Polish minority in Ukraine
Encyclopedia
The Polish minority in Ukraine officially numbers about 144,130 (according to the 2001 census), of whom 21,094 (14.6%) speak Polish
as their first language. The history of Polish settlement in current territory of Ukraine
dates back to 1030–31. In Late Middle Ages, following the extinction of Rurikid dynasty in 1323, Polish Kingdom extended east in 1340 to include the lands of Przemyśl
and in 1366, Kamianets-Podilskyi
(Kamieniec Podolski). The settlement of Poles became common there after the Polish–Lithuanian peace treaty signed in 1366 between Casimir III the Great of Poland, and Liubartas of Lithuania. Following the Union of Lublin
(1569), principalities of Galicia and Western Volhynia
were incorporated into the Crown of the Polish Kingdom
as the Ruthenian Voivodeship
, while the rest of Red Ruthenia
together with Kiev came under Lithuanian control. The centuries of cohabitation and intermarriage between members of all social classes in Galicia and Volhynia, wrote Poliszczuk, left only a small percentage of the pure-blood Poles and pure-blood Ukrainians there, by the end of the period of partitions.
area known as Eastern Galicia was settled by tribes of Western Slavs - Wiatycze Vyatichi and Radymicze Radimichs
. According to the Nestor
- Primary Chronicle
tribe of Vyatichi and Radimichs were 'Lachy' (Lechites
). It is first attested in A.D. 981, when Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus'
took over the Red Ruthenian strongholds in his military campaign on the border with the land of Lendians. Nestor reports in his chronicle that: "Vladimir
marched upon the Lyakhs (k Lyakbotri) and took their cities: Peremyshl (modern Przemyśl
), Cherven (modern Czermno
), and other towns."
In the following century, the area shifted to Poland in 1018–1031, then back to Kievan Rus' and in 1069–1080 back to Poland.
In 1031 Harald Hardrada and his men reached the land of the Kievan Rus, where they served the armies of Yaroslav I the Wise
, the Grand Prince of the Rus, whose wife Ingigerd was a distant relative of Harald. Harald is thought to have taken part in Grand Prince Yaroslav's campaign against the Poles
Laesir, and was appointed joint commander of defense forces.
Following the extinction of the Rurikid dynasty, it was rejoined with the Polish Crown at the Polish–Lithuanian peace treaty signed in 1366 by Casimir III of Poland
, with Liubartas of Lithuania. The name Ruś Czerwona was recorded (which translates as "Red Ruthenia"), and applied to a territory extended up to the Dniester River, with priority gradually transferred to Przemyśl
(Peremyshl). Since the times of Władysław Jagiełło
, the Przemyśl Voivodeship
was called the Ruthenian Voivodeship
("województwo ruskie"), with the priority eventually transferred to Lwów (Lviv
). It consisted of five lands: Lwów, Sanok
, Halicz (Halych
), Przemyśl (Peremyshl), and Chełm (Kholm). The city of Halych gave the name to Galicia.
with Austria-Hungary
and the German Empire
, Russia absorbed lands west of Kiev. Approximately ten percent of the population in these territories was Polish. Even after Kiev region ceased being a part of Poland, Poles continued to play an important role there. In 1812 there were over 43,000 Polish noblemen in Kiev province, compared to only approximately 1,000 "Russian" nobles. Typically the nobles spent their winters in the city of Kiev, where they held Polish balls and fairs. Until the mid-eighteenth century Kiev (Polish Kijow) was Polish in culture. although Poles made up no more than ten percent of Kiev's population and 25% of its voters. During the 1830s Polish was the language of Kiev's educational system, and until Polish enrollment in Kiev's university of St. Vladimir was restricted in the 1860s they made up the majority of that school's student body. The Russian government's cancellation of Kiev city's autonomy and its placement under the rule of bureaucrats appointed from St. Petersburg was largely motivated by fear of Polish insurrection in the city. Warsaw factories and fine Warsaw shops had branches in Kiev. Jozef Zawadski, founder of Kiev's stock exchange, served as the city's mayor in the 1890s. Kieven Poles tended to be friendly towards the Ukrainian national movement in the city, and some took part in Ukrainian organizations. Indeed, many of the poorer Polish nobles became Ukrainianized in language and culture and these Ukrainians of Polish descent constituted an important element of the growing Ukrainian national movement. Ukrainian-speaking Poles from the Russian empire include Ukrainian political theorist Vyacheslav Lypynsky
and painter Kazimir Malevich
.
