Kalinowski as the banner of Polish revenge in Belarus
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The reform of 1861 of the year, which liberated the peasants of the Russian Empire from serfdom, was half-hearted, which did not suit either the landlords or the peasants. At the same time, unrest began on the outskirts of the empire. Particularly disturbing was the situation in the west - in the Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Belarusian lands. The Polish nobility, who had recovered their spirit, considered that the opportune moment had arrived and began to prepare an uprising, hoping with the help of England and France to restore the Commonwealth within the boundaries of 1792 of the year. The situation in 1863 in the west of the Russian Empire was difficult. In the churches there were prayers calling for a rebellion. In Warsaw, Russian residents, as well as soldiers and officers were insulted and stoned. Burned books in Russian and German. In Italy and Austria (Galicia), camps were set up to train the rebels. The uprising coordinating centers were located in London and in Paris.
The 1863 outbreak in January in Warsaw and the Kingdom of Poland insurgency quickly spread to the Belarusian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Latvian territories. The rebels were distinguished by extreme cruelty - they killed Russian officials, soldiers and officers, disfigured their bodies with torture, cut off their ears and noses, ripped off their stomachs, pierced their eyes. Orthodox monasteries and temples were plundered and burned, and monks and priests were abused. The atrocities were committed against the peasants - as the Belarusian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Latvian, and to their Polish. They killed for disobedience and unwillingness to participate in the uprising not only of male peasants, but also of women and even children. From among the rebels, special executioners were appointed for these massacres.
In Vilna, one of the leaders of the uprising was Vincent Konstantin Kalinovsky. He never spoke about Belarusians at all and would probably be very puzzled if he found out that later Belarusian historians would call him a diminutive colloquial name Kastus. True, he wrote several proclamations on local Belarusian dialects, but all these papers are imbued with the ideas of restoring the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and they repeat, like a spell, “God, save Poland!” Kalinowski repeated: “Proper faith is Uniatism, and Orthodoxy - faith of the dog, schism, which the Russian authorities have imposed on them by force. ” He never hid his hatred of everything Russian. Before his death in 1864, Kalinowski managed to deliver to freedom the “Letter from under the gallows”, in which he wrote the following: “Only then, people, will you live happily when there is no Moskal over you”.
The 1863 uprising of the year was crushed. The hopes of the insurgent nobility for an ambulance support of England and France did not materialize either: they limited themselves to formidable notes and the subsequent protection of the rights of the defeated nobility.
In Poland, the 150 anniversary of the 1863 uprising of the year is now of particular importance. Nobody mentions the Polish peasants tortured and killed at the same time and the atrocities committed against them. Celebrations on the anniversary of the 1863 uprising of the year were opened on January 16, 2013, in the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, with the direct participation of the President of Poland Bronislav Komorowski. And the jubilee events themselves will be held during the year with the participation of the Polish Sejm, the Senate, the Ministry of Defense and many public organizations. Concerts, scientific conferences, openings, exhibitions, commemorative events at the burial sites of the rebels and much more are planned. An 22 January 2013 event has already been held at Powazki Military Cemetery in Warsaw, listing the names of the dead insurgents in the presence of B. Komorowski in the manner of reading the victims of the 11 September 2001 attack in New York. Two coins were issued in denominations of 2 and 10 zlotys. Do not forget about the Belarusian refugees - in the near future in Poland with the participation of the Belarusians will be held a ski raid "In places Kalinowski."
Poles demonstrated their activity outside of Poland. So, on 22 on January 2013, the Polish ambassador to Belarus, Leszek Sharepka, laid flowers at the monument to R. Taurgut and K. Kalinovsky in Svisloch. The event was attended by representatives of the Belarusian opposition. In the message of the Polish embassy regarding the conduct of this action, it was said: “The embassy of Poland in Minsk informed the Belarusian authorities about the festivities and invited them to take part in the celebration of the 150 anniversary of the Uprising (as in the original - A.P.) 1863-1864, therefore that a common history should unite, and not divide, neighboring nations. ” The fact that this "association" is directed, first of all, against the union state of Belarus - Russia, is silent in the message of the embassy.
In Belarus now is a difficult social and ideological situation. Back in 1993, before AGLukashenko came to power, a special stamp was issued, and 2 in February 2013 (on Kalinowski’s birthday) a solemn cancellation of a new stamp dedicated to Kastus Kalinouski was held at Belpochtampta. Through the Ministry of Education in schools held dictations on the "Letter from under the gallows" K. Kalinowski. These initiatives were welcomed by the Belarusian opposition. In addition, the nationalists formed an organizing committee for the celebration of two “anniversaries”, which was headed by former presidential candidates and implacable opponents of A. Lukashenko - A. Milinkevich and V. Neklyaev. Alyaksandr Milinkevich recently added heat, saying: “In general, the country's leadership does not know how Moscow will react to the celebrations, but will the revolution explode on the 150 anniversary of the uprising?”
The organizers, as always, are counting on foreign aid, primarily Polish. They are going to install the crosses at the graves of Polish insurgents, implement scientific and educational programs, conferences, historical reconstructions, music festivals and even create a rock opera about Kalinowski. All this is supposed to be done non-stop for two years in a row. February 1 has already hosted the first such event at the BNF headquarters, during which postcards were signed to “the current rebels” (to the few prisoners against Lukashenko’s opponents).
And what about the official Belarusian authorities? It feels like they don't know how to react. Meanwhile, a number of serious historians and public figures, concerned about the current escalation of Russophobia and the pollinating of public life in Belarus, held a scientific conference “Polish gentry uprising of the year 1863. A look at the events after 150 years ", in which the chief editor of the Belarusian Thought journal V.Gigin bluntly said:" There was a great terror ... we are talking about 128 insurgents who were hanged by Ant, but we don’t know that hundreds, if not the victims ... they were absolutely wild terrorist attacks. "
President Lukashenko has repeatedly spoken about Poland’s desire to regain domination, if not over all, then at least over Western Belorussia. There are supporters of the Polish revenge in Belarus itself. The latest confirmation of the revanchist aspirations of Poland, about which A. Lukashenko speaks, was a defiant concert of Polish groups Karat Napalm Grupa, Zjednoczony Ursynów and Irydion, held on January 26 2013 in Vilnius in the House of Polish Culture. Despite requests from the Union of Poles in Lithuania to “not politicize the concert,” the hip-hop group Zjednoczony Ursynów sang that “in the future Vilnius, Lviv and Grodno will be Polish, and not strangers” ...
It seems that in the part of the former Russian Empire, where 150 years ago flared up the flames of the Polish insurgency, serious events are brewing again ...
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