Lucjan Żeligowski was born on October 17, 1865 in the Przechody ()
folwark by the village of Sikūnė in
Oshmyansky Uyezd, in the
Russian Empire (modern
Ashmyany District in
Belarus) (other sources give
Oszmiana as his birthplace) to Polish parents Gustaw Żeligowski and Władysława Żeligowska née Traczewska. Żeligowski in his youth lived in poverty and only spoke in the
tutejszy language, which is a
Belarusian vernacular, and identified himself as a Litvin, not a Belarusian (see the article "
Litvinism" for his views in this resect), but was very positive towards the Belarusian movements. Before the
Partitions of Poland in the late 18th century the town was part of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. After graduating from military officers' school located in
Riga (1885), Żeligowski joined the
Imperial Russian Army, where he served at various staff and command posts.
Republic of Central Lithuania '' ("Swan"). In October 1920, Żeligowski, a native of
historical lands of Lithuania, was chosen to command the
1st Lithuanian-Belarusian Infantry Division, composed mainly of
PMO members, volunteers and partisans from the territory of modern Belarus and Lithuania. On October 8, 1920, after
a staged mutiny, he "defected" with his unit and took control over the city of
Vilnius and its area. The mutiny, named after him, would be remembered as the defining moment of his life. On
October 12, he proclaimed independence of the said area as Republic of Central Lithuania, with Wilno as its capital. Initially a
de facto military dictator, after the parliamentary elections he passed his powers to the newly elected
parliament, which in turn decided to submit the area to
Poland. According to Lucjan Żeligowski's point of view:"But not only geographically, Lithuania was the heart of the Slavs. It was morally. She, one of all the Slavic peoples, could easily talk with everyone. As with Poland, so with Russia, so with Ukraine. The mentality of the Lithuanian peoples was, as it were, created to reconcile everyone. He never had hostility, neither national, nor religious, nor cultural." In the 14th-century
Lithuanian Chronicles, there was written about mobilization in Ašmena, where it was mentioned that Jokūbas Želigovskis had a horse, weapon, axe, etc. In the history of a Russian uhlan regiment from 1863, it was mentioned that in the surroundings of
Rūdninkai after a fierce fight, the fifteen-year-old Juozas Želigovskis was taken prisoner and letters were found by his side, where his mother encouraged him to fight.
Later life After the annexation of Central Lithuania to Poland, Żeligowski continued his service in the Polish Army. Promoted to
three-star general in 1923, he served as an
army inspector, or a commander of a military district of the capital city of
Warsaw. In 1925 he also became the Polish
Minister of Military Affairs. Ousted by Piłsudski's
coup d'état (the
May Coup), he was soon returned to the post. He retired the following year and settled in his family manor in Andrzejewo near
Vilnius. In 1930 he published a book containing his memoirs of the Polish-Bolshevik War named
War of 1920: Memories and thoughts (
Wojna w roku 1920. Wspomnienia i rozważania). He also wrote numerous articles on the conflicts of early 20th century for a variety of Polish newspapers. In 1935 he was elected a
member of parliament and remained in the
Sejm until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
World War II and death During the
Invasion of Poland, Żeligowski volunteered for the
Polish Armed Forces, but was not accepted due to his old age (he was 74 at that time) and poor health. Nevertheless, he served as an advisor to the command of the Polish southern front. After the Polish defeat, he evaded being captured by the Germans and the Soviets and managed to reach France, where he joined the
Polish Government in Exile headed by General
Władysław Sikorski. An active member of the
Polish National Council, an advisory body, he escaped to
London after the
French defeat in 1940. After the end of
Second World War Żeligowski declared he would return to Poland, but he suddenly died on 9 July 1947 in London. His body was brought back to Poland, and Żeligowski was buried in the
Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw. ==Honours and awards==