Wskrzeszanie Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego
Reviving the Great Duchy of Lithuania

The Utopian “Switzerland” of the Krajowcy

Author(s): Tadeusz Bujnicki
Subject(s): Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Studies of Literature, Latvian Literature, Lithuanian Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Krajowcy; nationality; federation; autonomy; canton; nationalism
Summary/Abstract: The Krajowcy movement originated at the beginning of the 20th century as a conceptualisation of a multinational, independent, and autonomous state on the territory of the former Grand Lithuanian Duchy. It was to unite three nationalities (Polish, Lithuanian, and Belarusian) into a federation. Inspired by the Swiss model, the state would be made up of nationality-based cantons which would each be guaranteed ethnic, cultural, and religious equality. The chief Democratic Krajowcy were Ludwik and Witold Abramowicz and Michał Römer. Their Conservative counterparts were Konstancja and Roman Skirmuntt and Czesław Jankowski. They presented their opinions in journalism, publishing their own press, including: "Gazeta Wileńska" (ed. Michał Römer), "Przegląd Wileński" (ed. Ludwik Abramowicz), and "Kurier Litewski" (ed. Czesław Jankowski). The inception and popularity of the Krajowcy movement spanned the years 1905–1914. After the First World War, which established the independent nationstates of Poland and Lithuania, the Krajowcy mentality was largely defeated by burgeoning Polish and Lithuanian nationalisms. The last representative of the Krajowcy in the interwar period was Ludwik Abramowicz, who published the "Przegląd Wileński" until 1938. Up until the beginning of the Second World War, modified versions of the Krajowcy ideal were referenced by Stanisław Swianiewicz and Józef Mackiewicz.

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