THE NEWSPAPER “KAVKAZ” ABOUT LUDWIK MIEROSLAWSKY

Abstract

The national-liberation uprising of the Poles of 1863-1864 directed against the domination of the Russian Empire left a mark on the public consciousness of small nations with its tragedy. Interest in the uprising was also increased by the fact that in the national policy of the Russian Empire, the "topic of Poland" was considered the most difficult issue.

The subject of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 was recorded in the periodical press published in Georgia (Tbilisi and Kutaisi provinces), where the main source of information dissemination was the political-literary newspaper "Kavkaz". On the one hand, it was the official body of the government of the country, which was spread through the other provinces of the Caucasus that lack such bodies too. On the other hand, the newspaper had the rights of private publishing and its own company, although it enjoyed the support of the government.

In "Kavkaz", we don't read about Katkov's theoretical discussions on the rebellion, or as to the attempt carried out by I. Chavchavadze sending a correspondent to Poland and studying the real picture on the ground. The content of the topic of rebellion on the pages of “Kavkaz" echoed the public opinion in the Russian Empire and the materials of the official press. The newspaper presents the image of the uprising as violent actions for the Polish people despite the good will from the Empire and the normal situation in general. Obviously, the goal of the editorial board with the narrative of the interests of the Empire was to eliminate the confidence of other small nations living on the territory of Russia to the rebellion and in this respect the newspaper achieved results.

Ludwik Mieroslavsky (1814-1878), the leader of the uprising, was an "incidental" person for "Kavkaz". His unsuccessful leadership continued for 22 days, that's why the newspaper talked about him in three issues of the newspaper in a negative context. "Kavkaz" mentioned Mieroslavsky while reporting the skirmish between the rebels and regular army units in Kzhivoson forest. It is difficult to agree with "Kavkaz" in the assessment of Mieroslavsky, because the goal of the editors is to belittle his military skills, try to emphasize his disagreement with the revolutionary committee, or the distrust of him on the part of the Polish people. The newspaper denigrates him in his personal qualities as well, as if he ran to the Prussian border immediately after the first shot was fired, etc. The editorial board did not try to find real information about Mieroslavsky's activities, thus not allowing the reader to create his real portrait. The fact is, this was not even included in the editorial plans. All the material of "Kavkaz" about Mieroslavsky was a repetition of the narrative of the Russian press. However, Mieroslavsky, who was called "Polish Napoleon", was considered a highly rated politician. He was one of the prominent figures of the Polish emigration, who had a rich biography. He was a general, writer and poet, military theoretician and activist fighting for independence, inventor, etc.

Key words: Uprising of the Poles; "Kavkaz" newspaper; insurgents; Ludwik Mieroslavsky.