Polacy i Polska inteligencja na wschodzie: stan i nowe szanse

ENThe paper presents the results of numerical analysis of the Polish national minority in countries outside the Polish eastern border, and the intelligentsia of this minority. The article then describes the first years of activity of Vilnius Branch of the University in Białystok as an attempt to improve the status quo of the Polish intelligentsia in Lithuania. The Polish minority has decreased in number in each of the countries of Eastern Europe located outside the eastern border of the Polish Republic. Although it is an objective process, the importance of minorities in Europe is increasing. However, it should be noted that recently there has been an increase of the Polish minority in Lithuania, whose causes are unknown. This increase contradicts the general European trends relating to national minorities. The number of people with higher education among the Polish minority is much lower than the national average, which indicates that the intelligentsia of the Polish minority in these countries is a weak social group. This, in turn, results in a low overall status of the minorities in their countries of residence. Established in 2007, Vilnius Branch of the University in Białystok (Department of Economics and Information Technology in Vilnius) has been able to solve a number of important issues that arose in the early years of activity of this institution with the help of the European Commission and the good will of the Lithuanian authorities.Within four years of operation (2007-2011), it has already educated 140 graduates, who reinforced the ranks of the Polish intelligentsia in Lithuania. Despite numerous declarations made by Polish politicians, the problem of the premises for the Vilnius branch has not been resolved yet and has become the key factor affecting the development of the university and posing a threat to its survival.