The consecutive parts of the article are devoted to the ethnic transformations of Ukraine and in particular to the changes in the number and distribution of the population of Ukrainian nationality. The initial statistical analysis is based on the results of the Soviet population censuses. Attention is paid to the processes of Rusification and Sovietisation, taking place then. The subsequent part of the analysis concerns the ethnic transformations in the sovereign Ukraine, when the number of inhabitants declaring the Russian nationality dropped by more than three million. In the consecutive part of the article the number of the Ukrainian population, distributed over the territory of the former USSR is determined. In the final part of the paper attention was attracted to the fact that the deep ethnic transformations having occurred in the territory of Ukraine had political reasons. They resulted in the far-reaching changes in the consciousness of the inhabitants. These changes encompassed millions of Ukrainians and Russians, as well as people living within the borderland of the Ukrainian and Russian culture and language.
The article presents the worldview concept and the work of the outstanding French scholar Yves Lacoste. He is a senior among the French geographers and geopoliticians, professor emeritus of the University Paris VIII. At the beginning of the paper the development of the classical French geography is presented, its methodological foundations laid by Vidal de la Blache and his successors. It was characteristic of this stream of thought in geography that it emphasised the regional perspective and the use of results of historical studies. These traditions had an important influence on the intellectual attitude and the scholarly activity of Lacoste’s, who referred very strictly to the mainstream of French regional school. Then, the paper gives an account of the political views and the life of Lacoste, as well as of his publications, associated with the issues related to geopolitics and geostrategy. This required providing a perspective on the Lacoste’s approach to geopolitics as a new, controversial scientific discipline. The definition of this discipline and of its subject scope, used by Lacoste, is provided. The attention is paid to the significant arbitrariness in application of terminology, which brought important negative consequences as to the ways of analysing political, demo-graphic, military and social phenomena and processes, taking place in the concrete geo-graphical reality. The subsequent part of the article concerns the substantive assessment of the selected works of Lacoste’s. His book, entitled Geopolitics of the Mediterranean, which was also translated to Polish, stirred up quite an interest. The content of this book is outlined and the cognitive, as well as didactic qualities of this book are assessed. Given the place of birth of Lacoste (Fez in Morocco) and his life experience, no wonder he has been fascinated all the time by the consequences of colonialism, by the Muslim world, and by the issues related to the Arab countries. For this reason his opinions on the respective questions, still producing significant consequences for the former colonies and the former colonial empires, have been widely accepted. Nowadays, along with territory, demographic and economic potential, as well as military power, water resources have become an important, even though yet underestimated, geopolitical factor. This became the motivation for Lacoste to write a book, which was also translated into Polish. The analysis, presented in this book has quite a practical meaning, since water has been becoming a true strategic resource. Side by side with numerous books, Lacoste authored also and edited two atlases. One of them is a typical geographic atlas, showing on many maps France and the entire globe, according to continents and countries. The scientific value and the cartographic qualities of this atlas are assessed in the article. In a similar manner, another atlas – the Geopolitical Atlas – is also assessed. Particular attention is paid to the methodological aspects of this atlas and to the highly interesting graphic layout. This atlas contains a set of valuable maps and cartograms, showing the origins, the course and the consequences of the military conflicts, which took place in the 20th century in various regions of the world. Lacoste was the founder and the long time editor of the journal „Hérodote” which published the papers, written by the French geopoliticians and geographers. The journal gained a high esteem both in France and abroad. The scientific value and the significance in terms of promotion of the discipline are subject to assessment in the article. The article closes with the summary on the creative work of the French scholar, with special emphasis on his role in shaping the French school of geopolitics, encompassing his collaborators and followers.
PL
W artykule przedstawiono światopogląd ideowy i dokonania twórcze wybitnego fran-cuskiego uczonego Yves’a Lacoste’a. Jest on nestorem francuskich geografów i geopoli-tyków oraz emerytowanym profesorem Uniwersytetu Université Paris VIII. Zaprezento-wano założenia teoretyczno-metodologiczne oraz walory merytoryczno-interpretacyjne jego głównych dzieł naukowych. Dzięki inicjatywie i dużemu autorytetowi w środo-wisku intelektualistów francuskich utworzył znaną szkołę geopolityczną oraz patronował wychodzącemu od kilku dziesięcioleci pismu naukowemu pt. „Hérodote”, w którym są zamieszczane regularnie opracowania z zakresu geografii politycznej, geopolityki i geo-strategii.
W artykule przedstawiono koncepcje i wizje badaczy polskich działających w XIX i na początku XX w. Dotyczyły one rozległości terytorialnej odrodzonego w przyszłości państwa polskiego. Nawiązywały początkowo do granic historycznej Rzeczypospolitej. W późniejszym czasie uwzględniały również kryteria etniczne i strategiczne. Zaprezentowano na kolejnych mapach koncepcje Oskara Żebrowskiego, Stanisława Tomaszewskiego, Aleksandra Janowskiego, Czesława Jankowskiego, Włodzimierza Wakara, Wiktora Skargi-Dobrowolskiego, Józefa Jaskólskiego. Ostatnie dwa omówione programy terytorialne miały już charakter oficjalnych dokumentów. Pierwszy z nich był opracowany w Lozannie przez Komitet Narodowy Polski, ostatni zaś osobiście był przygotowany przez Romana Dmowskiego, ale reprezentował oficjalne stanowisko Rządu Polskiego.
