Joint Event by the Museum of Free Belarus and the Museum of Independence of Poland Held at the Warsaw Citadel

On the Day of Belarusian Political Prisoners, the X Pavilion of the Warsaw Citadel — the place where associates of Kastus Kalinouski once awaited their sentences — hosted a joint event by the Museum of Free Belarus and the Museum of Independence of Poland.

The idea for the project emerged when staff of the Museum of Free Belarus first visited the prison cells of the Citadel and saw personal belongings of 19th-century insurgents displayed in showcases: glasses, letters and chess pieces made of bread. Exactly the same kinds of objects belonging to Belarusian political prisoners are now preserved in the collection of the Belarusian museum.

In this way, the memory of the 1863 uprising intertwined with contemporary stories of Belarusian political prisoners.

The meeting was initiated by the Youth Council of the Museum of Independence, headed by Blanka Ciborowska. Opening the event, Blanka addressed the guests in Belarusian and recalled the historic reburial of Kalinoŭski in Vilnius in 2019, when the flags of three neighbouring nations flew side by side. She also touched on the recent wave of releases of political prisoners, including Andrzej Poczobut, reminding attendees that at least 840 people remain behind bars in Belarus and repression continues. The audience honoured the memory of victims of both the Citadel and contemporary Belarusian prisons with a minute of silence.

The atmosphere of the uprising was recreated by re-enactors from the Invictus 1863 club — Katsiaryna Vadanosava and Vasil Kalach. Katsiaryna presented mourning attire — black clothing and special jewellery with patriotic symbols worn by women after the uprising was crushed. It served as an act of civil disobedience: women were fined and arrested but did not give up. The re-enactors then held a master class on combat techniques, and noble sabres flashed through the air.

As part of the expert panel “The 1863 Uprising. Heritage of Two Nations?”, Belarusian and Polish historians (Ales Smalianchuk, Vasil Herasimchyk, Krzysztof Bakała and Michał Cieślak) reflected on whether the memory of 1863 had been overshadowed by more recent traumas — the Second World War and Soviet repression. The scholars discussed the role of the uprising, which took place 160 years ago and launched irreversible processes of forming modern nations — both Polish and Belarusian. They also addressed the context of present-day Belarus: under conditions of aggressive pro-Russian policies and the erasure of memory about national heroes, commemorating the Kalinoŭski uprising can result in real prison sentences.

The evening concluded with a presentation of artifacts from the exhibition “Voices From Behind Bars” by the Museum of Free Belarus. The combination of cold 19th-century prison walls with letters and drawings by contemporary political prisoners left a strong impression on many attendees.

The joint initiative of the two museums demonstrated that shared memory and understanding of historical context help transform historical ties into real solidarity and support.