Uprising of Polish political exiles in Siberia
Encyclopedia
Siberian Uprising or Baikal Insurrection ( or Powstanie nad Bajkałem) was a short-lived uprising of about 700 Polish
political prisoner
s and exile
s (Sybiracy) in Siberia
, Russian Empire
, that started on 24 June 1866 and lasted for a few days, till their defeat on 28 June.
After the failure of the January Uprising
in Poland in 1863-1865, the Russian empire exiled many of the Poles involved to Siberia.
The insurgents had brief contacts with Siberian nationalists, who hoped for a general Siberian uprising and the establishment of the republic of Svobodoslaviya (Свободославия). They also had contact with Nikolai Serno-Solovyevich; another group supporting the insurgents was the Zemlya i Volya with activists such as Nikolai Chernyshevsky
and Aleksandr Herzen. The Poles and the Russians planned a major uprising under Chernyshevsky and Walenty Lewandowski, but due to betrayal a wave of arrests disrupted their plans.
Although the arrests prevented a major uprising from occurring, a group of about 700 Poles who were assigned to the construction of the Circumbaikal Highway
(a road near Lake Baikal
and the Mongolia
n border) decided to disarm the guards and escape via Mongolia to China
, where they hoped to find English
ships and return to Europe
by way of America
.
, starting with their escort of 138 soldiers. They liberated other small groups of prisoners and raided local institutions such as the post office. However some of the Russian soldiers (Cossacks) taken captive managed to escape and alerted the governor-general
in Irkutsk
. A major mobilization of Russian forces in Siberia occurred, with many thousands of troops converging on the insurgents. The insurgents split, with Celiński trying to evade the enemy forces and Szaramowicz trying to break through them. Some of the insurgents quickly surrendered, particularly those who were content with the partial amnesty
and reduction of sentences they received in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on Alexander II of Russia
in April that year. On 28 June the rest, commanded by Szaramowicz, were defeated at the battle of Mishikha (Miszychna, Мишиха).
Alexander II of Russia
. They were executed on 27 November 1866 near Irkutsk
.
Polish poet Kornel Ujejski
dedicated one of his poems to this event. A street in Irkutsk is also named after Polish insurgents.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s and exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
s (Sybiracy) in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, that started on 24 June 1866 and lasted for a few days, till their defeat on 28 June.
Background
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
in Poland in 1863-1865, the Russian empire exiled many of the Poles involved to Siberia.
The insurgents had brief contacts with Siberian nationalists, who hoped for a general Siberian uprising and the establishment of the republic of Svobodoslaviya (Свободославия). They also had contact with Nikolai Serno-Solovyevich; another group supporting the insurgents was the Zemlya i Volya with activists such as Nikolai Chernyshevsky
Nikolai Chernyshevsky
Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky was a Russian revolutionary democrat, materialist philosopher, critic, and socialist...
and Aleksandr Herzen. The Poles and the Russians planned a major uprising under Chernyshevsky and Walenty Lewandowski, but due to betrayal a wave of arrests disrupted their plans.
Although the arrests prevented a major uprising from occurring, a group of about 700 Poles who were assigned to the construction of the Circumbaikal Highway
Circumbaikal Highway
The Circumbaikal Highway was part of the Main Siberian Postal Highway . It started from Irkutsk, went along the Irkut River, further southwards around Lake Baikal to the village of Kultushnoye . At Kultushnoye the road turned south and went into Mongolia...
(a road near Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
and the Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
n border) decided to disarm the guards and escape via Mongolia to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where they hoped to find English
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
ships and return to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
by way of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The uprising
The insurgents called themselves a Siberian Legion of Free Poles (Syberyjski Legion Wolnych Polaków). Numbering about 700 people and led by Narcyz Celiński and Gustaw Szaramowicz they attacked the nearby units of Russian ArmyImperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
, starting with their escort of 138 soldiers. They liberated other small groups of prisoners and raided local institutions such as the post office. However some of the Russian soldiers (Cossacks) taken captive managed to escape and alerted the governor-general
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
in Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
. A major mobilization of Russian forces in Siberia occurred, with many thousands of troops converging on the insurgents. The insurgents split, with Celiński trying to evade the enemy forces and Szaramowicz trying to break through them. Some of the insurgents quickly surrendered, particularly those who were content with the partial amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
and reduction of sentences they received in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
in April that year. On 28 June the rest, commanded by Szaramowicz, were defeated at the battle of Mishikha (Miszychna, Мишиха).
Aftermath
Most of the insurgents were either killed or captured. Virtually none escaped, although some were taken prisoner weeks after the uprising started. All of the 400 survivors had their sentences increased, and four of the leaders were to be executed (in addition to Celiński and Szaramowicz, Władysław Kotkowski and Jakub Reiner). They were allowed to write letters to their families, but they were never delivered, as the delivery was stopped by a personal order from tsarTsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
. They were executed on 27 November 1866 near Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
.
Polish poet Kornel Ujejski
Kornel Ujejski
Kornel Ujejski , also known as Cornelius Ujejski, was a Polish poet, patriot and political writer.He was named "last of the greatest Polish poets of Romanticism"....
dedicated one of his poems to this event. A street in Irkutsk is also named after Polish insurgents.