Ugoda polsko-rosyjska a kwestia zachowania tożsamości zniewolonego narodu w poglądach Zygmunta Wielopolskiego (sprawa listu otwartego do poznańskiego „Orędownika” w 1880 r.)
The concept of the polish-russian settlement and the problem of preserving the identity of the subjugated nation acording to Zygmunt Wielopolski (in the light of the discussion on the open letter to “Orędownik” in 1880)

Summary/Abstract: The article describes the attitude of Zygmunt Wielopolski, leader of the supporters of the Polish-Russian settlement, towards national traditions and identity. In 1880 Zygmunt Wielopolski sent an open letter to the journal “Orędownik” [The Advocate] published in Poznań. The author presented there his political credo and defended the Polish national interest constrained by intense Russification of the Kingdom of Poland following the failure of the January Uprising. Wielopolski appealed to compatriots and requested them to keep the Polish language and cling on to the Catholic religion of their fathers , perceiving these as the most important things during the partition of Poland.Wielopolski’s open defense of the Polish identity was aimed at neutralising the common accusations of the national apostasy of the supporters of the Polish-Russian settlement. The letter to “Orędownik” was to break the isolation of Zygmunt Wielopolski after the fall of the January Uprising and contribute to gaining broader support from the bourgeois and intellectual circles.

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