Szymon Konarski
Encyclopedia
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...
radical democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
politician and revolutionary. As a politician, he supported the radical idea of social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
and economic equality for all men, as well as the right of political and national liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
and self-governance
Self-governance
Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of organization.It may refer to personal conduct or family units but more commonly refers to larger scale activities, i.e., professions, industry bodies, religions and political units , up to and including autonomous regions and...
.
Konarski supported the idea of land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
in the form of parceling out aristocratic estates among the poor peasants, and opposed the clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
. An ardent revolutionary, he believed in a revolution by all peoples of the 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...
, which would bring freedom and democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
to all.
Life
Szymon Konarski was born 5 March 1808 in the village of Dobkiszki near SejnySejny
Sejny is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area , on the Marycha river, being a tributary of Czarna Hańcza...
. His father, Jerzy Stefan Konarski, was a colonel in the Polish Army and a veteran of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Kościuszko Uprising
Kosciuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
. Upon retirement, he retreated to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a town in southern Poland with 4,429 inhabitants . It is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship ; previously it was in the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship ....
, where he became a judge. Konarski's mother, Paulina née Wiszniewska was also active in the struggle for independence for the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
and took part in the Lithuanian Highest National Council (RNNL). At the age of 9 Szymon joined a local Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
school in Sejny and then a trade school in Łomża.
Upon graduating, on March 22, 1826 he joined the army of the Kingdom of Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
. Serving in the foot rifle regiment, Konarski quickly advanced through its ranks and the following year he rose from the rank of Private to NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
. During the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
against Imperial Russia Konarski's regiment took part in some of the fiercest battles of the war, including the Okuniew, the Wawer, the Grochów
Battle of Olszynka Grochowska
Battle of Olszynka Grochowska was the largest battle of the November Uprising and biggest friction in Europe since the battle of Waterloo. It was fought between the armies of Poland and Russia on February 25 in the woods near Grochów, at the eastern outskirts of Warsaw.- Before the battle :The...
and the Liw. Promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieut.
Podporucznik
Podporucznik is a rank of the Polish Army, roughly equivalent to the military rank of the Second Lieutenant in the armed forces of other countries....
, Konarski also took part in Gen. Dezydery Chłapowski's raid into Lithuania, which resulted in his internment in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
.
Released, in March 1832 Konarski arrived in Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
, France, where he took up clock making as a trade. At the same time he studied the French republican thought and came in touch with the works of some of the classics of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Fascinated with radical democracy and republicanism, Konarski also joined a masonic
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
lodge and became active among the Great Emigration
Great Emigration
The Great Emigration was an emigration of political elites from Poland from 1831–1870. Since the end of the 18th century, a major role in Polish political life was played by people who carried out their activities outside the country as émigrés...
movement, notably in the circle of Joachim Lelewel
Joachim Lelewel
Joachim Lelewel was a Polish historian and politician, from a Polonized branch of a Prussian family.His grandparents were Heinrich Löllhöffel von Löwensprung and Constance Jauch , who later polonized her name to Lelewel.-Life:Born in Warsaw, Lelewel was educated at the Imperial University of...
. He became involved in the preparations for the ousting of Louis-Philippe of France
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
, proposed by radical republicans. The plan was for the revolution to then spread to other countries, including Germany, Italy and Poland. The concept was soon accepted by the Polish emigrants who started preparations for Józef Zaliwski
Józef Zaliwski
Józef Zaliwski of Junosza coat of arms was a Polish pułkownik of Kingdom of Poland, independence activist....
's raid into Poland and another national uprising. Thus Konarski became the representative of the revolutionaries for the areas of Kalwaria and Mariampol
Marijampole
Marijampolė is an industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Marijampolė is 48,700...
.
Konarski, pursued by the Russians, reached Poland clandestinely in early 1833 and commenced preparations. However, the society was tired of constant warfare, the last uprising having ended only two years before. Konarski's activities met with little support and he was forced to yet again flee to Prussia. Arrested by the Prussians, he was allowed to pass on to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. He spent some time in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, but in late 1833 he was appointed to Bienn in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. There he came into contact with yet another radical wing of Polish emigration, allied with the Young Italy movement. Konarski then joined a Polish military unit which was to start a fight alongside the Italians against King Charles Albert of Sardinia
Charles Albert of Sardinia
Charles Albert was the King of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. He succeeded his distant cousin Charles Felix, and his name is bound with the first Italian statute and the First War of Independence...
