On Saturday, the Polish and Lithuanian presidential couples participated in an 163rd anniversary ceremony of the 1863 January Uprising. The delegation of democratic Belarus, led by Svetlana Tsihanouskaya, also took part in the event, on president Nawrocki's invitation.
At the so-called Death Gate in Warsaw - the final route for numerous 1863 Polish insurgents, including leader Romuald Traugutt, marched to their executions on the Warsaw Citadel slopes by Russian authorities - candles were lit at the symbolic graves of Moscow's oppression victims.
As president Nawrocki put it, the January Uprising insurgents fought, among other reasons, because "they remembered the First Polish Republic, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Republic that was the common home of Poles, Lithuanians, and Ruthenians". He added that the Republic offered the opportunity to fulfill the aspirations of many nations.
Nawrocki recalled that 200,000 insurgents took part in the 1863 January Uprising, 20,000 of whom lost their lives, and 700 insurgents were murdered by Russian authorities in public executions in Warsaw and Vilnius.
"It is this blood that to this day builds our sense of independence and sovereignty, which became one of the historical foundations of the reconstruction of the Second Polish Republic, for which the 1863 January Uprising insurgents were a point of reference" - the Polish president said.
As he noted, however, currently "we are facing a time when the empire is striking back - and it is no longer Alexander I, nor Alexander II, nor Tsar Nicholas. It is no longer Joseph Stalin too, but Vladimir Putin (...). Yet it is still the same Russia that is murdering people in Ukraine, that is destabilizing the situation in our region". Nawrocki added that Russia "still cannot imagine conducting international relations in any other way than dividing nations among themselves".
"Today we deeply respect our freedom, independence, and sovereignty - and we will never surrender them, because that's what the January Uprising fighters died for" - Poland's head of state emphasized. "Empires fall, but freedom endures and will always triumph. May God bless a free and independent Poland. May God bless a free Lithuania, may God bless a free Ukraine and a free Belarusian nation. Honor and glory to the January Uprising fighters!" - President Nawrocki concluded.
Lithuania's President Nauseda, in turn, emphasized that "today we are all witnesses that the dark intentions of the Russian Empire have come to nothing [...] Centuries of aggressive military expansion, brutal oppression, propaganda, executions, and deportations have proven ineffective. Poland remains alive, free, and independent; it has not perished, it has not succumbed, and it has survived all the trials it has been subjected to. Lithuania has also survived. We persevered so that today, inspired by the heroes of our shared history, together with the Polish nation we can confidently look to the future. Lithuania and Poland are two brotherly nations that perfectly understand the loss of freedom, the struggle to regain it, and the need to defend it".
The Lithuanian head of state emphasized that the 1863 January Uprising is not just a distant echo of the past - but that its memory runs through pages of the region's modern history: from the rebirth of independent states, periods of occupation and totalitarian oppression, through resistance, dissident movements, the years of regaining national dignity, and up to the present day.
Nauseda also emphasized that Russia is once again openly threatening the entire civilized world- its Western heritage and all freedom-loving countries. "Seeking to rebuild its empire, Moscow has been waging brutal aggression against Ukraine for almost four years, attacking what it most detests: the very idea of freedom [...] Today, Poland and Lithuania are the target of a common enemy—and our courage, strength, and achievements pose a threat to the Kremlin dictator, who can only offer millions of enslaved people further suffering, ever more regret, and sacrifice".
"We are uncomfortable because we remind them that there is always the possibility of resistance, perseverance, and the building of societies and states based on human dignity. We are worthy heirs of the January Uprising and we have a duty to remain so" - Gitanas Nauseda concluded.
The January Uprising, which began on January 22, 1863, was the longest-lasting Polish armed uprising against the partitioning powers. Militarily it stood no chance, though - and politically it was based on the unfulfilled hopes that the governments of various European states would back it and intervene. Unlike the previous Kościuszko and November Uprisings, in which regular Polish military units clashed with Russia, the January Uprising was based on guerrilla warfare only.
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Source: PAP, IAR