Lietuvos istorijos institutas

The article is dedicated to the research of the private correspondence of inhabitants of local voivodeships in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the period between the end of 1794 and the first three quarters of 1795. The aim of the article is to see the reactions of state or powiat officers, regular nobles, bishops, lower ranking clerics and friars, university professors and military officers towards changes the that were eliminating the statehood and to reveal general tendencies of the letters. The letters that mention political changes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the end of the year 1794 to the first three quarters of 1795 are not many – 24 pieces. Most of the letters were written from rural areas, provincial towns and boroughs, 5 letters are from Vilnius and 3 from Grodno. Sometimes the letters mention the Supreme Board of the Land, the Russian imperial institution, which then had taken over the governance. In very seldom cases the fact of swearing oath to the Empire is mentioned. The topic of loyalty to the new government is also rare, mostly when talking about communication with the newly formed administration or officers of the foreign army. The letter that stands out is the one by Feliks Warzyński, the flagbearer of Samogitia and elder of Tirkšliai, the text of which is addressing the breaking of the law during a dietine. The most common topic of private correspondence is the factor of the Russian Imperial army. The authors that wrote on these topics mention taxes, supplying of food and feed, lootings, and the options of protecting their possessions. The letters mention pursuit of favour from the top military leadership and commanders of units. This was a pragmatic, situation based pursuit. The reverberations of the 1794 uprising of T. Kościuszko are not ample in the private correspondence. Residents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania complained and pleaded, for themselves or their relatives, regarding their status of prisoners, also property and food taken by the military in the course of the uprising. The style of most letters is sufficiently calm and business-like, although sometimes bursting with sadness, hopelessness and uncertainty. Sometimes they tell of the very situation of this deep crisis, mentioning the devastation of the land, hunger and difficulty in communicating.

The egodocuments (letters and diaries) provide historians and linguists with the rare opportunity to observe the everyday life of generations, who lived long ago. The Diary of Vytautas Civinskis (1887–1910), a young nobleman, tells about the years he spent abroad while studying in Leipzig, Berlin, and Dorpat in the first years of the 20th century. Along with other information, one can find rather scarce, but nevertheless valuable data about the societies of Lithuanians in Moscow, Berlin, and Dorpat which he described. In Moscow Civinskis attended Lithuanian parties, in Berlin he joined some meetings and a picnic, arranged by the local society of Lithuanians. Most closely he observed the life of the Society of Lithuanian Students of Dorpat. Civinskis became an active member of this society, and temporarily worked as a secretary, a librarian, and even one of its leaders. Spending his vacations in the Lithuanian estate Mituva, which belonged to his family, Civinskis also helped to establish the Agricultural Society of Skapiškis, arranged a theatrical performance and founded its library. This Diary, previously practically unknown, adds some interesting new details and trivia about all the mentioned societies, their activities and members. Many surnames of members are mentioned, the printed program of the party in Moscow adds to our knowledge of the cultural life of Lithuanians there, and previously unknown facts about women studying in Tartu are also published. This article includes some good quality photographs, taken by the diarist in Tartu.

The article discusses a watercolour painting from a private collection authored by Wojciech Iwaszkiewicz, artillery ober-bombardier of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the background of the urban landscape are objects that allow easy identification of the capital of Lithuania: partly ruined Upper Castle and the Bekesh Hill. Other objects and figures are identifiable by the inscriptions on the other side of the painting. Particularly interesting is the first plan of the drawing, which depicts the Tatar Gates and a few wooden houses standing near them. This is the only known view of the Tatar Gates of the Vilnius defensive wall. The buildings also depict a number of city dwellers, most of them being military personnel of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (artillery officer, cannoneer, ober-feurwerker, etc., as well as the author of the painting himself ), thus the picture is also interesting as a source of research into different military uniforms. Inscriptions by the Upper Castle and Bekesh Hill reflect legends and stories, popular among Vilnians at the end of the eighteenth century. In the former case, one tower of the castle is named as the temple of the pagan god Lelum Polelum Swistum po Swistum. Yet above the Bekesh Hill is written a legend about the reckless death of this cadet on the way down while riding a horse. Through historical sources we were able to determine that W. Iwaszkiewicz enlisted into the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a cannoneer in the spring of 1790, soon was raised to the rank of the bombardier and in the spring of 1791 to the ober-bombardier, yet in the summer of 1793 he was raised to the rank of stykjunker. The painting in analysis is related to a particular event: attempts to reform and strengthen the Lithuanian artillery at the end of the eighteenth century and the amassing of the military in Vilnius. In spite of somewhat primitive style of the painting, it’s a very interesting and valuable document of urban iconography.

