Jan Ciechanowicz (

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

: ''Ivanas Tichonovičius'', ''Janas Ciechanowiczius'', ''Janas Ciechanovičius'';

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Иван Станиславович Тихонович; 2 July 1946 – 10 January 2022) was a Polish Lithuanian politician who was an ethnic Polish member of the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the S ...

(1989–1991).

Life and career

Ciechanowicz was born in Varniany,

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

, on 2 July 1946. He studied at the Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages in Minsk (1964–1970). He proceeded to earn a doctor's degree. He then worked as a teacher of German and English in Polish schools in the

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...

. In 1975 he became a docent at the

University of Vilnius Vilnius University (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a Public university, public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher e ...

, later becoming the dean of the faculty of Polish at the

Vilnius Pedagogical University Vytautas Magnus University Education Academy () – an academical unit of Vytautas Magnus University, which specialized in preparing school teachers and other educators. Located in Vilnius and Kaunas, Lithuania. Name changes * 1935–1939 Nati ...

(1988–1989). In 1988, Ciechanowicz was one of the founders of the

Association of Poles in Lithuania Union of Poles in Lithuania (, ZPL; ) is an organization formed in 1989 to bring together members of Polish minority in Lithuania. It numbers between 6,000 to 11,000 members. It defends the civil rights of the Polish minority and engages in educat ...

. In 1989, he was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Ciechanowicz represented pro-Soviet positions, supporting the continuation of the USSR. Polski Narodowo-Terytorialny Kraj

He was one of the supporters of the autonomy movement of the Poles of the Vilnius region, that had been part of Poland which was part of Poland between 1920 and 1939. From May 1990, he was the leader of the ephemeral , intended to cover the entire Soviet Union and represent all Poles in the Soviet Union. The party's program included fighting anti-Polish sentiment, working for the establishment of Polish autonomous districts in all Soviet republics and also the idea of establishing the East Polish Soviet Socialist Republic (Republic of Eastern Poland), which was to eventually include all lands lost by Poland after World War II to the USSR. According to Ciechanowicz, he discussed the issue with

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

in late May or early June 1989 during the first session of the

Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union () was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991. Background The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union was created as part of Mikhail Gorbachev ...

. In addition to this, Ciechanowicz claims to have discussed the issue with

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakhstani politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council of ...

and

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who served as the first president of Uzbekistan, from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. He was the last First Secretary of the ...

, and to have promoted it in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

, where he attended a meeting of one of the committees at the invitation of Congressmen

John Dingell John David Dingell Jr. ( ; July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019) was an American politician from the state of Michigan who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, D ...

and Konjorski (probably

Paul Kanjorski Paul Edmund Kanjorski (born April 2, 1937) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1985 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district included the cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Hazleton, ...

), but had support only from a section of the Polish press in the United States. On 6 October 1990, during the second round of the Second Congress of Deputies of the Vilnius Region in

Eišiškės Eišiškės (, , /Eishishki, /Eishyshki, /Eyshishok/Eishishok) is a city in southeastern Lithuania on the border with Belarus. It is situated on a small group of hills, surrounded by marshy valley of Verseka and Dumblė Rivers. The rivers divid ...

, Ciechanowicz proposed the proclamation of the Autonomous Polish Vilnius Unit with the status of a republic within the USSR. After its rejection, Ciechanowicz later proposed a compromise providing for the declaration of full territorial autonomy as part of Lithuania: if this proposal was not accepted by Lithuanian authorities, the autonomy would then be proclaimed as part of the USSR. If this project also failed, the autonomy would be proclaimed at the next congress as part of Poland. The proposal would also be later rejected. No major political parties or organizations in Poland publicly supported Ciechanowicz's ideas. The proposition was protested by the

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

, and other international Polish media. The following developments in Lithuania, which eventually led to its full independence in 1991, eventually ended any conversations about the proposition of the East Polish SSR.Dangiras Mačiulis, Rimas Minkys, Nikžentaitis Alvydas:
"Okupacja Wilna". Rzecz o historii drugiego stopnia.
' in ''Mówią Wieki'', April 2012. Jan Ciechanowicz, in 1992, made a pledge to the Prosecutor General's Office of Lithuania that he would no longer engage in political activity. Then, due to his inability to get a job in Lithuania, he settled in Poland, retaining his Lithuanian citizenship. In Poland he taught German and English at institutions of higher education. He died on 10 January 2022, at the age of 75 from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Poland The COVID-19 pandemic in Poland was a part of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 strain of coronavirus. , Poland had a cumulative total of 6,775,116 confirmed cases (17,849 per 100,000 population), and 120,976 deaths (31 ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciechanowicz, Jan 1946 births 2022 deaths Lithuanian people of Polish descent Lithuanian politicians Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic people Academic staff of the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union People from Astravyets district Polish academics Academic staff of Vilnius University Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland