Polish, Belarusian, Lithuanian leaders commemorate 1863 anti-Russian uprising

January 24, Pozirk. Belarus’ opposition leaders took part in a ceremony in Warsaw on January 24 to pay tribute to those fallen in an anti-Russian uprising in 1863-64.

“Freedom is not given forever,” it “must be defended again and again,” said pro-democracy leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja at the ceremony attended by Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.

Nawrocki and Nausėda stressed that the fight for freedom and independence was a common cause for the Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.

“We honor the memory of the insurgents because this experience of resistance and solidarity remains important for us today, when Belarus and Ukraine are once again fighting for freedom from the ‘Russian world’,” Cichanoŭskaja said on X.

The uprising “reminds us that freedom cannot be taken for granted. Every day, every week, every month, every year, we must work for freedom,” the Lithuanian leader said.

“In its attempt to restore the empire, Russia has been attacking Ukraine for almost four years now. It attacks what it can least tolerate in Ukraine—the very idea of freedom. The same idea of freedom so precious to Lithuania, to Poland, and to all states grounded in democratic values. Today, we are the target of a common enemy. With our courage, resilience, and success, we pose a threat to the Kremlin dictator, who can offer the millions he has enslaved nothing but more suffering,” he underlined in his address.

The 1863 uprising took place on the territory of what is now Belarus, Poland, and Lithuania, nearly 70 years after the Russian Empire annexed these lands following the three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Belarusian delegation also included Pavieł Łatuška, leader of the National Anti-crisis Management, and Arciom Bruchan, speaker of the Coordination Council.