Zayonchek, Józef

The representative of the Polish gentry family Zayczek emblem " Pig ." The son of the colonel of the national militia Zamoyskiy Anthony Zayonchek and Marianna Tseshkovskaya.

At the age of 16 he began military service in the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was a cavalryman and adjutant to the hetman of the great Crown Xavier Branicki ^[2] .

Yuzef Zayonchek
(Unknown artist)

He participated in the Bar Confederation , created against Russia, at the end of which he was in Paris as secretary to the ambassador of the Bar Confederates. After the defeat of the Bar Confederation in the spring of 1774, he retired with a group of officers (including Kazimir Pulawski) to the Balkans to take part on the side of Turkey in the war against Russia, but this plan collapsed because of the defeat in the war of Turkey. Then Jozef Zayonchek left for France, where he served in the French army for some time. After returning to his homeland, he served in the guard of the hetman of the great crown Francis Xavier Branitsky , and then in the dragoon detachments with the rank of captain . In 1777 - Lieutenant Colonel of the Dragoon Regiment and adjutant of Hetman F. K. Branitsky .

In 1784, J. Zayonček was elected ambassador ( deputy ) to the Sejm , where he called for reform and increase the number of the Polish army, and also advocated the preservation of noble liberties. In February 1787, Yu. Zayonchek was appointed commander of the cavalry regiment of the Great Crown Mace with the rank of colonel . As a supporter of the pro-Russian group of hetman Francis Branitsky in 1788, he participated in the siege by the Russian army of the Turkish fortress Ochakov .

In 1790, Yu. Zayonchek was elected ambassador from the Podolsk voivodeship to the Four-year Sejm . While working in the Diet, he left the Branitsky grouping, joining the patriotic-reforming party. He was especially interested in the fate of the serfs and the reform of the Polish army.

In May 1791, Jozef Zayonček supported the adoption of a new Polish constitution and became one of the secretaries of the Constitutional Amalgamation Association. He belonged to a group of Polish Jacobins .

In 1792, Jozef Zayonchek with the rank of Major General took part in the Russian-Polish war and the defense of the Constitution on May 3 . He distinguished himself in the battle of Zelentsy , where he commanded the 3rd regiment of the front guard and was awarded the new order Virtuti Militari . After the Polish King Stanislav August Poniatowski ’s accession to the Targowitz Confederation, Jozef Zayonček advocated the continuation of military operations against Russia. Then Y. Zayonchek resigned and went into exile, where he took part in the preparation and organization of the Polish uprising.

In 1794, Jozef Zayonchek took an active part in the Polish uprising led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko . He participated in the battles of Raczawitzi (after which he was promoted to lieutenant general ), Helm and Golków . After the capture of T. Kostyushko Y. Zayonchek, he served for a short time as the commander-in-chief of the rebel forces. He was a member of the Highest National Council, where he expressed Jacobin views. He was also a member of the Military Court and head of the defense of Warsaw.

After the capture of Prague and Warsaw by the Russian troops, Jozef Zayonček left Warsaw for Galicia , where he was arrested by the Austrians and declared a prisoner of war. Held in captivity for about a year.

In 1795, Jozef Zayonchek was released and went to France, where he entered the military service and participated in the campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796-1797 . and in the Egyptian expedition . March 8, 1797 Napoleon made him a brigadier general, and in 1799 he appointed commander of the so-called Northern Legion , composed mainly of Poles. From May 16, 1802 - divisional general .

From 1807 to 1812 Zayonchek was with the French troops in Italy . During the war of 1812 at Berezina, he lost a leg and in Vilna on December 10, 1812 was captured. Emperor Alexander I made him a general of Infantry and appointed in 1815 his governor in the Kingdom of Poland and the Highest Decree of April 17, 1818 elevated to the princely dignity of the Kingdom of Poland. Because of activity in the interests of Russia, among the radical-minded Poles had a reputation as a traitor.

Prince Jozef Zayonchek died on July 28, 1826 in the city of Warsaw.

From 1786 he was married to Alexandra Yakovlevna Pernet (d. 1845), divorced wife of the personal physician Hetman Jan Branitsky ; from August 1826 to the state lady of the highest court. Princess Zayonchek was known in society for its unfading beauty. According to the maids of honor, V. Turkestanova , she “had the talent to look good and made an indelible impression on her young face, arguing that she bathes in icy water every day. At 65, she could hardly give 40; she had amazing manners and posture, clothes, her face could not be called attractive, but the eyes of the Princess were beautiful, and her features were very lively, she looked like the Duchess of Kurlyadskaya with her appearance ” ^[4] .

Countess A. Pototskaya ^[5] left many good words about her in her memoirs. Prince Vyazemsky , speaking of attractive polkas, referred to them as Princess Zayonchek, “whose mysterious summers were lost in the twilight of prehistoric years, but the mind was fresh, playful, and all feminine traits, inclinations and evasiveness were not at all subject to the pressure of time and limitations, which they entail ” ^[6] . The princess Zayonchek died in Warsaw, reaching almost a hundred years ^[7] . Her second marriage was fruitless.

• Biography Zayoncheka .
• Zayonchek, Joseph // Encyclopedic dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• A film about prapra ... granddaughter Irina Zayonchek (2 plot), holder of the Legion of Honor, synchronous translator of the French Embassy in Russia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEHTJc9Yrug