The Polish question, being a part of the Eastern Question and more importantly owing to the roles of Poles in the Russo-Circassian War, should also be added to the analysis of the Russo-Circassian war. Poland, which was partitioned by Russia, Prussia and Austria, in the second half of the eighteenth century was mainly under the Russian rule. After the 1830 revolt the Poles were suppressed harshly by the Russian government. However, this uprising established a special link between the Polish patriots and the Caucasian mountaineers. Thousands of Poles were sent to the 85 Battlefields in Caucasus by the Russian government. Of course they were not the most devoted soldiers of Russia, and many of them fled and participated in the Caucasian resistance.86 87 Many of the Polish captives also were sold as slaves to the Ottoman Empire. The village Adampol near Istanbul was established by those former slaves with the help of the Ottoman government and the Polish Diaspora in Europe. 87 This small village that was founded by the men who cherished the ideal of an independent Poland was destined to play an interesting role in the struggle for the independence of Circassia.88
After the suppression of the Polish uprising in 1831 including Prince Adam Czartoryski, the President of the National Government, thousands of Poles fled from Poland. Czartoryski, after a short stay in London, resided in Paris where he conducted his political activities. Named after the hotel where he chose as his political headquarter, the circle of Polish nationalists was called “Hotel Lambert”.89 Istanbul was also another center for Polish nationalists. In order to observe and evaluate the developments in Istanbul, the Polish immigrants there established the Eastern Agency (§ark Ajansi). The head of the Eastern Agency was Michal Czaykowski.90 According to Czartoryski, a war between Russia and the Great
Powers of the Europe was inevitable in the near future as a result of the Eastern Question. Therefore, the Polish nationalists always supported a powerful Ottoman Empire and an independent Circassia as a prerequisite for their aim of an independent Poland.
There was a steady flow of Polish soldiers escaping from the Russian army to join the Circassian war. However, many of the fugitives were treated as other slaves captured from the ranks of the Russian army, and sold to Turks. While the Polish agents were trying to free them from slavery, the problem of their settlement in the Ottoman territory was solved by the foundation of Adampol [current day Polonezkoy] on the Asian side of Istanbul. The situation of the Poles in Turkey was well-known by the Hotel Lambert. Via Lazarist priests those slaves coming from Circassia was bought and then freed, however those coming directly from Russia had no documents, therefore they should be yielded to Russia back according to the Ku9uk Kaynarca agreement. To solve these problems Czaykowki agreed with Lazarist priests for establishment of a Polish village in the lands of the Lazarists in the Qingene Konak. In 3 March 1842 it was agreed that the Poles would accommodate in the Qingene Konak as renters. This village was called Adampol from the first name of Czartoryski. This plan, which was against the Russian interest, and which was not under the control of the British officials got the support of the French Embassy in Istanbul. French gave the citizenship to those members of the village as the East Agency members. By this way Poles were now under a diplomatic protection, and there was not any reason to be given back to Russia.
During the Crimean War: An Analysis of Ideas”, Essays in Modern Ukrainian History, edited by Peter L. Rudnytsky (Edmonton, 1987).
Adampol was a very suitable place to act against Russia with its very geography. Situated in deep forest, Polish residents of Adampol could prepare themselves for an imminent war against Russia. There also lived Kazimierz Gordon, an expert of explosives, who established a laboratory of explosives in order to produce bombs to be used in Circassia. Adampol was both a wonderful place of preparation for the war in the Caucasus for the Poles, and as well as a rest place for Them.
The revolt in Circassia and Georgia, if supported and supplied with arms and equipment, seemed to provide an opportunity for decreasing Russia’s military power and checking the Russian pressure in the Near East. Since several thousands of former Polish soldiers had been dispatched by the Russian government to the Caucasus to serve with Russian troops, there was some possibility of organizing mass desertions and of inciting the Poles in the Caucasus. For this purpose, in 1835, a Polish mission was sent to the Caucasus, and links were established between Prince Czartoryski and the Circassian mountaineers.91 This special bond with the Poles and the Circassians would continue to the very end of the Circassian war.
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