Karaim Communities in the 19th Century: Heritage of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Petr Kaleta
halicz@email.czUniwersytet Masaryka w Brnie, Wydział Pedagogiczny, Katedra Historii (Czechia)
Abstract
Karaim studies have developed quite significantly as a field of research in the past two decades. New specialized scholarly journals such as Karaite Archives and Almanach Karaimski have emerged. Other publishing efforts include editions of Karaim documents and important monographs, for instance, Stefan Gąsiorowski’s Karaimi w Koronie i na Litwie w XV−XVIII wieku (Kraków – Budapest 2008). The Karaim quarterly Awazymyz contains articles on the history of the Karaim communities. However, most of the contributions do not cover the 19th century when Karaim society underwent major changes. It is important to note that the Karaim communities in Lithuania (the main one being in Troki) and in Volhynia (the most prominent of which was based in Lutsk), were able to establish stronger ties with traditional Karaim communities in the Crimea after they were incorporated into the Russian Empire following the Partitions of Poland. In the meantime, the Karaim community in Halych became isolated from the rest of the Karaim population after it became part of the Austrian Partition. Karaims living in the Russian Partition quickly transformed from Karaim religious communities into the ethnic group we know as the Karaims of today. In the Karaim community in Halych, traditional religious identity was preserved thanks to the aforementioned isolation of this particular community. Recollections of the past liberties of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lingered as a sentiment in the Karaim’s collective memory. In the Russian Partition many Karaims continued for a long time to use the Polish language, and only in the mid-19th century did Russian became more commonplace. Another important change in Karaim identity that took place in the 19th century was the shift from Judaism to a Turkic identity. Several leading Karaims, Abraham Firkowich being one of the most influential, inspired these changes.
Keywords:
Karaim Communities in the 19th Century, Karaim Communities of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Karaim leadersReferences
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Authors
Petr Kaletahalicz@email.cz
Uniwersytet Masaryka w Brnie, Wydział Pedagogiczny, Katedra Historii Czechia
Doktor habilitowany, historyk i slawista, docent w Katedrze Historii Wydziału Pedagogicznego Uniwersytetu Masaryka w Brnie oraz w Katedrze Studiów Środkowoeuropejskich Wydziału Filozoficznego Uniwersytetu Karola w Pradze. Zajmuje się problematyką dziejów mniejszości narodowych i etnicznych w Europie Środkowej i Wschodniej (przede wszystkim w Polsce, Niemczech i na Ukrainie). Autor monografii Tajemné etnikum z Krymu. Osudy příslušníků karaimské emigrace do meziválečného Československa (Praha 2015), poświęconej Karaimom w Czechosłowacji w okresie międzywojennym. Adres do korespondencji: petr.kaleta@ff.cuni.cz.
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