EN
After the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was liquidated and disappeared from the map of Europe at the end of the 18th century, and was partitioned by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, Polish activists of the independence movements never consented to the fact and continued to work for the revival of the Polish state. One of the issues pondered about was that of the future boundaries of this state. Initially, the issue was not complicated at all, since it was commonly held that the sole just solution would be the return to the historical boundaries of 1772. In the later period, the awareness arose that this option cannot be realised. This was not only the consequence of the stable and disadvantageous for Poland geopolitical situation in Europe, but also of the ethnic diversification of the territory of the former Commonwealth. That is why various concepts started to appear, concerning the future boundaries of Poland, considering the historical, geopolitical, strategic, and ethnic conditioning. These concepts were primarily the visions of individual scholars or activists, but often they did represent definite ideological and political orientations. The article presents and comments upon some of these designs. Those more original in substantive terms, and containing an interesting cartographic illustration, were selected for presentation. Thusthe article treats the concepts authored by: Oskar Żebrowski, Stanisław Tomaszewski, Aleksander Janowski, Czesław Jankowski, Włodzimierz Wakar, Wiktor Skarga-Dobrowolski, and Józef Jaskólski. These concepts, postulating the shape of boundaries of Poland, differed significantly as to the general territorial reach of the country and the shapes of its boundaries. Some of them were of clear maximalist character, while other ones were more moderate, and so had higher chances of implementation. The two last proposals for the boundaries of Poland, presented in the article, were already the official documents. The first of those two represented the position of the Polish National Committee, which was active in Lausanne in the years 1917–1918. The last concept of the boundary of Poland, shown in the article, was the official stance of the authorities of the newly re-established Polish state, which was presented at the Peace Conference in Paris in 1919. This concept was developed by Roman Dmowski, who headed Polish delegation at this conference. At the end of the article this most important design, prepared for the Versailles conference, is compared to the actual course of boundaries of the Polish state as it re-emerged after the First World War.
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The article discusses ethnic diversity and the changes which took place in Transcarpathia in the 20th century. First, the author presents the historical background for a statistical-demographical analysis. He points to the peripheral location of the region and the fact that it often changed its political affiliation. Thus, for a period of almost a thousand years the province was included within the borders of Hungary; between 1919 and 1939 it became part of Czechoslovakia, and after a four-day long period of independence (14-18 March, 1939) it was again incorporated into Hungary between 1939 and 1945. After World War II it was part of a Soviet republic, and since 1991 it has been included in the independent state of Ukraine. Each of these periods brought far-reaching demographic and ethnic consequences. The population of Transcarpathia consisted of Slavic people of Ruthenian origin, mostly Greek Catholics. The inhabitants of the province were subjected to Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Russian influences and believed in different options, such as pro-Ukrainian, pro-Russian, or separatist, i.e. Ruthenian. These issues are discussed in detail in the article and thoroughly interpreted by the author. He also points to the fact that the territory of Transcarpathia was inhabited by numerous ethnic minorities. The Hungarian minority has always been the most important, both in the past and in the present; today it is concentrated in the south of the province. In the past, Jews and Germans also constituted sizeable minorities, while Romanians and Slovaks were always of marginal significance here. The final part of the article presents the scale of the separatist tendencies which may have dangerous political consequences in the future.
The Klaipeda Region is now an integral part of Lithuania. This was not, however, always the case; the region has a strong German history. (Its historical German name was Memelland, while in Lithuanian it was called Klaipedos Krastas.) Until 1525, the Klaipeda Region belonged to the Teutonic Order, but later changed hands several times. Initially, it belonged to the Duchy of Prussia (until 1701; and until 1657 was dependent as a fief of Poland), was later controlled by the Kingdom of Prussia (until 1871), and then finally became part of the German Empire (until 1919). For Germans, the province was a historical part of Eastern Prussia until 1945. For Lithuanians, the Klaipeda Region, as well as the area located along the north-eastern part of East Prussia on the south bank of the Neman River, was known as Little Lithuania (Lithuania Minor). The Lithuanians considered this territory to be their own ethnic land, which was wrongfully subjected to gradual Germanization. Before World War II this area was inhabited by Protestants who spoke Lithuanian or German. The 1920 census lists the territory's population at 150,700, of which 71,000 declared German to be their first language, while 67,000 declared Lithuanian. The article first discusses the historical and political background of events in the Klaipeda Region in the first half of the 20th century. Next the author analyzes in a dynamic approach the demographic and ethnic structure of the population. His attention is later focused on the period of World War II when the province was incorporated into the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. In the Soviet period, a major part of the local population was expelled to Germany, while the remaining residents were identified as either Lithuanians or Russians such that the province was no longer dominated by the Protestant and German speaking population. The final part of the article deals with the present demographic and national situation. As a result of the postwar political and economic migrations, a majority of the people in the province now identify themselves as Lithuanian and Catholic. Lithuania, owing to the port of Klaipeda, has now an unrestricted access to sea.
