Mikrokosmos z innej perspektywy: Wileńszczyzna w oczach Polaków osiadłych tam w minionym 20-leciu: uwagi do badań nad zagadnieniem

ENRecent 20 years have been of utmost significance for Polish-Lithuanian relations. They have been marked by increased bilateral and multilateral co-operation but also by many unsolved conflicts and discrepancies from the past. One of them has been the problem of the Vilnius region - not only during the interwar period, but also nowadays. Inhabited mostly (except the capital city) by ethnic Poles, the region along with its past and present has been constantly stirring up controversy among Polish and Lithuanian politicians and, what is also crucial, societies. In the article, author concentrates on the perception of the Vilnius region by people from Poland who came there during the last two decades and decided to settle down because of many reasons (work, education, marriage etc.). In order to outline the environment they have chosen to live in, author briefly describes the history of the region (starting from the end of the First World War), paying most attention to its ethnic composition and Lithuanian efforts to increase the percentage of Lithuanians among the inhabitants. Author presents two people who migrated to the Vilnius region from Poland and describes how they perceive the new area of living in various aspects: as a part of Lithuania and simultaneously as a specific historic region, its economic and social situation, and people living there.The two perspectives show a slightly different way of looking at the region than the Polish public opinion is used to know from media. In the conclusion, author stresses the fact that the phenomenon of Poles who came to the Vilnius region in the last twenty years deserves a thorough analysis which will have to last for long because of many obstacles which have to be overcome (e.g. gathering data or reaching people dispersed on a relatively large area).