World Day of Migrantsand Refugees– Refugees in the Messagesof Pope Francis

World Day of Migrants and Refugees has been celebrated in the Church since 1914 and was initiated by Pius X. Every year, on this occasion, successive popes deliver messages. Pope Francis in his five speeches so far pointed to the causes of migration (war, poverty, persecution) and asked the faithful and appropriate institutions to help migrants and refugees (assistance in allocation, material help and willingness to integrate)

Rzecz o Leonardzie Marcinie Świeykowskim – w odpowiedzi na recenzję Zofii Zielińskiej

"Nie ma książki ani dobrej w każdym szczególe, ani całkowicie złej. Moja książka— jak można wnioskować z treści recenzji i konkluzji autorstwa Zofii Zielińskiej— nie podlega jednak tej prawdzie. Mam tylko nadzieję, że spodobała się Recenzentce estetyka książki, okładka i krój czcionki. Uważam, że źle się dzieje, jeżeli wartość ocenianej publikacji mierzy się wyłącznie liczbą błędów; to nie dyskusja naukowa, a pod jej przykryciem próba uprawiania zaściankowej i partykularnej „polityki naukowej”." (fragm.

Województwo mińskie i Jeleńscy w życiu publicznym Rzeczypospolitej w latach 1764-1795 w świetle ich korespondencji

The Jeleński family of the Korczak coat of arms had been a well-known family in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth since the second half of the 16th century. During the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, however, the family rose to prominence in the Lithuania, holding the Senate seat of the Castellan of Nowogród, which was passed down to the members of the family. It was, in fact, thanks to Stanisław August that Rafał, as well as his brother Gedeon, were raised to the senatorial seat as the first among the Jeleński family. The family was also, or maybe first and foremost, extremely influential in the Minsk Voivodeship, particularly in the Mazyr County, where the various members of the family as well as their relatives and kinsmen held almost absolute power in the local administration. Nonetheless, little has been written about this family’s influence in this area and in the Commonwealth in general — except for biographical notes in the Polish Biographical Dictionary and mentions in books of heraldry. The only mentions included singular instances regarding historic events in the Commonwealth. It should, however, come as no surprise, since the representatives of the family never amounted to anything more than — however influential — supernumeraries on the political stage of the Commonwealth. Nonetheless, due to their mutual interests with the Radziwiłł and Sapieha families, as well as their close ties with many old Lithuanian noble families, such as the Medeksza, Obuchowicz, Kościałkowski, Lenkiewicz, Rdłutowski, Romer, or Wolbek families, in addition to remaining in Stanisław August’s sphere of influence, the Jeleński family aspired to count among the elite of the Lithuanian province, one whose opinion should be taken into consideration. The study is founded upon the analysis of the Jeleński Family Archive, stored at the National Historical Archives of Belarus (NGAB) in Minsk. Thanks to that archive, it has been possible to reconstruct the genealogy of the family as well as indicate its role and influence in the public life of the Minsk Voivodeship during the reign of Stanisław August. The monograph discusses the political engagement of the two most important representatives of the family: Gedeon and Konstanty Ludwik, counted among the elite of their times. They were not only skilled politicians, but also initiators of cultural and scientific development in Lithuania. Both of them betrayed deep interest in the issues of governance and broadly understood political thought — a topic which has been discussed in the first part of this monograph. The monograph consists of five chapters. The first chapter, entitled The Jeleński Family, Its Genealogy, Multiplication, Connections — A Biographical Perspective, introduces the Jeleński family and provides a biographical perspective. According to all sources, the Jeleński family is descended from the Tatars, and Teodor, the progenitor of the family, came from Lithuania to Poland in 1549 as a knight in the service of Zygmunt August, fighting to defend the Commonwealth, which is probable but impossible to verify. Three important figures were supposed to be descended from Teodor: Paweł, who held the office of the Lithuanian Field Guard, as well as Maciej and Adam, commanders of infantry regiments who made names for themselves in the Livonia, Moscow and Prussia war expeditions. From these three descend the next generations of the Jeleński family, who founded the Jeleński Family Archive and who settled in Dunajczyce and Tucha, which can be regarded as the family nests of the Jeleński family (both were bestowed upon them by Zygmunt III). Moreover, the chapter touches upon the career paths of the selected members of the family and delineates the network of family relationships in the form of longer biographical notes constructed on the basis of the primary sources available in the archive which have been cross-referenced with other studies, books of heraldry and primary sources. The research findings are presented in a graphic form in chapter two, which includes the genealogy of the Jeleński family. Chapter three: Between the Familia and the King’s Party; Between the Radziwiłł and the Sapieha Families and subsequent Between Politics and the Household serve as an introductory section while at the same time discussing the two most important factors which influenced the family’s position in the public life. The latter issue constitutes the subject of the fifth chapter: The Public Life of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania — From the Convocation Sejm (1764) to the Fall of the Polish Statehood (1795). During that time, many members of the Jeleński family remained active in the political sphere, while Gedeon, the most ambitious of the politicians in his family, became the most influential. The members of the family were chosen to be deputies and representatives for more powerful parties; nonetheless, they held no autonomous political power. In 1772, they aligned themselves with Stanisław August. During election sejmiks which elected county and voivodeship officials, the Jeleński family always invoked the good of the Commonwealth, under the motto “for the good of the motherland”. The common good, however, was often perceived by the Jeleński family from the perspective of the prosperity of their own province — both on a smaller scale, i.e. the Mazyr County, and on a grander scale, i.e. the Minsk Voivodeship and the entire Lithuania. That is why their efforts were mostly concentrated on bringing prosperity to the Mazyr County first, followed by the Minsk and Nowogród Voivodeships, and finally the Grand Duchy of Lithuania itself. Sometimes, however, the good of their province and the good of the entire Commonwealth did not completely align, complicated by the private affairs of the Jeleński family, which both remained at the forefront of their minds and influenced their subservient political nature. Moreover, all members of the Jeleński family — and Gedeon most of all — were uniquely talented with regard to securing their “rewards.

