THE OLSHANSKI FAMILY BEFORE AND DURING THE POLISH UPRISING 1863–1864

Abstract

The article examines the role of the Olshansky family members in the preparation and implementation of the January Uprising of 1863–1864 in Right-Bank Ukraine. The connections of this noble Polish family with Kyiv University, some of whose students and teachers participated in the Polish uprising, are investigated. The active participation of the family members in protests, demonstrations and armed actions, as well as repressive actions by the imperial authorities, are highlighted. Particular attention is paid to the individuals of Lev, Vitalia and Romuald Olshansky, who became key participants in the revolutionary movement. Lev Olshansky participated in student protests, for which he was arrested and exiled. Also, according to the materials of the police courts, there is evidence that Vitalia Olshanska joined the demonstrative wearing of mourning, which was one of the forms of Polish protest in 1861. Romuald Olshansky led the insurgent detachment that set out from Kyiv in April–May 1863 and was defeated after a series of battles with imperial troops. The organizational and military aspects of the Olshanskys' participation in the uprising are analyzed, in particular the process of producing the “Golden Letters” of providing weapons and material resources, as well as the tactical maneuvers of R. Olshansky's detachment. The relationship with other figures of the uprising, such as Isidor Kopernytsky, Stanislav Tarasevich and Vladislav Rudnytsky, is investigated. The repressive measures of the tsarist administration against the participants of the uprising are considered. The course of the investigation, trials and conditions of imprisonment of the Olshanskys are highlighted, which became a reflection of the general policy of the empire towards the Polish resistance movement. Key attention is paid to the case of Romuald Olshansky, his sentence and execution in the Kyiv Fortress in January 1864. In conclusion, based on archival materials, memoirs of contemporaries and scientific works, the article determines the importance of the Olshansky family in the development of the Polish national liberation movement in the middle of the 19th century. The Olshansky house became one of the key centers in the preparation of the Polish armed uprising in Kyiv in the spring of 1863, and representatives of this family became one of the most active participants in demonstrations and armed struggle against the Russian Empire.