The ruthenian question in the face of the January Uprising from the perspective of the newspapers Gazeta Narodowa and Slovo Cover Image

Kwestia ruska w obliczu powstania styczniowego z perspektywy „Gazety Narodowej” i „Słowa”
The ruthenian question in the face of the January Uprising from the perspective of the newspapers Gazeta Narodowa and Slovo

Author(s): Adam Świątek
Subject(s): History, Media studies, Local History / Microhistory, Modern Age, 19th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: January Uprising; Galicia; Polish-Ruthenian relationships; Russophilia; press

Summary/Abstract: The January Uprising of 1863, unlike all the earlier Polish independence uprisings, postulated the creation of the Republic of Poland, Lithuania and Ruthenia. Military operations against Russia initiated in May 1863 in Podolia, Volhynia and Kiev region, ended in a defeat for the Poles in July 1863 (battle of Radyviliv). In the summer of 1863, it was planned to reactivate the uprising, including the participation of the Polish and Ruthenian population from the Austrian partition – Galicia. However, an attempt to involve the Ruthenians in the uprising ended in failure. The reason were the discrepancies between the interests of Poles and Ruthenians. They had been apparent for several months, dating back to the outbreak of the Uprising, or even earlier. The article analyzes the Polish texts published in Lviv’s democratic daily newspaper Gazeta Narodowa and the Ruthenian, russophilic newspaper Slovo. The discrepancies concerned a number of issues: the attitude to the borders of future Poland, the recognition of the right to Ruthenians’ national identity, the attitude to the Orthodox Church, the noble nature of the uprising, and the oppression of peasants by the Polish nobility etc. The analysis of these texts shows the lack of divergence in the interests of the Polish and Ruthenian communities in Galicia in the face of the national uprising.

  • Issue Year: 151/2024
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 107-126
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Polish
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