Forgotten both in life and death, Walerian Łukasiński spent a total of 46 years in tsarist prisons and fortresses, 37 of those in the dungeons of the Shlisselburg Fortress. He was considered by the Russian authorities as being one of the key instigators of the November Uprising. He became a secret prisoner of Tsar Nicholas I, and later of Alexander II. Subjected to unimaginable suffering, Łukasiński stood as an extraordinary example of patriotism, spiritual fortitude, clarity of mind and analytical skill — qualities that shone through in his Memoir, written in impeccable Polish shortly before his death.
To this day, the tragic course of his life remains somewhat shrouded in mystery. Born into a modest noble family on 14 April 1786 in Warsaw, he received a well-rounded education, ultimately deciding on a career in the military. In 1807 he volunteered for the army of the Duchy of Warsaw, participating in the campaign against Prussia and the war with Austria in 1809. During the Saxon campaign of 1813, he saw combat at Leipzig and Dresden. Later on, as a soldier in the army of the Kingdom of Poland, he served in Warsaw in the 4th Regiment of the Line Infantry — the legendary “Czwartacy.”Fourth Regiment” In 1817 he advanced to the rank of major.
Adopting a critical stance with regard to the socio-political situation of the Kingdom of Poland — the violation of constitutional rights, the autocratic rule of Grand Duke Constantine, and the ongoing denationalization process — Łukasiński stood out as one of the inspirations for a military conspiracy demanding Poland’s rebirth. As a cover for his secret activities, he opted for Freemasonry, at that time being a legal organization that had attained popularity among officers and intellectuals. In May 1821 he founded the Patriotic Society (Towarzystwo Patriotyczne), an already strictly clandestine organization dedicated to the restoration of Poland’s independence.
As the political climate in the Kingdom hardened, with prohibitions on secret associations and heightened surveillance by the secret police, attention started to turn towards Łukasiński’s activities. Grand Duke Constantine dismissed him from active service, sending him out of Warsaw, finally ordering his arrest in October 1822. Finding himself once more in Warsaw, where he was imprisoned in a monastery, he was subjected to a two-year-long interrogation, taking full responsibility and betraying no one.
On 14 June 1824, he was sentenced by a military court to nine years of severe imprisonment and humiliating public degradation. He was confined in the Zamość Fortress, where shortly after, with his full knowledge, a failed rebellion attempt occurred. For this, Łukasiński was sentenced to death by firing squad. However, Constantine decided to commute the sentence, extending his imprisonment to 14 years and ordering that he be publicly flogged — a punishment that was never carried out, due to Łukasiński agreeing to testify in the case of the Patriotic Society.
Following the outbreak of the November Uprising in 1830, he was transferred out of Warsaw along with the retreating Russian troops. Now essentially forgotten, few efforts were made to secure his rescue. His brother Antoni made an appeal to the National Government, which issued requests to Polish commanders to negotiate Łukasiński’s exchange for Russian prisoners, but such calls went unheeded. The November Night brought him no freedom. Tsar Nicholas I personally drafted the order which had Łukasiński immediately transported in top secret, to the Shlisselburg Fortress — located 70 km east of St. Petersburg, on a small island at the mouth of the Neva River that flowed from Lake Ladoga. On the night of 5 January 1831, he was taken there across the frozen lake by sleigh and confined in the “secret house.”
He was subjected to the harshest imaginable regime: locked away for over 30 years in a dark, damp and floorless cell, completely cut off from the outside world. Extraordinary precautions were taken — guards were forbidden to enter his cell alone or speak to him; food was delivered to him in silence. Even after making repeated requests for a confessor he was denied every single time. After his sentence had expired in the wake of Nicholas I’s death, the accession of Alexander II and the 1856 amnesty (under which even the Decembrists were freed) signaled no change to the fate of the tsar’s secret prisoner. His sister, Tekla Łempicka, appealed for his release directly to the Tsar, but those pleas went unanswered.
Only in March 1862 did his conditions improve slightly. On the orders of the new fortress commander, General Józef Leparski — himself of Polish origin — Łukasiński was transferred to a brighter, relatively drier cell. The commander’s family displayed some degree of care, permitting him limited contact with the outside world. He was even offered the chance to move into the town, but no longer feeling capable of independent living, he turned the offer down. He was supplied with some books, newspapers, and writing materials which, in September 1863, afforded him the opportunity to begin composing his Memoir, which was to be later supplemented by Remarks and a Prayer. This work constitutes a kind of philosophical and ideological testament — a penetrating analysis of the political and social situation of Europe, Russia, and Poland, recalling the past while presenting an remarkably accurate vision of the region’s future.
Reading the Memoir — first published in 1960 — evokes a deep admiration, with the knowledge that it was penned by a man who had been almost literally buried alive for four decades. In it, he wrote:
“I declare that my last breath shall be devoted to my homeland, and my final prayer shall be for her prosperity and for the prosperity of those who have supported and served her, who have remained faithful to her in misfortune and shared in her suffering.”
He passed away on 27 February 1868 in the Shlisselburg Fortress. He was buried in an unmarked mass grave, of which no visible trace remains.
Ewa Ziółkowska
Translated by Jan Dobrodumow