Mužyckaja prauda (Peasants' Truth or Folk's Truth) was the first Belarusian language newspaper printed in 1862-1863 by a collective led by a revolutionary Kastuś Kalinoŭski in the Belarusian Latin alphabet in a form of letters. Seven issues were printed, all under a pseudonym "Jaśko haspadar z pad Wilni" ("Jaśko, landowner from near Vilna" or "Jaśko, yeoman from near Vilna"). The newspaper was called illegal, revolutionary, "clandestine antitsarist newspaper", and manifesto.
Background Konstanty Kalinowski was born in Mastaŭliany, in Grodnensky Uyezd of the Russian Empire (now Mostowlany, Poland) to a szlachta family. After graduating from a local school in Świsłocz in 1855, Kalinowski entered the faculty of Medicine of the University of Moscow. After one semester he moved to St. Petersburg, where his brother was and joined the faculty of Law at the University of St. Petersburg. Along with his brother Victor, he got himself involved in Polish students' conspiracies and secret cultural societies, headed by Zygmunt Sierakowski and Jarosław Dąbrowski. After graduating in 1860, Konstanty traveled to Vilnius where he unsuccessfully applied to join the civil service.
History
After being refused a place in civil service, Kalinowski organized a movement for the liberation of his country. As a preparation for the uprising, he began issuing the first newspaper in the modern Belarusian language, Mužyckaja Praūda (Peasants' Truth), under a pseudonym "Jaśko haspadar z pad Wilni" ("Jaśko, landowner from near Vilna" or "Jaśko, yeoman from near Vilna"). He worked on this newspaper together with forestry officer Walery Wróblewski, who was a link between the revolutionary movements in Grodno and Białystok, geometer , duty officer , and Bronisław Szwarce. The exact place were the newspaper was printed is unknown, though it was probably printed in various cities, most likely in Białystok, Grodno and Vilnius. Pisarski claimed that it was printed in Minsk.
The first issue was probably published in June 1862, the second in early September 1862, issues 3, 4, and 5 in the period leading up to January 1863, issue 6 at the beginning of 1863, and issue 7 in the spring of 1863. June is the assumed date of publication because the Grodno governor, , wrote on September 17, 1862, to the Russian minister that issue one of this newspaper "... is in circulation among peasants for about two months, and the other for about two weeks"., "...jest w obiegu między chłopami około dwóch miesięcy, a drugi około dwóch tygodni" There were also unnumbered copies of Mużyckaja prauda in circulation.
Revolutionaries distributed issues of the Mużyckaja prauda themselves in the regions of Grodno and Białystok. Most notably, Wróblewski himself would scatter copies of the paper through these villages come nightfall on horseback. The audience were peasants ("to whom he promised land in their own language") and believers of the Uniate Church (abolished by the authorities in 1839).
Historian Leo Garoshka described the newspaper and authorities' response: The greatest part of Mužyckaja Praūda is devoted to unveiling the true facts about the plundering of the villages by the Tsarist authorities. The sixth issue is completely consecrated to the defence of the old Byelorussian Uniate faith. Mužyckaja Praūda proved to be very popular among the people and consequently attracted the full fury of the Tsarist regime. The Imperial authorities were aware of the preparations for an uprising, and in order to forestall it they drafted a levy of recruits for the army in October 1862. The youth of military age at once began to take to the woods and form bands, so hastening the outbreak of the uprising.
Printing and distributing of the newspaper was prosecuted. The Grodno governor informed on August 10, 1862, that the peasants of the village Jasieniówki, Podbórze and Radowieze of the Brest region found four copies of the first issue of the newspaper. The ministry ordered a vigorous investigation to be launched. The governor of Grodno reported to the minister of internal affairs on 17 September 1962 that "... inflammatory letters appeared almost exclusively in the poviats of the Grodno governorate located on the border of the Kingdom of Poland." At least one man, 44 year old peasant Maciej Tiuchnia, was executed for the dissemination of the illegal newspaper, another one, 26 year old former student of St. Petersburg university Josef Gorczak, was sent to katorga., "Tiuchnię rozstrzelano na mocy decyzji sądu wojennego w Grodnie, Gooczaka zaś zesłano na katorgę."
Two illegal Polish language were also printed either by Kalinowski or under his approval or patronage, The Flag of Freedom () and The Voice of Litva (). The intended audience of both these newspapers was nobility; both also lack any "contentious social slogans slogans that emanated out of the periodical Mužyckaja Praŭda". Three issues of The Flag of Freedom were published.
According to historian Dorota Michaluk, "The programme of the Reds was formulated in the Chorągiew Swobody newspaper as follows: restoration of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to its state independence within the borders from 1772, enfranchisement, democratisation of societal principles, the abolition of the tsarist regime by military action, solidarity between all social groups and an alliance with the Russian democrats."