east of the Zbruch river, in 1926 there were 476.435 Poles, which was 1.6% of total population of Soviet Ukraine. In current western Ukraine, which was then part of the Second Polish Republic
, the population of Poles ranged from 17% in the Wołyń Voivodeship (1921–1939) to 58% in the Lwów Voivodeship
. Altogether, Poles in these lands made around 35% of total population, around 3 million people.
This large Polish population dramatically decreased in the late 1930s and 1940s after the Soviet occupation of eastern Poland (see: Soviet invasion of Poland
),
as a result of Soviet mass deportation of Poles to Siberia
and other eastern regions of the USSR
as well as a campaign of ethnic cleansing, carried out by Ukrainian nationalists (see: Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
).
In the Ukrainian SSR
there was a Polish Autonomous District
, located near Zhytomyr
, created in 1926, but it was disbanded in 1935 and its Polish inhabitants were either murdered or deported to Kazakhstan
. Actually, the former Polish Autonomous District is a territory with largest ethnic Poles concentration in Ukraine, the former Polish Autonomous District capital Dovbysh
population is predominantly Polish and Catholic.
That number has been steadily decreasing over the past half a century; the censuses of Soviet Ukraine gave the following numbers: 1959 – 363,000; 1970 – 295,000; 1979 – 258,000 and 1989 – 219,000. This decline can be explained due to policies of Sovietization
, which aimed to destroy Polish culture on Soviet Ukraine. The situation of Polish minority has improved when Ukraine
regained independence, policy of Sovietization ended and various Polish non-governmental organizations were allowed to operate, but Poles number declined drastically: the first Ukrainian census 2001 counted 144,130 (35% less).
As most Poles from the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union
have been repatriated
to Poland (primarily Regained Territories), there were actually relatively few Poles left on the former southeastern territories of the Second Polish Republic
incorporated into Soviet Union. Most Poles who remained in Ukraine were and are concentrated in Zhytomyr Oblast
(about 49,000) and Khmelnytskyi Oblast
(about 20,000). There are also many in Lviv Oblast
.
On October 13, 1990 Poland and Ukraine agreed to the "Declaration on the foundations and general directions in the development of Polish–Ukrainian relations". Article 3 of this declaration said that neither country has any territorial claims against the other, and will not bring any in the future. Both countries promised to respect the rights of national minorities in the land and to improve the situation of minorities in their countries. This declaration re-affirmed the historic and ethnic ties between Poland and Ukraine, containing a reference to "the ethnic and cultural kinship of the Polish and Ukrainian peoples". Under the "Declaration of rights of nationalities of Ukraine" (approved November 7, 1991) Poles, as minorities, were guaranteed political, economic, social, and cultural rights. The Polish minority in Ukraine were and have been active supporters of Ukrainian independence; they supported Viktor Yushchenko
over Viktor Yanukovych
virtually as a bloc in the disputed 2004 election
.
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
as their first language. The history of Polish settlement in current territory of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
dates back to 1030–31. In Late Middle Ages, following the extinction of Rurikid dynasty in 1323, Polish Kingdom extended east in 1340 to include the lands of Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
and in 1366, Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamyanets-Podilsky or Kamienets-Podolsky is a city located on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi...
(Kamieniec Podolski). The settlement of Poles became common there after the Polish–Lithuanian peace treaty signed in 1366 between Casimir III the Great of Poland, and Liubartas of Lithuania. Following the Union of Lublin
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was...
