The Year 1905 and the Revival of Polish Culture Between the Neman and the Dnepr

Abstract

1. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS: POLISH BORDERLANDS IN THE EAST AND THE POLICY OF RUSSIFICATION The revolution which in 1905 shook Russian Empire (including Polish territories under tsar's domination) has become today only a matter of historical interest. It refers almost exclusively to Congress Kingdom of Researchers rarely pay attention to events taking place in historical part of Poland which directly incorporated into Russia and has been called in traditional historiography Annexed Territories (Ziemie Zabrane). These are present territories of Lithuania, Belarus, most of Ukraine, some parts of Latvia, a small part of Poland and especially such towns as Wilno (Vilnius), Kyiv and also Minsk, Grodno (Hrodna), Kowno (Kaunas), Bialystok, Dyneburg (Daugavpils), Mohylow (Mahileu), and Vitebsk (Vitsebsk). Let us take no account of Kyiv, which seceded from Poland in seventeenth century, when Ukraine came entirely under Russian domination. Let us focus on territories of Lithuania and Belarus (the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in those days called Northwest Country (Severo-Zapadnyi Krai), which were annexed to Russia in three successive partitions of Poland in years 1772-1795. The awareness of their belonging to Poland still alive at beginning of twentieth century, not only amongst so-called enlightened groups. My elder friend..., Kazimierz Okulicz recollects, was riding a horse somewhere near Smolensk Gate in first decade of twentieth century. When they were going over a small bridge, coachman said, pointing his whip at stream running under bridge, vot tsiaper my praiikhali u Polshchu (Well, we've just arrived in Poland). Polshcha (Poland) a notion broader than Grand Duchy of Lithuania or Crown. In folk terminology, it meant Republic of Poland. Among ordinary people, remembrance of border between Russia and pre-partition Polish Republic* existed until twentieth century.1 Two hundred years ago area of Grand Duchy of Lithuania not on fringes of Poland. On contrary, it is here that geometrical centre of Polish Republic (rather, Polish-Lithuanian Republic), its centre of gravity, located. It is here that gentry made decisions concerning shape of Sarmatian culture, Lithuanian (and Ukrainian) literary movement that produced-as rebellion against Warsaw classicism-the greatest masterpieces of Polish Romanticism. It is not by accident that Adam Mickiewicz called Lithuania centrum polszczyzny (the centre of Polish culture). Yet, Grand Duchy of Lithuania played an active part in Polish culture much longer, until 1864, that is until failure of January 1861 Insurrection.2 Still, from 1834 to 1863 Vilnius fourth-ranked Polish publishing centre after Warsaw, Cracow and Lwow (L'viv).3 We don't have a full register of Russian repressions which after defeat of January Insurrection affected Lithuanian-Belarusian territory. Admittedly, tsarist authorities closed all Polish libraries during Insurrection (by order of 28 March 1863), and soon thereupon entirely banned Polish press, closing (21 March 1864) even Polish-Russian Kurier Wilenski (The Vilnius Daily Paper) and Polish theatres (27 October 1864), and forbade any Polish performances, including singing of Polish songs in public. A few months after final suppression of Insurrection, Investigating Commission of General Tsylov set up, which within fifteen months closed all Polish bookshops and publishing houses in Vilnius. Then on 22 December 1865 an order given which forbade purchase of land by the people of Polish origin in all five provinces (gubernii) on Lithuanian-Belarusian-Ukrainian territories (while Poles could purchase land freely in Russia). Finally, in February 1866 speaking Polish forbidden in public and soon information plates appeared with inscription govorit' po-pol'ski vospreshchaetsia (speaking Polish forbidden). …