based on historiography and archival material analyses the evolution of Polish education in East and Southeast Lithuania in 1947–1959, reveals its characteristic features and factors accountable for the changes in Polish schools. The author thoroughly studies the impact that the migration from the LSSR to Poland (1944–1947, 1955–1959) had on Polish education and the attitude of the Soviet authorities of the LSSR towards Polish schools. Two stages of the evolution of Polish education in East and Southeast Lithuania in the period in question can be distinguished: 1) from 1947 to 1949 – the period of the vegetation of Polish schools which led to their reformation; 2) from 1950 to 1959 – the development of Polish education characterized by the expansion of the network of Polish schools, training of educational staff and preparation of training aids in the republic. The following conclusions are presented at the end of the article: Aiming at the more rapid Sovietisation of the Polish population that remained in the republic the party leadership of the LSSR facilitated their education in the native language. However, the negative after-effects of the migration of the Polish population from Lithuania to Poland (1944–1947, 1955–1959) impeded the realization of the abovementioned possibilities. Due to objective reasons (lack of teachers and training aids) gradual reorganization of Polish schools into Russian and Lithuanian ones was started in 1948. But the peculiar situation in the region (poor knowledge of the Lithuanian language, surplus in teachers of Russian nationality) led to the restructuring of the majority of Polish schools into Russian. However, this reform was short-lived. Following the order of the Party leadership of the USSR the process of reorganization was put on hold. The resolutions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (bolsheviks) and the Central Committee of Lithuanian Communist Party (bolsheviks) passed in 1950 underpin the status of the Polish in Lithuania particularly in the sphere of education (the network of Polish schools was restored, preparation of Polish training aids was started, special educational institutions for the training of Polish teachers were established, etc.). Implementation of the said resolutions led to the expansion of the network of Polish schools to the extents exceeding the pre-reform levels (in 1951 there were 303 purely Polish and mixed schools with Polish-Russian, Polish-Lithuanian and Polish-Russian-Lithuanian languages of instruction whereas in 1948 there were only 255 such schools). Due to the lack of qualified teachers, humble material facilities and other reasons the standard of education at Polish schools was generally lower (with the exception of the Polish schools in the city of vilnius). Bad command of the Lithuanian language prevented the Polish from studying in Lithuanian groups at the institutions of higher education of the LSSR. Besides, part of the young people of Polish nationality lacked motivation to seek higher education. The abovementioned reasons were accountable for the fact that the level of education of the Polish was generally lower as compared to that of people representing other ethnical minorities. The restoration of the direct contacts between the People’s Republic of Poland and the LSSR in the period of political liberalization had impact on the operation of Polish schools in East and Southeast Lithuania. They induced the activities of the Polish population in the region who started posing the question of education in their mother-tongue and the interaction between the two republics improved the work of Polish schools in the LSSR (teachers from Polish schools went to Poland to improve their professional skills, various training aids and books were sent from Poland to Lithuania, teachers from both the countries would get involved into personal correspondence, etc.).
