Michał Czajkowski (29 September 180418 January 1886), also known in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

as Mehmet Sadyk Pasha (), was a Polish writer and political

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

of distant

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

heritage who worked both for the resurrection of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and also for the reestablishment of a Cossack state.

Early life

Michał Czajkowski was born in Halchyn (Halczyniec) to Stanisław Czajkowski and Petronela Głębocka, in a

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

family settled in Ukraine for several generations. The Czajkowskis had origins in Czajki in

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

, while the Głębockis were an old family from

Kuyavia Kuyavia (; ), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three traditional parts: north-western (with th ...

. Through his mother he was a descendant of the Ukrainian Cossack Hetman Ivan Briukhovetsky (reigned 1663–68). According to Michał Czajkowski, his mother was the hetman's great-granddaughter. Her family cultivated the memory of Głębocki who married the Hetman's granddaughter. Czajkowski was raised in the spirit of szlachta and Cossackdom. He participated in the Polish insurrection of 1830-31. After the failure of this uprising, he went into exile in France where he developed his ideology of the resurrection of Cossackdom and wrote several novels on this theme. Very popular at this time, some of them were translated into several languages including French and German. In general, in his early writings, Czajkowski saw no conflict between Polish and Cossack interests and romanticized the history of Ukrainian-Polish relations.

France and Turkey

During his French period, Czajkowski briefly collaborated with the radically oriented Polish Democratic Society, and then with the moderate Confederation of the Polish People, before going over to the conservative Polish emigre faction led by Prince

Adam Jerzy Czartoryski Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (14 January 1770 – 15 July 1861), also known as Adam George Czartoryski, was a Polish szlachta, nobleman, statesman, diplomat and author who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian SFSR, Chairman of ...

called the "Hotel Lambert," after the Prince's residence in Paris. At Czartoryski's bidding, Czajkowski went to

where he was active in Bosnia and Serbia and supported anti-Russian activities in the Caucasus. In the years following the unsuccessful

revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, he helped arrange for political asylum for refugee Polish and Hungarian revolutionaries. Russian and Austrian efforts to have him extradited back to his homeland and conflicts with Paris led to his eventual conversion to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and his new name "Sadyk Pasha". He thereupon organized an Ottoman Cossack Brigade to fight against the Russians. Michał Czajkowski's Ottoman Cossack unit actually saw some action in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

during the Crimean War but never got to invade Ukraine from the south which was the original intention of its organizers.

Return to Ukraine

Although Czajkowski returned from the war with honours and was able to live a comfortable life in

, his restless nature could never be completely satisfied. His differences with the Hotel Lambert had steadily increased over the years and he was becoming more and more estranged from the Polish political emigration. He was also frustrated by the failure of his larger Cossack project. In 1872, the Russian government offered him an amnesty, and in part under the influence of his third wife, a young Greek girl, he accepted the Russian offer, converted to Orthodoxy, returned to Ukraine and chose to live in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. During this period he wrote his very extensive memoirs. His young wife proved unfaithful, however, and in 1886 a dispirited Czajkowski took his own life.

Legacy

Czajkowski is remembered as a great Cossack enthusiast, a contemporary and friend of other prominent Polish romantics like the poet

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, and a leading member of the Ukrainian School of Polish literature. His writings had a profound influence upon younger generations of aristocratic Poles from right-bank Ukraine and boyhood reading of them probably influenced the future prominent historians,

Volodymyr Antonovych Volodymyr Bonifatiyovych Antonovych (; ; , tr. ''Vladímir Bonifát'evich Antonóvich''; – ) was a prominent Ukrainian historian, archivist and archaeologist, who was known as one of the most prominent figures of the Ukrainian national revi ...

and Vyacheslav Lypynsky to go over to the Ukrainian independence movement. His son, Władysław Czajkowski, became an Ottoman official and served as governor in Mount-Lebanon.

Famous works

*''Powieści Kozackie'' (Cossack Tales, 1837) *''Wernyhora'' (1838) *''Kirdzali'' (1839) *''Owruczanin'' (The Man from Ovruch, 1841) *''Ukrainki'' (Ukrainian Women, 1841)

References

External links

*
Michal Czajkowski
at the

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Czajkowski, Michal 1804 births 1886 deaths People from Zhytomyr Oblast People from Zhitomirsky Uyezd Polish male writers Polish Cossacks November Uprising participants Polish expatriates in Turkey Polish people of the Crimean War (Turkish side) Activists of the Great Emigration Ottoman Army generals Pashas Converts to Sunni Islam from Roman Catholicism Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Sunni Islam Eastern Orthodox Christians from Poland Polish former Muslims Ottoman military personnel of the Crimean War Diplomats of the Hôtel Lambert Ukrainian nobility Suicides by firearm in Ukraine Military personnel of the Ottoman Empire who died by suicide 19th-century Ottoman military personnel