THE INSURGENT REPUBLIC. THE KOŚCIUSZKO INSURRECTION AND ITS TRADITIONS

Catalogue of  the ‘Insurgent Republic’ temporary exhibition at the Museum of Polish History (20 August – 23 November 2025).

This volume contains an introduction to the exhibition by one of its curators, Richard Butterwick, as well as studies devoted to the various contexts of the Kościuszko Insurrection. Together, these chapters present a multifaceted picture of the first Polish national uprising. Topics discussed include the attitude of the partitioning powers towards the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Zofia Zielińska); the participation of peasants (Mateusz Wyżga) and the clergy (Rafał Waszczuk), and the insurgents’ attempts to reduce the imbalance of forces against the Russian army (Michał Bąk). The authors also address the course of the uprising in Lithuania and Courland (Eduardas Brusokas), analyse the political discourse of the insurrection (Anna Grześkowiak-Krwawicz), and examine the ideology of insurgent radicals (Piotr Ugniewski), as well as trace the development of the collective memory of the uprising's leader, Tadeusz Kościuszko (Jarosław Czubaty).

The texts are accompanied by interpretations of the objects on display at the exhibition by Marta Marek, Konrad Niemira and Juliusz W. Zacher.

The book presents the Kościuszko Uprising as a phenomenon that was both restorative and reformist. It was an attempt to restore and renew the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as to incorporate all of its inhabitants into the national community. Together with rich visual material, the articles in this volume encourage reflection on the legacy of the ‘Insurgent Republic’.

Edited by: Richard Butterwick, Michał Bąk

Publisher: Polish History Museum in Warsaw

ISBN 978-83-65248-97-8

Publication year: 2025

Page count: 268

Format: 22 x 28 cm

Binding: hardcover

Co‑financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland as part of the programme of temporary exhibitions to be organized in 2023–2024 in connection with the opening of the Polish History Museum in the Warsaw Citadel Complex