. However, soon after the start of the campaign, the corps of Gen. Antonio Girolamo Ramorino was utterly defeated.
Not discouraged by the defeat, Konarski allied himself with Young Poland
Young Poland
Young Poland is a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the ideas of Positivism...
, a Polish faction of Young Europe
Young Europe
Young Europe was an international association formed in 1834 on the model of Giuseppe Mazzini's Young Italy. It was composed of the national societies of Young Italy, Young Poland, and Young Germany, which, independent in their own sphere, acted in common, through a central committee, for the...
movement. Conflicted with Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski was a Polish-Lithuanian noble, statesman and author. He was the son of Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and Izabela Fleming....
, he was alienated within generally less radical Polish emigrants. He openly criticized the aristocratic faction and became involved in the creation of Union of Children of the Polish People, under heavy influence of the Pavel Pestel
Pavel Pestel
Colonel Pavel Ivanovich Pestel was a Russian revolutionary and ideologue of the Decembrists.In 1805-1809, Pavel Pestel studied in Dresden. In 1810-1811, he was a student at the Page Corps, from which he would graduate in the rank of praporshchik. Pestel was then sent to the Lithuanian Regiment of...
's Russian Decembrists. In 1835, together with several radical democrats, among them Jan Czyński
Jan Czynski
Jan Kazimierz Czyński was a Polish independence activist, lawyer by education, writer and publicist, a life-time fighter for the emancipation of the Jews, trade supporter, utopian socialist, radical democrat....
, Leon Zaleski
Leon Zaleski
Leon Zaleski was a Polish patriotic activist. Zaleski was a member of the Towarzystwo Demokratyczne Polskie, co-organiser of Józef Zaliwski guerrilla warfare , co-founder of the Stowarzyszenie Ludu Polskiego and member of its Zbór Główny, co-founder of the Konfederacja Powszechna Narodu Polskiego...
and Adam Sperczyński, Konarski started to publish a democratic bi-weekly "Północ". They were to yet again move to Poland and start preparations for a revolution, but were arrested by the French police and deported to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, possibly due to Czartoryski's intrigue. Konarski then moved back to Brussels, where he came in touch with Joachim Lelewel. On the latter's instructions, in July 1835 Konarski reached the Free City of Kraków
Free City of Kraków
The Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Kraków with its Territory , more commonly known as either the Free City of Kraków or Republic of Kraków , was a city-state created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and controlled by its three neighbours until 1846, when in the aftermath of the...
under yet another false name, Burhardt Sievers.
There he joined the Society of the Polish People, yet another revolutionary union of all sorts of Polish radicals. Konarski became one of its representatives of the Russian partition of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
and was to promote revolutionary ideas. He crossed the border under a false name of Janusz Hejbowicz and settled in Ołyka in Volhynia (modern Olyka). Instead of direct agitation, Konarski began to unite all of the secret societies and political parties in Russian-held parts of Poland into the Union of the Polish People. The organization quickly grew and included Polish secret societies in other parts of Russia as well, most notably the students of the university of St. Petersburg. However, the organization, with its French supporters, were infiltrated by the French and Russian secret police (Ochrana).
Louis-Philippe's secret agents passed the information of Konarski's true identity to the Russians and he was arrested on May 27, 1838 near Vilna (modern Vilnius). Imprisoned in the former Basilian
Basilian monk
Basilian monks are monks who follow the "Rule" of Saint Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea. The chief importance of the monastic rules and institutes of St. Basil lies in the fact that to this day his reconstruction of the monastic life is the basis of most of the monasticism practiced in the...
monastery, Konarski could do little but to watch most of his comrades arrested in the following months, as Prince Alexey Trubetskoy was able to force some of Konarski's men to inform on the other members of the Union. Tried for high treason, Konarski tried to blame all on himself and portrayed his comrades as either manipulated or insane. He came into contact with one of the guards, a former Decembrist Lt. Nikolay Kuzmin-Korovayev, who planned Konarski's escape. However, Kuzmin was himself arrested and quickly sentenced to disembowelment
Disembowelment
Disembowelment is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract , usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident, but has also been used as a method of torture and execution...
, a sentence later changed to life imprisonment. Finally Konarski was sentenced to death by a firing squad and was executed in Vilna on February 27, 1839. His grave was then trampled with horses and was never found.