OVERVIEW OF POLISH EPIGRAPHY IN THE CAUCASUS

Abstract

The issue of Polish epigraphy in the Caucasus is still very poorly understood and until now no one of the scientists has attempted to analyze this phenomenon. This is probably due to the very scant research material that can be relied on in the 21st century. Despite the passage of time, there are, however, sources that allow us to study Polish epigraphy in the Caucasus. It can be divided into four main groups: a) inscriptions on temples; b) epitaph; c) advertising epigraphs; d) graffiti, especially the kind called Style-Writing.Most of the Polish epigraphy in the Caucasus is associated with the presence of Poles in this area at a time when part of the lands of the Commonwealth was part of the Russian Empire. How many Poles ended up in the Caucasus and when is difficult to calculate, at least due to the lack of statistical data taking into account nationality. Presumably, although accurate calculations on this issue were not published, recruits from the territory of the former Rzeczpospolita to the Caucasus began to be expelled after 1773, i.e. after the I partition of Poland. The sending of exiles to serve in the Caucasus as a punishment took place, in turn, during the war, as, for example, after Napoleon's campaign in Moscow. Ludwik Wiedershal gave information that in 1812, apparently (it should be emphasized that the author used a conditional mood) 10 thousand Poles were sent to the Caucasus, although in 1815 almost all of them returned to the country. Other Polish groups exiled to the Caucasus included participants in uprisings for independence, as well as those who were repressed for participating in various organizations that, in the opinion of the tsarist government, posed a threat to the then existing system, for example, filarets, persons associated with the so-called Konarski case, and others.