What A Wonderful World: Tatars in Poland

©Andrzej Philips

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Near Terespol, in the village Studzianka[1], there is a Tatar mizar.

The village Studzianka has been the center of Muslim life in the area for over three centuries. Studzianka was the Mecca of Podlasie Tatars. Until 1915, there was a mosque in Studzianka, built after the arrival of the Tatars after 1679.

On August 15, 1915, the mosque was burnt down by the retreating Russian army – - most of the Tatars have not returned from Russia. It was so called Bieżeństwo - mass evacuation during World War I, in Polish also known as exile, resettlement or resettlement of people, mainly of the Orthodox faith, from the western governorates of the Russian Empire into Russia, after the front line was broken by the German army in the period from May 3 to September 1915. The apogee of the refuge falls on the period from spring to autumn 1915.

Today they are not here - there were several Tatar villages near Terespol: Zastawek[2], Lebiedziew[3].

Lebiedziew in the 17th century, Tatars settled by King John III Sobieski came there - the village was the payroll after the victory in Chocim. Jakub Murza Buczacki was the heir of the village. Until 1886, there was a mosque, Tatar families lived at that time. Near the village, in the village of Zastawek (former Ułanowszczyzna - part of Lebiedziewo, separated in 1914), there is a Muslim cemetery[4]. The Tatar community in Lebiedziewo ceased to exist before World War I.

Tatar settlement in the vicinity of Biała Podlaska (former Radziwiłłowska) began in the times of King Jan III Sobieski. It was military in nature from the beginning. On March 12, 1679 in Grodno, the king granted cavalry captain Daniel Szabłowski with land in Małaszewicze, and cavalry captain Samuel Romanowski and his wife Regina née Kienska with land in Studzianka.

Granting lands to the Tatars was continued by the Saxon kings, who exempted them from rent and paid only taxes passed by the Sejm for the nobility. They lived in towns near Studzianka, which was the center of the Tatar settlement (Lebiedzew - Zastawek, Dąbrowica, Połoski, Małaszewicze, Piszczac, Wólka Kościeniewicka. Koszoły, Ortel (former Wortel), Piszczac (former Piszczatka), Bokinka [called Tatar], Kościeniewicze ). Stanisław Dziadulewicz in his armorial book states that in the 1730s the entire village of Studzianka was inhabited by Tatars. The local Muslim community gathered around it due to the location of the mosque, which functioned until 1915.

In the service of the Republic of Poland, the Tatars have always been very good, brave and brave soldiers. As great archers, they spread terror in the ranks of European knights. Over time, the Polish rulers won over the brave Tatars. The kings used their mastery of bow, saber and lance skills, and light Tatar cavalry protected the borders against robberies.

The Tartars of the Biała land took part in many battles in defense of Poland. The colonel of the Tatar banner, Samuel Murza Korycki, participated in the wars with Russia, Turkey and Sweden. His tombstone from 1704 is located on the mizar in Zastawek. A well-known Tatar soldier was also Colonel Aleksander Ułan, who in 1711 received from King August II the village of Koszoły, and then lands in Studzianka, Ortel and Lebiedziewo. According to Sławomir Hordejuk, the current town of Zastawek at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was

the name "Ułanowszczyzna". Aleksander Ulan fought during the Seven Years' War, and his Tatar formations crushed the enemy with charges using pennant lances. These Tatar patterns were borrowed by the Polish cavalry…

The Tatars supported the troops of the Bar Confederates in the battle fought with the Russians on September 15, 1769 between Studzianka, Łomazy and Lubenka on the so-called Deaf (Kazimierz Pułaski's brother Franciszek died in it). In the war of 1792, the 4th Regiment of the Advance Guard.

The army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was commanded by the famous general Józef Bielak - one of the two Tatar generals in the Polish army. For extraordinary bravery and courage he was awarded the Cross of Virtuti Militari. He owned land in Koszoły. He died in combat during the Kościuszko Uprising and was buried on a mizar in Studzianka. In 1794, in turn, Colonel Jakub Azulewicz, commander of the royal court regiment of the king Stanisław August Poniatowski, distinguished himself with bravery. He owned numerous estates in Studzianka and was the sponsor (founder) of the mosque in Studzianka. He died during the fighting in Vilnius and was buried in the Studian necropolis. His memory was passed down from generation to generation. In the fights of 1792 and in the uprising Kościuszko was attended by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Bielak, son of General Józef Bielak. The Belial Tatars, forming a squadron in the Light Cavalry Regiment of the Guard, also fought alongside Napoleon.

Visiting the Tatar cemetery in Studzianka, we find numerous tombstones of Tatar soldiers buried there. Apart from General Bielak and Colonel Azulewicz, heroes who fought in the November and January Uprisings were buried here. In 1830, Colonel Samuel Murza Ułan took part in the uprising in the 3rd squadron of the Volhynian Cavalry under the command of Capt. Salomon Bielak from Koszoły. Osman Bielak served as a non-commissioned officer in the engineering corps of the sapper battalion. Osman's brother, Bekir, the heir of Połoski and Trojanow, fought in the 3rd Uhlan Regiment. On the mizar in Studzianka we find the graves of Samuel Maciej Azulewicz - a major of uhlans, grandson of Jakub Azulewicz, the commander of the regiment of the former Polish army. Maciej Tupalski and Maciej Okmiński, "those feisty souls", bravely fought in the insurgent units in 1863, resisting the temptation of promotions and granting new goods for moving to the camp of the partitioning powers.

The support of the Tatars from Studzianka significantly contributed to the successful attack on the town of Łomazy in January 1863. The participation of the Tatar community in the January Uprising resulted in repressions from the tsarist authorities, as combat-active Tatars were sent to Siberia. After the January Uprising, the Tatars were forbidden to use the Polish language. Their property was also confiscated from the Tatars and their acquisition of land was restricted.

During the partitions, many Belian Tatars also served in the Russian army. Jan Okmiński, Małaszewicz's heir, was a major in the army of the Russian Empire. Maciej Sulkiewicz attained the rank of colonel in the uhlan regiment, and Adam Buczacki - the rank of captain. It is worth noting that the last imam of the parish and Studian, Maciej Bajrulewicz, served in the tsar's army, and also traveled with services to the soldiers stationed in the Brest fortress.

One of the last most famous Tartars of the Biała Land serving in the Polish army in the 20th century was undoubtedly Colonel Józef Korycki. He was born on January 20, 1888 in Studzianka. He fought during the Polish-Bolshevik war, commanding - in the years 1919-1920 - 12th Heavy Artillery Squadron. In the interwar period, he was the commander of the School of Artillery Officers in Toruń and the commander of the 16th Light Artillery Regiment in Grudziądz and the 8th Artillery Group in Toruń. During the September Campaign of 1939, he commanded the artillery of the "Pomorze" Army[5].

Today there are still 2 Tatar villages in the north-east Poland: Bohoniki[6] i Kruszyniany[7].