January uprising broke out on 23 January 1863. The last issue of the newspaper was printed during the uprising. When it was suppressed, Kalinowski was arrested and imprisoned in Vilnius; he wrote there his Letter from Beneath the Gallows (Pismo z-pad szybienicy). He was tried by a court-martial for leading the revolt against Russia and sentenced to death. On 22 March 1864, at the age 26, Kastus Kalinowski was publicly executed on Lukiškės Square in Vilnius.
Themes Historian Zita Medišauskienė wrote that Belarusian press of the uprising time contain very few religious motives; its main themes were social injustice and oppression by the Russian Empire. She also highlighted that the propagandist press of that time was "highly persuasive".
"[in press] ...social issues being the main focus. The social injustice imposed by the Russian government on Belarusian peasants was especially highlighted: high taxes, conscription, the prohibition on moving to another landlord (this freedom was a reality during the period of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), the unlawful and unfair actions of civil servants, and the Emancipation of 1861, which failed to meet the expectations of the peasants. The abolition of the Uniate Church and the "true" Uniate faith was reported alongside the illicit actions of the imperial Russian regime. The repression of the Catholic Church was occasionally mentioned too.
Mužyckaja prauda (Peasant's truth), published in Belarusian, omitted the wrongdoings inflicted on the Catholic Church altogether; it mentioned the abolition of the union in the sixth issue, and that after detailing various other acts of wrongdoing committed by the imperial government. However, this was done in an especially persuasive way. The faith of the ancestors, the Uniate faith, the gazette asserted, is the true religion, while the Orthodoxy imposed by the tsar is false. A follower "will die like a dog and suffer in Hell after death". God will punish those who abandon the true faith, "send them to Hell for eternal suffering, devils will tear the soul into pieces, and tar will boil in your guts. You will then learn about your fate; but once in Hell, it will be too late; you will not win over the righteous God, and your suffering will be everlasting". In this issue, then, Belarusian peasants were invited to fight for freedom, which also meant the freedom to profess their religion.
She concluded, that "freedom was the ultimate value promoted in Belarusian texts. It was understood as personal freedom and freedom of conscience; but, more importantly, it was also understood as social freedom and the right to own land. In general, social issues predominated in the Belarusian uprising press. This situation could have been partly due to the fact that Kalinoŭski was the author or editor of most of the publications."
In issue six, Kalinowski wrote that the Tsar, "bribing many Popes, told us to enter the schism, he paid money so that we could only convert to Orthodoxy, and like this Antichrist he took our righteous Uniate faith from us and he lost us to God on centuries."
In an Oxford-published book A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe, authors wrote that Kalinowski's texts "contrasted an idealized image of the ancient self-governing peasant communities to the subsequent periods of feudal oppression, and fused the programs of social and national liberation, deploring the Russian "yoke" but also describing the Polish pan (lord) as the enemy of the common folk."
Kalinoūski wrote in the third issue of Mužyckaja Praūda: "We have nothing to expect from anyone, for only he who sows can reap. So, my friends, when the time comes, let us sow with full hands, not sparing any labour so that the peasant may be free, as men are the whole world over. God will help us!" Historian wrote that "the task of Mużyckaja prauda was ... to strip the peasantry of the illusion of a good tsar and the capture of the village for Polish revolutionary movement"., "...odarcia chłopstwa z iluzji co do dobrego cara oraz zdobycia wsi dla po'lskiego ruchu rewolucyjnego..."
Fajnhauz wrote about the importance of the newspaper: I must admit that Mużyckaja Prauda was touched by a lot issues, putting forward probably for the first time in a letter intended for peasants in a decisive manner postulates in their importance, it stands out from other revolutionary newspapers of that period. In order to learn about the ideology of the left wing of the "red", Mużyckaja Prauda is a document of unquestionable value., "Trzeha przyznać, że Mużyckaja Prauda ogromem poruszanych zagadnień, wysunięciem bodajże po raz pierwszy w piśmie przeznaczonym dla chłopów w sposób zdecydowany postulatów o żywotnej dla nich wadze, wybitnie wyróżnia się spośród innych gazet rewolucyjnych tego okresu. Dla poznania zaś ideologii lewego skrzydła "czerwonych" jest Mużyckaja Prauda dokumentem niewątpliwej wartości."
Authorship and language analysis Though the paper was written by a collective, researchers identified Kalinowski as the main author. Linguist analyzed the language of newspaper, and wrote in detail about unique features observed there: Mużyckaja Prauda, published in the Latin alphabet in 1862–1863 and edited mainly by Kastuś Kalinoŭski – only the 7th issue of