On May 12, 1970, General Władysław Anders, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces in 1944-1945, died in exile in London.

On the night of 6 to 7 July (24/25 June old style) 1866, 5,000 kilometres east of their homeland, a group of January insurgents sent to Baikal for penal labour stirred up a rebellion, disarmed their guards and tried to forge an escape route to Mongolia.