Poljaki v Penzenskom kraje v XVIII — pervoj polovine XIX veka
Poles in the Penza Country

Summary/Abstract: The author describes the questions of Poles appearing in the Penza Country territory and characterizes the role they played there in the 18th and the first half of the 19th century. The first information on the presence of Poles in the Penza Country come from the 17th century, when a system of defense fortifications was being built there. Poles were among national workers transferred to a new post in Penza. Another appearance of Poles in the Penza Country is related to the gentry colonization of the 18th century. In 1785, as a result of the edict of Catherine the Great on rights, liberties, and privileges of the Russian noble-born landed aristocracy, a landowner corporation of the Penza Governorate has been created. A few Polish-Lithuanian houses were a part of the corporation already in late 18th century: houses Błażewski, Łopatin, Strujski, Czufarowski, and Jagodziński. It is worth mentioning however, that during that time, these noble families were more or less Russified, and their representatives in large part accepted the Orthodox faith. The Homeland War of 1812 was an important event that influenced the appearance of Poles in the Penza Country. In the first half of the 19th century, Poles in the Penza Governorate resided there mostly as a result of their civil service, but already at that time, since the 1830s, the Governorate also became a place of temporary stay for Polish deportees, which cause to increase their numbers and role in the social and cultural development of the region.

• Details
• Contents