For 28 years, the magazine “Zesłaniec” has been bringing readers closer to the dramatic history of deportations of Poles to Siberia. These difficult events have for years been the subject of research by specialists in many fields, who in the pages of the periodical can share the results of their work with a wide audience. The periodical is continuously published by the Sybiraks’ Union, currently in conjunction with the Sybir Memorial Museum.

The latest issue of “Zesłaniec” focuses on the so-called Kresy – the former eastern lands of the Second Polish Republic, which for centuries were a place of coexistence of many nationalities, cultures and faiths. It features reflections on the Kresy and their loss, spun by prominent specialists.

“Kresy, or the former eastern lands of the Polish Republic… There are few terms in the Polish language that are so variously defined, that evoke such multiple associations. For some, Kresy is simply a specific territory, for others it is a mentality and culture (a mixture of cultures?), sometimes a synonym for loss, but also, for example, for simplicity, a romantic myth, an object of sighs and longing, for many simply a family home, a fatherland, or finally – the Homeland… However, we can probably all agree that Kresy is part of our, Polish past, history. And although still about 15% of Polish citizens admit to being of ‘Kresy’ descent, we tend not to talk about the Kresy in the present tense anymore – ‘the borderland mansions have already died,’ as Melchior Wańkowicz, one of the many great authors the Kresy have spawned, wrote.”

Why did the Borderlands look just that way, and how ‘Polish’ were they in reality? Finally, when, how and why did Poland lose them? These and other questions are answered by excellent experts on the subject, describing the peculiarities of these lands and the methods and scale of repression used against its inhabitants by the various tsars, and finally the Soviet authorities. And what relation to the subject do the years: 1824, 1864, 1944?

The issue also includes articles about the latest achievements of the Sybir Memorial Museum, including the Council of Europe Museum Award, which the museum was awarded in 2024. In addition, we will read about the new temporary exhibition “Boundlessness in Sybir”, which will be presented at the end of the year.

We invite you to read more! The new issue of “Zesłaniec” is accessible in the store of the Sybir Memorial Museum – both stationary and online.