Minsk Regional Parliaments (Sejmiks) in the Years 1778-1786 – Between Domestic Problems and External World

The text presents the course of the Minsk sejmiks, discusses the parliamentary elec-tions and the content of the parliamentary instructions. On this basis, the att itude of the Minsk nobility to the most important problems of that period, affl icting the Republic as the common state and the common homeland was analyzed. The analyses show there were no stormy parliamentary elections: the election process was rather calm, with no signs of disputes by drawing up parliamentary instructions. In general, they did not arouse controversy, did not refer to ideological or national issues but touched upon the everyday problems of the voivodeship and therefore they were usually accepted. The content of the instructions went beyond the borders of the Minsk voivodeship, but the impassable border was Lithuania and the issues or troubles of its citizens, usually those with the highest status. A pragmatic approach to life and everyday reality prevails in the decisions of the parliamentary assemblies in the analysed period. Ideologically, they cer-tainly did not cement the Republic. Thinking that a member of parliament represents the place from which he was elected and not the Polish-Lithuanian state, at least symbolically dominated in Minsk until 1788

The art of “diplomacy” and its significance in the internal public life of the period of King Stanisław’s reign – some remarks about the clientelism and careers which were not accidental

No doubt the art of “diplomacy” as a skill or talent was beneficial to those who pursued a career path in the period of King Stanisław’s reign. This property or capability made it easier for those who enjoyed it to make a career and it also made it easier for them to keep afloat in the public life. Such skills enabled a given person to stand out. However, the examples which are presented demonstrate the possibilities of the advancement of poor noblemen. In the period of King Stanisław’s reign advancement was determined by aptitude and talent. Even though connections and background were important factors, their significance diminished gradually but discernibly. However, this change did not entirely entail a change of the thinking about the state. The new criteria of the making of elites were not always associated with ideological questions. In many cases a senator who was created, now not owing to his connections or background but owing to his talent, aptitude and the eponymous “diplomatic talent”, thought in particularistic terms. Unfortunately, he did not always take into account the interests of the entire Rzeczpospolita. However, let us admit that he strove to combine his interests with the demands of the land in which he operated

Postawy szlachty polskiej z terenów II zaboru pruskiego wobec władz pruskich z 1793 r.

