Ukrainian minority in Poland
Encyclopedia
Polish census of 2002
- Significant ethnic minorities :In addition to Poles, ethnic groups of more than 25,000 people compose the following:-References:...
. Most of them live in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, or Warmia-Masuria Province , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn...
(11,881), followed by West Pomeranian
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship, , is a voivodeship in northwestern Poland. It borders on Pomeranian Voivodeship to the east, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the southeast, Lubusz Voivodeship to the south, the German federal-state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north...
(3,703), Podkarpackie (2,984) and Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
(2,831).
Most numerous concentrations of Ukrainians are in the north-east (Olsztyn
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
and Elbląg
Elblag
Elbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...
), north-west (Słupsk and Koszalin
Koszalin
Koszalin ; is the largest city of Middle Pomerania in north-western Poland. It is located 12 km south of the Baltic Sea coast. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999...
) and south-west of Poland (Legnica
Legnica
Legnica is a town in south-western Poland, in Silesia, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the plain of Legnica, riverside: Kaczawa and Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is currently the seat of the county...
and Wrocław). There are some Lemko-Rusyns
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
in Poland that are officially categorized as an "ethnic" (rather than a "national") minority, since there is no Lemko nation-state. The Ukrainian language was taught at 162 schools in the year 2005–2006 atttended by 2,740 Ukrainian students.
Cultural life
Main Ukrainian organizations in Poland include: Związek Ukraińców w Polsce (Association of Ukrainians in Poland), Związek Ukraińców Podlasia (Association of Ukrainians of Podlasie), Towarzystwo Ukraińskie w Lublinie (Ukrainian Society of LublinLublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
), Fundacja św. Włodzimierza Chrzciciela Rusi Kijowskiej (Kievan Rus Foundation of St. Vladimir, pictured), Związek Ukrainek (Association of Ukrainian Women), Ukraińskie Towarzystwo Nauczycielskie w Polsce (Ukrainian Educators' Society of Poland), Ukraińskie Towarzystwo Lekarskie (Ukrainian Medical Society), Stowarzyszenie Ukraińców - Więźniów Politycznych Okresu Stalinowskiego (Ukrainian Club of Stalinist Political Prisoners), Organizacja Młodzieży Ukraińskiej "PŁAST" (Ukrainian Youth Association "ПЛАСТ"), Ukraińskie Towarzystwo Historyczne (Ukrainian Historical Society), and Związek Niezależnej Młodzieży Ukraińskiej (Association of Independent Ukrainian Youth). The most important periodicals published in Ukrainian language include: Nasze Słowo (Our Voice) weekly and Nad Buhom i Narwoju (Над Бугом і Нарвою) bimontly.
The most important Ukrainian festivals and popular cultural events include: "Festiwal Kultury Ukraińskiej" w Sopocie (Festival of Ukrainian Culture in Sopot
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
), "Młodzieżowy Jarmark" w Gdańsku (Youth Market in Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
), Festiwal Kultury Ukraińskiej na Podlasiu "Podlaska Jesień" (Festival of Ukrainian Culture of Podlasie), "Bytowska Watra", "Spotkania Pogranicza" in Głębock, "Dni Kultury Ukraińskiej" (Days of Ukrainian Culture) in Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
and Giżycko
Gizycko
Giżycko is a town in northeastern Poland with 29,796 inhabitants . It is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship , having previously been in the Suwałki Voivodeship . It is the seat of Giżycko County.-History:...
, Dziecięcy Festiwal Kultury w Elblągu (Children Festival in Elbląg
Elblag
Elbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...
), "Na Iwana, na Kupała" in Dubicze Cerkiewne
Dubicze Cerkiewne
Dubicze Cerkiewne is a village in Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Dubicze Cerkiewne. It lies approximately south-west of Hajnówka and south of the regional capital Białystok.The village...
, Festiwal Ukraińskich Zespołów Dziecięcych w Koszalinie (Festival of Ukrainian Children Groups in Koszalin
Koszalin
Koszalin ; is the largest city of Middle Pomerania in north-western Poland. It is located 12 km south of the Baltic Sea coast. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999...
), "Noc na Iwana Kupała" in Kruklanki
Kruklanki
Kruklanki is a village in Giżycko County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Kruklanki...
, Jarmark Folklorystyczny "Z malowanej skrzyni" (Ukrainian Folklor Market) in Kętrzyn
Ketrzyn
Kętrzyn , is a town in northeastern Poland with 28,351 inhabitants . Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship , Kętrzyn was previously in Olsztyn Voivodeship . It is the capital of Kętrzyn County...
, "Pod wspólnym niebem" (Under the Common Skies) in Olsztyn
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
, and Dni teatru ukraińskiego w Olsztynie (Days of Ukrainian Theatre) also in Olsztyn.
Since World War II
After the quashing of a Ukrainian insurrection at the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, about 140,000 Ukrainians residing within the new Polish borders were forcibly moved to northern and western Poland during Operation Vistula, settling the land ceded to Poland at the Tehran Conference
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943, most of which was held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference amongst the Big Three in which Stalin was present...
of 1943, previously in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
| Permits / Year | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Total |
| Permament Settlement Permits | 1,905 | 1,654 | 1,438 | 1,609 | 1,685 | 1,280 | 9,571 |
| Temporary Residence Permits | 8,518 | 8,304 | 7,733 | 7,381 | 8,307 | 8,489 | 48,736 |
| Grand total | 58,303 | ||||||
| Source: EU Membership Highlights Poland's Migration Challenges, Warsaw | |||||||
Since 1989, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been a new wave of Ukrainian immigration, mostly of jobseekers, tradesmen, and vendors, concentrated in larger cities with established market. After the Poland's 2004 accession
2004 enlargement of the European Union
The 2004 enlargement of the European Union was the largest single expansion of the European Union , both in terms of territory, number of states and population, however not in terms of gross domestic product...
to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, in order to meet the requirements of the Schengen zone (an area of free movement within the EU), the government was forced to make immigration to Poland more difficult for the people from Belarus and Russia including Ukraine. Nevertheless, Ukrainians consistently receive the most settlement permits and the most temporary residence permits in Poland (see table). As a result of the Eastern Partnership
Eastern Partnership
The Eastern Partnership is a project which was initiated by the European Union . It was presented by the foreign minister of Poland with assistance from Sweden at a the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008...
, Poland and Ukraine have reached a new agreement replacing visas with simplified permits for Ukrainians residing within 30 km of the border. Up to 1.5 million people may benefit from this agreement which took effect on July 1, 2009.
See also
- Polish minority in UkrainePolish minority in UkraineThe Polish minority in Ukraine officially numbers about 144,130 , of whom 21,094 speak Polish as their first language. The history of Polish settlement in current territory of Ukraine dates back to 1030–31...
- Demographics of PolandDemographics of PolandThe Demographics of Poland is about the demographic features of the population of Poland, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
- History of the Ukrainian minority in Poland