World history: “Polish trace in Karelia history” exposition in St. Petersburg

Exhibition "Polish traces in the history of Karelia”, opened February 9, 2011 at the St. Petersburg Museum of Russian Political History, covers the relations of Poland and Russia. The display includes authentic materials provided by the Society of Polish Culture "Hedwig," and objects from the collection of the Karelian State Museum. Its topics cover different aspects of the relations of two states: "Autocracy and the Kingdom of Poland", "The revolution", "Poland of Pilsudski. 1920-ies",  "For our freedom and yours. The World War II". The exhibition runs until March 2.

Rare photographs, documents and sources reflect the stay of "unknown" Poles in the Russian North. For the first time Polish officials, engineers, architects, Catholic priests and the military came to Olonets Province more than 150 years ago, after the defeat of Polish uprising of 1831 and 1863 by the imperial government. And, as the documents show, the recruits from Poland served willingly in Petrozavodsk battalion and garrison guarding the Alexander factory. At the time there were about 400 Poles living in Petrozavodsk and in other cities of Karelia.

During the World War I, Polish POW officers and soldiers were building Murmansk railway in the Olonetsk province. The exhibition presents utensils, a rare breastplate "Lavnik" that belonged to one of the members of the Polish village court, a prayer of a Polish lady in a velvet cover with monogram "AB", published in Krakow. The old photo depicts a Catholic church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in 1904 in Petrozavodsk and closed in 1927. Documents of Gudzinskih family tell the story of Polish immigrants to Russia from the late nineteenth century until World War II. Of interest also are the awards, given to Polish soldiers - Memorial Cross "Lenino. 12.H.1943, crosses, awarded to soldiers of the first army of the Polish Armed Forces.