The article is dedicated to present, still unexplored in Lithuanian historiography, works of the late eighteenth-century writer Wincenty Ignacy Marewicz and to discuss his reflections on his living times. Marewicz (1755–1822) was a poor nobleman, born in Trakai powiat and, having studied there, he later spent in Vilnius a significant portion of his life, trying to survive off his literary activities. He dedicated his works to the nobles, hoping to receive their protection and support, which he also published and distributed on his own. Creative legacy of Marewicz is ample and omnidirectional, however his contemporaries considered him a secondary writer and even graphomaniac, thus he was forgotten by the following generations and was little researched. In spite of any doubts regarding literary skills of Marewicz, we can notice that his writings, often very personal, may be interesting to a historian because of the reflections about himself and his living times. Being avid supporter of state reforms and the Four-Year Sejm, Marewicz in the last years of the eighteenth century wrote pieces that were filled with patriotic spirit, full of contemplations on the destiny of his homeland and of advice to the powerful regarding governance of the country. Writings of the litterateur were close to sentimentalism, with the accentuated desire for authenticity and naturalness. Marewicz promoted ideas of egalitarianism and solidarity of society, criticising the predominant types of relationships. The article discusses works created by the litterateur in the last decade of the century, such as drama, political poetry, biographical narratives dedicated to the nobility and decorations designed for the anniversary of the May 3rd Constitution.

The aim of this article is to discuss the Jašiūnai manor (Pol. Jaszuny; Russ. Яшуны; Vilniaus Governorate, Vilnius County), owned by the historian, journalist, poet, translator and collector Michał vel Michał Wincenty Feliks Baliński (1794–1864). The manor will be discussed not only as a cultural hub for intellectuals in a general sense, but also as a unique space for writing Lithuanian history. The term “space” is understood here in the broad sense, as of the manor—as well as in the more narrow sense, as of the library itself (the historian’s office). Especially important for this research was the latter concept of a “space within a space”, the “historian’s workshop”, and its epicenter—the archive (manuscript collection). The aim of the research was to reconstruct the story of the emergence and fate of this collection of documents including its contents, sources, and most importantly its thematic direction and distinctiveness. The research showed that the largest collection of historical documents once housed in the archive of the Jašiūnai manor library is now kept in the Jagiellonian Library (Krakow). This material remains important to the history of the city of Vilnius, Vilnius University, and Lithuania’s academic history. Supplementary elements include attention to the Radvila family, the period of Steponas Batoras’s rule, and the history of the Szubrawcy (rascals) Society. This last component can be considered as an integral part not only of the history of Vilnius city but also of its university. The dual nature of the Jašiūnai archive is not necessarily an asset. When the library and archive of Jan vel Jan Chrzciciel Władysław Sniadecki vel Śniadecki (1756–1830) was transferred to the manor, Baliński’s own collection, which initially focused on the history of

The article presents personality and activities of Augustyn Middleton, nobleman from Kaunas powiat, with the main focus on assessing this person in the light of political events in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the geopolitical situation. At the centre of this research is the period from the reinstatement of the diplomatic mission of the Commonwealth in The Hague on 14 April 1790 to the end of activities of the Four-Year Sejm. The article reveals that Augustyn Middleton, assigned by Stanislaw August to the diplomatic mission of the Commonwealth in the United Provinces of the Netherlands, was the agent of the King, who had to inform the King’s cabinet on activities of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Mihał Kleofas Ogiński and to promote the reforms by the Four-Year Sejm in the foreign press thus shaping a positive public opinion in Western Europe regarding changes in Poland and Lithuania. Due to benevolent circumstances A. Middleton was able to reach the rank of embassy resident, however the horizons of his diplomatic career were limited by available finances. Political views of A. Middleton reflected aims declared by the fraction of Stanislaw August’s court: to create a strong and prospering monarchy, hoping that the state will be able to regain its glorious past. A. Middleton promoted constitutional monarchy, inheritable throne, regulation of activities of the Sejm and the dietines (sejmiki), granting of political rights to townspeople, and economic development of the country. While supporting the idea of a centralized state, A. Middleton did not reflect on the rights of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or the topic of a binary state. In assessing economic changes in Europe A. Middleton opposed the physiocrats, emphasizing that the most powerful form of capital comes not from agriculture but from banking. However, he was not afraid to admit that his knowledge of economics was not sufficient to explain the processes of financial capital. Ideas of religious tolerance, promoted by A. Middleton, his cosmopolite view of collaboration between states and nations, active interest in political and social transformations in Europe through anonymous polemical publications in foreign press on the topics of revolution allow for bringing the nobleman from Kaunas powiat A. Middleton into the circle of yet unknown people of the Enlightenment.