W artykule przedstawiono drogę życiową i dokonania twórcze polskiego geografa Romana Umiastowskiego (1893–1982). Był on w okresie międzywojennym oficerem sztabowym wojska polskiego w stopniu pułkownika. Równocześnie był z zamiłowania geografem i autorem wielu książek i artykułów naukowych. W części wprowadzającej omówiono jego szlak bojowy na frontach I wojny światowej i walk o niepodległość Polski (1918–1920). Następnie zaprezentowano jego osiągnięcia, jako uczonego, publicystę i wykładowcę w wyższych szkołach wojskowych. Na początku lat 20. ubiegłego wieku napisał m.in. dwie książki – Terytorium Polski pod względem wojskowym oraz Geografia wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej i ziem ościennych. Były to, nie tylko w polskiej literaturze geograficznej, ale i w światowej, pozycje nowatorskie poświęcone geografii militarnej. Zostały omówione w nich założenia metodyczne oraz walory merytoryczne. Zaznaczono ponadto, że Umiastowski był także autorem opracowań z zakresu geografii politycznej, m.in. rozpatrywał stosunki polsko-rosyjskie i polsko- -niemieckie. Po agresji niemieckiej, a później sowieckiej na Polskę we wrześniu 1939 roku znalazł się we Francji, a później dotarł do Wielkiej Brytanii, gdzie nadal prowadził aktywną działalność publicystyczną. Po wojnie, aż do śmierci pozostał na emigracji, gdzie zajmował się działalnością kolekcjonerską zbierając stare mapy i ryciny, głównie dotyczące historii Polski w XVII i XVIII wieku.
EN
The paper presents the life and the creative deeds of the Polish geographer, Roman Umiastowski (1893–1982). During the inter-war period Umiastowski was a staff officer of the Polish army in the grade of a colonel. At the same time, he indulged very much in geography and authored numerous books and scientific articles. In the introductory part of the article the military deeds of Umiastoswki’s during the World War I and the struggle for the sovereignty of Poland (1918–1920) are outlined. Then, his achievements are presented as a scholar, a journalist and a lecturer of the higher military schools. Umiastowski wrote, in particular, at the beginning of the 1920s, two books. The first of those was entitled The territory of Poland in military terms, and the second – The military geography of the Polish Commonwealth and of the neighbouring countries. These books were definitely novel, not only in Polish literature, but also in the world literature, as devoted to the military geography. The two books are commented upon in the paper, along with their methodological prerequisites and the substantive qualities. The paper notes, as well, that Umiastowski authored also the reports concerning the political geography. Thus, in particular, he considered the Polish-Russian and the Polish-German relations. After the German and then the Soviet aggressions against Poland in September 1939, Umiastowski landed in France, to thereafter reach the United Kingdom, where he still conducted the journalist activity. After the WWII, until his death, he remained emigrant, while collecting old maps and engravings, mainly those concerning the history of Poland in the 17th and 18th centuries.
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This paper examines the size and distribution of the Polish population in the Ukraine and the Ukrainian population in Poland. The first section discusses the historical setting that led Polish and Ukrainian populations to live together on the wide Polish-Ukrainian borderland. The paper then goes on to look at the scale and direction of migration movements that took place after World War II. As a result of these movements, comprising a total of about 2 million inhabitants, the new border between Poland and The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became a clear ethnic demarcation separating Poles from Ukrainians. The size of the Polish population in the Ukraine during the postwar period was examined on the basis of Soviet censuses carried out in 1959, 1970, 1979 and 1989. They showed a gradual reduction in the size of Polish population (in 1959 - 363.3 thousand, 1989 - 219.2 thousand). This decrease was caused by assimilation processes. Soviet census data were questioned. For this reason, the outcome of a Ukrainian census, conducted in new political conditions, was eagerly awaited. This census was conducted in 2001 and revealed only 144.1 thousand Poles, mostly living in Zytomierski and Chmielnicki region. The author gives reasons for the decline in the Polish population. The second part of the article discusses the situation of the Ukrainian population in Poland. Because dispersed, Ukrainians in Poland had difficulties in maintaining their national and religious distinction. Particular attention is paid to the consequences of the 'Vistula Action'. As a result of the action, strong processes of acculturation and assimilation of the Ukrainian community into the Polish environment occurred. The next section presents an outcome of the Polish census conducted in 2002. It revealed that 36.8 thousand Ukrainians live on Polish territory, of whom 5.9 thousand declared Lemko nationality. Most Ukrainians reside in the Warmia and Mazury province. In conclusion, the author compares the living conditions of Poles in the Ukraine and Ukrainians in Poland. He advances the thesis that both minorities will be subject to an intense process of assimilation.