The outstanding Polish writer Maria Konopnicka dedicated one of her short stories “How Suzin Died” to Paweł Suzin. It tells the story of the bravery, struggle and patriotism of the commander of one of the units of the January Uprising. Who was this somewhat forgotten character?
Paweł Suzin came from the same family as Adam Suzin, who was immortalised by Adam Mickiewicz in the third part of “The Forefathers’ Eve”. He was born in 1837 or 1839 in Orenburg on the Ural River. His father, Kajetan, was exiled to Siberia, probably for taking part in the November Uprising. Pawel’s mother was Russian, but according to some accounts she was supposed to be Arab.
At the age of 7, Pawel became an orphan, firstly his mother died prematurely, and then his father passed away. The boy was cared for by the governor of Orenburg, who enrolled him in the St Petersburg cadet corps. Having graduated from it as an 18-year-old ensign, he began his service in the Russian army.
In 1859, Pawel was transferred with his regiment to Lithuania. His stay there made him aware of his Polish origins. Raised in a Russian environment and orphaned at an early age, the young man, influenced by conversations with Poles who remembered his father, learned about the history of Poland and its people. Thus began the process of his national re-education.
During this period, Pawel became a correspondent for “Kolokol”, a Russian magazine published in London by the revolutionary Alexander Herzen. In it, he described the political situation in Lithuania.
When patriotic-religious demonstrations began in Lithuania in 1861, Suzin became involved in anti-Tsarist actions which preceded the outbreak of the uprising that came to be known as the January Uprising. His involvement in it was so great that he took part, in the uniform of a Russian officer, in the great procession that crossed the bridge from Kaunas into the Kingdom of Poland on the anniversary of the Union of Lublin. For this reason, he had to hide for five months.
In January 1862, he reached Paris via Berlin and then travelled to Italy before returning to Paris. During this period, he took up a job as a draftsman in one of the Paris locomotive factories and married Emilia Kałużyńska, daughter of an émigré of the November Rising.
Meanwhile, an uprising broke out in Poland in 1863. It was directed against the Russian invaders who had overrun Poland, first taking part in the partition of Poland at the end of the 18th century and then occupying the country from 1815.
In response to the outbreak of fighting, Suzin joined the insurgents. Initially, he had great difficulty getting through to Poland. After many perturbations, he made his way from Königsberg to the territory of the Augustów Governorate, having first swum across the small border river Szeszupa.
Once there, he began to reconnoitre the area. It soon became apparent that Augustow was inhabited by people representing various nationalities. The northern part of the province was occupied mainly by Lithuanians. Poles were few here; they were mainly concentrated in the southern part. Thus, the insurgents operating in the north had to operate among the population, which first had to be convinced for the cause of the fight against the Russians. On the other hand, the area abounded in forests, which provided good shelter from the enemy in case of danger, and in numerous lakes and marshes, which posed some difficulties for the regular army. In a nutshell, the Augustow region provided a ungrateful theatre of operations for the regular army, while it offered the insurgents many opportunities to hide in case of a difficult situation.
Suzin began his insurgent adventure by joining a group of volunteers operating in the forests of the Marijampol district. Gradually, new volunteers, mainly Lithuanians, began to flow into the squad and Suzin became its commander. The 150-strong group was initially very poorly armed. Some of the weapons were only mounted scythes. The situation improved when Józef Piotrowski, commissioner of the National Government in the Augustów Province, visited the camp in early May 1863.
On 22 May, Suzin’s unit encountered the enemy for the first time in battle near Poszławanty. A day later, there was a regular battle with the Russians at Balwierzyszki, in which they inflicted heavy losses. The following day, Suzin and his men entered the town of Olita, where he was joined by volunteers.
After the successes mentioned above, Suzin set a new objective for guerrilla warfare, i.e. the disruption of railway and telegraph communications in the northern corner of the Kingdom. He operated then in close proximity to the Prussian border, supervising arms shipments from abroad. He was very popular – everywhere he entered, he announced manifestos and liberation decrees of the National Government.
Unfortunately, in another major clash with the enemy, Suzin suffered heavy losses. He and many of his men were killed on 21 June at Staciszki. The commander died on the battlefield in the hands of his aides. The survivors of the insurgents moved to Sejny county.
Suzin passed into local legend. Residents of the area and insurgents remembered him as a man who understood the issues of the people. The manifest funeral held in Sejny was attended by almost all the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding area.
Historians say that Suzin’s death was a severe loss for the local uprising, at a time when it was beginning to enter its phase of greatest development.