(1569), principalities of Galicia and Western Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
were incorporated into the Crown of the Polish Kingdom
Crown of the Polish Kingdom
The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , or simply the Crown , is the name for the unit of administrative division, the territories under direct administration of Polish nobility from middle-ages to late 18th century...
as the Ruthenian Voivodeship
Ruthenian Voivodeship
Ruthenia Voivodeship was an administrative division of the Kingdom of Poland . Together with Bełz Voivodeship, it formed Lesser Poland Province with its capital city in Kraków. Part of Lesser Poland region...
, while the rest of Red Ruthenia
Red Ruthenia
Red Ruthenia is the name used since medieval times to refer to the area known as Eastern Galicia prior to World War I; first mentioned in Polish historic chronicles in the 1321, as Ruthenia Rubra or Ruthenian Voivodeship .Ethnographers explain that the term was applied from the...
together with Kiev came under Lithuanian control. The centuries of cohabitation and intermarriage between members of all social classes in Galicia and Volhynia, wrote Poliszczuk, left only a small percentage of the pure-blood Poles and pure-blood Ukrainians there, by the end of the period of partitions.
Early medieval time
In early medieval times Red RutheniaRed Ruthenia
Red Ruthenia is the name used since medieval times to refer to the area known as Eastern Galicia prior to World War I; first mentioned in Polish historic chronicles in the 1321, as Ruthenia Rubra or Ruthenian Voivodeship .Ethnographers explain that the term was applied from the...
area known as Eastern Galicia was settled by tribes of Western Slavs - Wiatycze Vyatichi and Radymicze Radimichs
Radimichs
The Radimichs , were a tribe of West Slavs of the last few centuries of the 1st millennium, which inhabited upper east parts of the Dnieper down the Sozh River and its tributaries...
. According to the Nestor
Nestor the Chronicler
Saint Nestor the Chronicler was the reputed author of the Primary Chronicle, , Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, Life of the Holy Passion Bearers, Boris and Gleb, and of the so-called Reading.Nestor was a monk of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev from 1073...
- Primary Chronicle
Primary Chronicle
The Primary Chronicle , Ruthenian Primary Chronicle or Russian Primary Chronicle, is a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, originally compiled in Kiev about 1113.- Three editions :...
tribe of Vyatichi and Radimichs were 'Lachy' (Lechites
Lechites
Lechites – an ethnic and linguistic group of West Slavs, the ancestors of modern Poles and the historical Pomeranians and Polabians.-History:...
). It is first attested in A.D. 981, when Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
took over the Red Ruthenian strongholds in his military campaign on the border with the land of Lendians. Nestor reports in his chronicle that: "Vladimir
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
marched upon the Lyakhs (k Lyakbotri) and took their cities: Peremyshl (modern Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
), Cherven (modern Czermno
Czermno, Lublin Voivodeship
Czermno is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Tyszowce, within Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Tyszowce, north-east of Tomaszów Lubelski, and south-east of the regional capital Lublin.-References:...
), and other towns."
In the following century, the area shifted to Poland in 1018–1031, then back to Kievan Rus' and in 1069–1080 back to Poland.
In 1031 Harald Hardrada and his men reached the land of the Kievan Rus, where they served the armies of Yaroslav I the Wise
Yaroslav I the Wise
Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise (Old Norse: Jarizleifr; ; Old East Slavic and Russian: Ярослав Мудрый; Ukrainian: Ярослав Мудрий; c...
, the Grand Prince of the Rus, whose wife Ingigerd was a distant relative of Harald. Harald is thought to have taken part in Grand Prince Yaroslav's campaign against the Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
Laesir, and was appointed joint commander of defense forces.
Following the extinction of the Rurikid dynasty, it was rejoined with the Polish Crown at the Polish–Lithuanian peace treaty signed in 1366 by Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III the Great , last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty , was the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Hedwig of Kalisz.-Biography:...