Wczesną wiosną 1793 r. praktycznie bez walki Prusy przejęły większość ziem przypadłych im w wyniku II rozbioru1. Konfederacja targowicka nie zdobyła się na ostrzejsze wystąpienie w ich obronie1 2. Dywizja Arnolda Byszewskiego, stacjonująca w Wielkopolsce, mimo iż miała realne szanse przeciwstawić się armii pruskiej, nie otrzymała takiego rozkazu od konfederacji generalnej3[…

Obchody setnej rocznicy insurekcji kościuszkowskiej w Galicji

„La cérémonie de la célébration de la centième anniversaire de l’éclatement de l’insurrection de Kościuszko, préparée en Galicie, très soigneusement, a été célébrée sur tout le territoire de cette province et par toutes les classes sociales. Cependant l’attention des observateurs s’est concentrée sur deux grandes villes, à savoir sur Cracovie et sur Lwów, car c’est ici où l’on a organisé la cérémonie centrale qui a ressemblé la plus grande partie de la population venue d’au-délà du territoire autrichien, et notamment des habitants de la Haute Silésie, de la voievodie de Poznań ainsi que de la Poméranie. Il faut souligner le fait que durant la célébration de la centième anniversaire de l’insurrection de Kościuszko les autorités du tzar ont fermé la frontière avec l’Autriche craignant la participation massive dans la cérémonie en question des Polonais venus du Royaume de Pologne. Les événements que nous venons de mentionner témoignent très bien du grand prestige de la célébration en 1894 de l’anniversaire de l’insurrection de Kościuszko qui a constituée un étape successif dans la formation de la conscience nationale des Polonais en même temps que la manifestation de leur unité et qui a été acueillie comme telle par l’Europe entière. La lutte politique a constitué un élément essentiel du déroulement de la cérémonie de l’anniversaire de l’insurrection de Kościuszko. Tous les groupements politiques, en commençant par les conservatistes et en finissant aux socialistes s’identifiant avec le personnage de Tadeusz Kościuszko ainsi qu’avec les idées dont il était la personnification. Chaque groupement politique désirait, en présentant le héros de Racławice comme son dirigeant idéologique, obtenir l’acceptation de la société pour le programme qu’ il représentait. Cet objectif poussait les dirigeants des diverses parties à élargir et à enrichir leurs programmes politiques ainsi qu’influençait leur niveau des discussions de programme. Tous les facteurs que nous venons de mentionner ont d’une manière considérable influencé la formation de la pensée politique polonaise en contribuant en même temps à la transformation des anciens groupements politiques en partis politiques modernes au caractère et à l’organisation contemporains

W cieniu Wincentego Skrzetuskiego : państwo w myśli - niekoniecznie politycznej - Leonarda Marcina Świeykowskiego

"W drugiej połowie XVIII w. myśl o reformie czy naprawie państwa polsko-litewskiego zaprzątała umysły wielu obywateli tamtych czasów. Wojciech Organiściak swe badania poświęcił Wincentemu Skrzetuskiemu, niewątpliwie postaci znaczącej w dziejach osiemnastowiecznej myśli politycznej, wymienianej często obok Stanisława Konarskiego czy Stanisława Leszczyńskiego. Tworzone w tym gronie myślicieli politycznych teorie i pomysły reformy państwa polsko-litewskiego w drugiej połowie XVIII w. stawały się coraz szerzej odbierane. Wielu obywateli, chcąc dołożyć się do proponowanych rozwiązań, modyfikowało je i starało się dostosowywać je – według własnych przemyśleń – do rzeczywistości społeczno-politycznej osiemnastowiecznej Rzeczypospolitej, gdyż coraz pełniejsze i powszechniejsze było przekonanie o szukaniu ratunku dla jej przetrwania." [...] (fragm.

DRM: A Publisher-Imposed Impediment to Progress, or a Legitimate Defense of Publisher/Author Intellectual Property Rights

Digital distribution of content provides clear advantages to all stakeholders in scholarly communications, but it also introduces new complexities and challenges. The exercise of control is a significant one. Is media — whether for scholarly or for entertainment purposes— going to be more open, instead of closed? Does stringent digital rights management (DRM) help or hinder the development and use of content? Do devices which enable broader and more immediate access to content affect pricing and control? How do librarians and publishers protect their interests, and ensure that content can be purchased, owned, and used most effectively? Representatives from book, journal, and multimedia publishers talk about how they’ve determined what (if any) DRM is appropriate for their content, and a librarian discusses the impact DRM (or lack thereof) has on scholarship