EN
The article analyses relationships between Polish and Russian population of East and Southeast Lithuania, including representatives of the Soviet authorities of the said nationalities, in 1944–1964 and expressions of these relationships; the article also dwells on the factors that conditioned such relationships and the attitude that Lithuanian population held towards the liberalization of the status of the Polish. The article distinguishes two stages: 1) 1944–1953 (the Stalin era) which was characterised by restrictions on national minorities in Lithuania and repressions against them. However, at the end of this period the situation of the Poles in East and Southeast Lithuania was liberalized due to political reasons; 2) 1953–1964 (period of political liberalization) when Soviet national policy started showing more respect towards the rights of the titular nation of Soviet Lithuania – Lithuanians (and in the case of East and Southeast Lithuania – the Polish). The author points out that from the ethnic point of view East and Southeast Lithuania was an exceptional region inhabited by Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Belarusians, etc. The dominant group of the population were Poles. However, the Soviet authorities started implementing the policy of radical ethnic changes in the region, thus striving to minimise the Polish influence in the area. In the period from 1944 to 1947 some 160–170 thousands of Poles relocated from East and Southeast Lithuania to Poland and their place was taken by newcomers from other Soviet republics. The group of newcomers was dominated by Russians. The settlers were privileged – they were given managerial jobs and the local people had to adjust to them. The above described situation induced the “insularity” and conservativeness of the Poles which resulted in tardy Sovietisation of the group. By order of the leadership of the USSR, the authorities of LSSR afforded grounds for the development of the education and culture of the Poles in their national language. This plan was intended to cover the aspiration of the Soviet indoctrination of the Poles. Paradoxically, with time the stereotype that representatives of the Soviet authorities of Russian origin were “defenders” of the Poles against “wicked Lithuanians” was formed. After J. Stalin’s death (1953) national policy of the USSR underwent liberalization. However, this evoked the actualization of interethnic tensions in East and Southeast Lithuania that hitherto had been suppressed and “frozen”. The Polish population started expressing not only anti-Soviet but also anti-Russian attitudes, viewing the Russians as a factor aggravating their situation. Nonetheless at the end of the period in question (1959–1964) the leadership of the USSR started enhancing plans of the increased unification of the country which resulted in the increased internationalization of Lithuanian population and suppression of any interethnic tensions.
EN
The article, which is based on the materials from Lithuanian archives, statistical publications and historiographical studies, analyses the organization of the first Soviet population census in Lithuania (1959), the circumstances of its realisation and its outcome in East and Southeast Lithuania. Preparation for the census started in 1957 following the adoption of a corresponding decision by the highest authorities of the USSR. Arrangements for the population census, which were coordinated by the Central Bureau of Statistics in Moscow, can be divided into the following stages: 1) development of organizational structures; 2) preparation of necessary documentation; 3) recruitment and training of local staff. Due to the geographic peculiarities of East and Southeast Lithuania (distribution of villages and steadings in woodlands, poor transport infrastructure), ethnic composition of the region, etc. population census in the area manifested specific features. Still they did not impede with the smooth organization of the census. The collected information revealed that East and Southeast Lithuania was different from other regions of the country in ethnic and social respects. The following conclusions are presented at the end of the article: The population census of 1959 was the first Soviet census in Lithuania. It was organized in the period of political liberalization which reflected on the results. The authorities of the USSR were interested in impartial demographic statistics. In the course of the population census people would present requested information themselves and were not asked for written evidence (documents). Thus they had the opportunity to provide correct data which they might have had reasons to conceal before. Comparison of official data with the primary material of the census revealed minor discrepancies; however, they had little impact of the final results. The information received in the course of the census was considered objective. The results of the census confirmed ethnic and socio-cultural peculiarity of East and Southeast Lithuania which was predetermined by historic-political reasons. Multinationalism was characteristic of the region as the majority of its population was of Polish descent. In certain districts (e.g. Naujoji vilnia or šalčininkai) the Poles constituted the overall majority of the population. It can be stated that certain indicators (e.g. the standard of education) in East and Southeast Lithuania in fact were inferior to those suggested by the census as its broad-brush results did not reflect the standard of education of people aged 50 and above. There were quite a few illiterate and uneducated people among them. The census revealed that the standard of education of the Poles was lower compared to other ethnic minorities. There were cases of illiteracy among young people of Polish descent (20-40 years of age) which was unrepresentative of other ethnic groups. This situation was predetermined by post-war migratory processes and economic-social factors (the majority of the Poles in LSSR were country people who due to the bad circumstances in the post-war period had limited access to children’s education). The census revealed that the process of russification in East and Southeast Lithuania was more advanced in urban areas as the majority of state institutions were in operation there. The abundance of mixed families in the region can be considered a factor that intensified the process of russification.
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