, with Liubartas of Lithuania. The name Ruś Czerwona was recorded (which translates as "Red Ruthenia"), and applied to a territory extended up to the Dniester River, with priority gradually transferred to Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
(Peremyshl). Since the times of Władysław Jagiełło
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
, the Przemyśl Voivodeship
Przemysl Voivodeship
Przemyśl Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. Its capital city was Przemyśl.-See also:* Voivodeships of Poland...
was called the Ruthenian Voivodeship
Ruthenian Voivodeship
Ruthenia Voivodeship was an administrative division of the Kingdom of Poland . Together with Bełz Voivodeship, it formed Lesser Poland Province with its capital city in Kraków. Part of Lesser Poland region...
("województwo ruskie"), with the priority eventually transferred to Lwów (Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
). It consisted of five lands: Lwów, Sanok
Sanok
Sanok is a town in south-eastern Poland with 39,110 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It's the capital of Sanok County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Previously, it was in the Krosno Voivodeship and in the Ruthenian Voivodeship , which was part of the Lesser Poland province...
, Halicz (Halych
Halych
Halych is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The town gave its name to the historic province and kingdom of Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local princes was moved to Lviv...
), Przemyśl (Peremyshl), and Chełm (Kholm). The city of Halych gave the name to Galicia.
During the Russian Empire
At the end of the 18th century, resulting from joint Partitions of PolandPartitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
with Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, Russia absorbed lands west of Kiev. Approximately ten percent of the population in these territories was Polish. Even after Kiev region ceased being a part of Poland, Poles continued to play an important role there. In 1812 there were over 43,000 Polish noblemen in Kiev province, compared to only approximately 1,000 "Russian" nobles. Typically the nobles spent their winters in the city of Kiev, where they held Polish balls and fairs. Until the mid-eighteenth century Kiev (Polish Kijow) was Polish in culture. although Poles made up no more than ten percent of Kiev's population and 25% of its voters. During the 1830s Polish was the language of Kiev's educational system, and until Polish enrollment in Kiev's university of St. Vladimir was restricted in the 1860s they made up the majority of that school's student body. The Russian government's cancellation of Kiev city's autonomy and its placement under the rule of bureaucrats appointed from St. Petersburg was largely motivated by fear of Polish insurrection in the city. Warsaw factories and fine Warsaw shops had branches in Kiev. Jozef Zawadski, founder of Kiev's stock exchange, served as the city's mayor in the 1890s. Kieven Poles tended to be friendly towards the Ukrainian national movement in the city, and some took part in Ukrainian organizations. Indeed, many of the poorer Polish nobles became Ukrainianized in language and culture and these Ukrainians of Polish descent constituted an important element of the growing Ukrainian national movement. Ukrainian-speaking Poles from the Russian empire include Ukrainian political theorist Vyacheslav Lypynsky
Vyacheslav Lypynsky
Vyacheslav Kazymyrovych Lypynsky was a Ukrainian historian, social and political activist, an ideologue of Ukrainian conservatism. He was also the founder of the Ukrainian Democratic-Agrarian Party...
and painter Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.-Early life:...
.
History since the 1930s
In the Ukrainian SSRUkrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
east of the Zbruch river, in 1926 there were 476.435 Poles, which was 1.6% of total population of Soviet Ukraine. In current western Ukraine, which was then part of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
, the population of Poles ranged from 17% in the Wołyń Voivodeship (1921–1939) to 58% in the Lwów Voivodeship
Lwów Voivodeship
Lwów Voivodeship was an administrative unit of interwar Poland . According to Nazis and Soviets it ceased to exist in September 1939, following German and Soviet aggression on Poland . The Polish underground administration existed till August 1944.-Population:Its capital, biggest and most...
. Altogether, Poles in these lands made around 35% of total population, around 3 million people.
