The paper presents, first, the numbers and the spatial distribution of the ethnic
minorities in Poland. Then, the ethnic structures existing on the territories of the
eastern neighbours of Poland, that is – in Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine, and the
Kaliningrad district, are presented. Hypotheses are constructed on the basis of the
statistical analysis and the historical-geographical assessment, concerning the possibility
of emergence of conflicts of ethnic origin between various nationality
groups inhabiting the four political units located on the eastern side of Poland.