Piotr Ściegienny spent 25 years of his long, almost 90-year life in Siberia. 10 years outside Baikal, and another 15 in the city of Perm in the Urals. He got there thanks to the “grace” of the Tsar, having been sentenced to death in 1846 for his “revolutionary” views. The commutation of his sentence was only announced as he was already standing on the scaffold.
He was arrested for his demand for equality and freedom for all and for his efforts to organize an anti-Tsarist uprising in the Kielce region. His funeral in 1890 drew large crowds and was a great demonstration of patriotism.