This large Polish population dramatically decreased in the late 1930s and 1940s after the Soviet occupation of eastern Poland (see: Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
),
as a result of Soviet mass deportation of Poles to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and other eastern regions of the USSR
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....
as well as a campaign of ethnic cleansing, carried out by Ukrainian nationalists (see: Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
The Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia were part of an ethnic cleansing operation carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army West in the Nazi occupied regions of the Eastern Galicia , and UPA North in Volhynia , beginning in March 1943 and lasting until the end of...
).
In the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
there was a Polish Autonomous District
Polish Autonomous District
Polish Autonomous Districts were national raions in the interbellum period possessing some form of a national autonomy in the Ukrainian and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republics of the USSR...
, located near Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
, created in 1926, but it was disbanded in 1935 and its Polish inhabitants were either murdered or deported to Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. Actually, the former Polish Autonomous District is a territory with largest ethnic Poles concentration in Ukraine, the former Polish Autonomous District capital Dovbysh
Dovbysh
Dovbysh is a town in Baranivka Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. The town is also known as Marchlewsk after the Polish politician and civil activist Julian Marchlewski. The population is 4,750 as of 2009....
population is predominantly Polish and Catholic.
That number has been steadily decreasing over the past half a century; the censuses of Soviet Ukraine gave the following numbers: 1959 – 363,000; 1970 – 295,000; 1979 – 258,000 and 1989 – 219,000. This decline can be explained due to policies of Sovietization
Sovietization
Sovietization is term that may be used with two distinct meanings:*the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets .*the adoption of a way of life and mentality modelled after the Soviet Union....
, which aimed to destroy Polish culture on Soviet Ukraine. The situation of Polish minority has improved when Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
regained independence, policy of Sovietization ended and various Polish non-governmental organizations were allowed to operate, but Poles number declined drastically: the first Ukrainian census 2001 counted 144,130 (35% less).
As most Poles from the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union
Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union
Immediately after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Union invaded the eastern regions of the Second Polish Republic, which Poles referred to as the "Kresy," and annexed territories totaling 201,015 km² with a population of 13,299,000...
have been repatriated
Repatriation of Poles (1944–1946)
The Polish population transfers from the former eastern territories of Poland also known as the flight and expulsion of Poles towards the end – and in the aftermath – of World War II refer to the forced migration of Poles between 1944–1946...
to Poland (primarily Regained Territories), there were actually relatively few Poles left on the former southeastern territories of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
incorporated into Soviet Union. Most Poles who remained in Ukraine were and are concentrated in Zhytomyr Oblast
Zhytomyr Oblast
Zhytomyr Oblast is an oblast of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on September 22, 1937....
(about 49,000) and Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast is an oblast of western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Khmelnytskyi.The current estimated population is around 1,401,140 .-Geography:...
(about 20,000). There are also many in Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939...
.
On October 13, 1990 Poland and Ukraine agreed to the "Declaration on the foundations and general directions in the development of Polish–Ukrainian relations". Article 3 of this declaration said that neither country has any territorial claims against the other, and will not bring any in the future. Both countries promised to respect the rights of national minorities in the land and to improve the situation of minorities in their countries. This declaration re-affirmed the historic and ethnic ties between Poland and Ukraine, containing a reference to "the ethnic and cultural kinship of the Polish and Ukrainian peoples". Under the "Declaration of rights of nationalities of Ukraine" (approved November 7, 1991) Poles, as minorities, were guaranteed political, economic, social, and cultural rights. The Polish minority in Ukraine were and have been active supporters of Ukrainian independence; they supported Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
over Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
virtually as a bloc in the disputed 2004 election
Ukrainian presidential election, 2004
The Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 was held on October 31, November 21 and December 26, 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union...
.
See also
- Ukrainian minority in PolandUkrainian minority in PolandThe Ukrainian minority in Poland is composed of 27,172 people according to the Polish census of 2002. Most of them live in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship , followed by West Pomeranian , Podkarpackie and Pomeranian Voivodeship ....
- Polish minority in Soviet Union
- Demographics of UkraineDemographics of UkraineThe Demographics of Ukraine is about the demographic features of the population of Ukraine, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population....
- Association of the Polish Culture of the Lviv Land