Kirkor, Adam Honor

He was born in a poor noble family with distant Tatar roots. He graduated from the Nobility Institute in Vilna (transformed from the 2nd Vilnius Grammar School) in 1838 . He made his debut in print with the stories “Death of a poet”, “Prut” and the article “Remains of pagan customs in Belarus” in the collection “Experiments in Russian literature of pupils of the gymnasiums of the Belarusian educational district” (Vilno, 1839 ). Subsequently, sometimes used the pseudonyms Jan ze Śliwina , Ivan Slivov . He served in the state chamber ( 1838 - 1864 ). Since 1849 - member of the provincial statistical committee.

He edited the annual "Memorial Books of the Vilnius Province" in Russian ( 1850 - 1854 ) with articles (of himself, in particular) on local history, history, and ethnography of Lithuania. In Polish, he published the collection Radegast ( 1843 ) with the participation of Yu. I. Krashevsky and M. Grabowski, later a collection in three books Pamiętniki umysłowe ( 1845 - 1846 ). An important role in the consolidation of the literary and cultural forces of Lithuania was played by the Teka Wileńska anthology published by him. In 1857 - 1858 six books were published. Authorities that did not issue permission to issue a periodical saw a violation in the regularly published almanac and forbade it to be published. To settle accounts with subscribers and at the same time publish the collected materials, Kirkor published two books, Pismo Zbiorowe Wileńskie ( 1859 , 1862 ). Teka Wileńska and Pismo Zbiorowe Wileńskie contained poetry, prose, translations, and scientific and journalistic articles.

In 1859, Kirkor became the owner of the printing house and founded a publishing house that prints mainly scientific and educational literature in Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, as well as the newspaper Vilensky Vestnik edited by him in Russian and Polish. During these years, he gave shelter in his house to the young Adolf Pashkovsky , who lost his father; Kirkor gathered almost the entire local intelligentsia and the time spent there by A. Pashkovsky had a great influence on his formation as a person ^[1] .

Since 1855 he was a full member of the Vilna Archaeological Commission , prepared and published a catalog of the Museum of Antiquities. In the printing house of Zavadsky the collection “In memory of the sovereign of Emperor Alexander II in Vilna on September 6 and 7, 1858” ( 1858 ) was printed. The collection includes Kirkor’s article “Historical and Statistical Essays of Vilna”, a loyal poem by A. E. Odynets “Przyjdź Królewstwo Boże”, and M. Malinowski ’s article “La Lithuanie depuis l'avenement au trône de sa majesté l'empereur Alexandre II” ; regarding the circulation of the poem by V. Korotynsky in Belarusian and M. Akelaitis in Lithuanian, greeting the emperor on behalf of the peasants. The luxuriously published collection was presented to the tsar during a visit to the Vilnius Museum of Antiquities, together with a request for the patronage of the heir to the throne, the prince and the Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich . The publication, called the "Vilna Album", caused the Polish emigration in Paris to accuse Kirkor and his entourage of betrayal.

Since the late 1850s Kirkor’s salon played a significant role in the cultural life of Vilna : local intelligentsia, poets, musicians, scientists, employees of the Vilensky Vestnik newspaper, edited by him, gathered in his house every week.

Kirkor is the author of the first travel guide for Vilna, “Przechadzki po Wilnie i jego okolicach” (“Walks in Vilna and its surroundings”; 1856 ; 1859 ; Lithuanian translation of “Pasivaikščioioimim po Vilnių ir jo apylinkės” , 1991 ). In 1864, by order of the chief of the region M.N. Muravyov, the guide was published in Russian, revised into the “Vilna City Directory”. A revised version of the Polish guide “Przewodnik po Wilnie i jego okolicach z wykazaniem najbliższych stacyj kolei żelaznych” (“A guide to Vilna and its environs with the nearest railway stations”) was published in 1880 and then reprinted several times.

In Russian, Kirkor wrote articles on the history, ethnography, archeology of Lithuania and Belarus for publications of various departments and academic societies of Russia ( “Journal of the Ministry of the Interior” , “Bulletin of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society”, “News of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society”, etc.) .

Under M.N. Muravyov, Kirkor at first enjoyed some confidence from the Governor General and his entourage. During 1863, he edited the weekly Vilensky Police Leaflet, continued to edit Vilensky Vestnik (since 1864 only in Russian). However, his loyalty seemed to Muravyov and his associates, especially the new Governor-General K.P. von Kaufman , more and more insufficient. As a result, Kirkor moved to St. Petersburg , where, with the assistance of renowned book publisher M.O. Wolf, he managed to publish the newspaper New Time ( 1868 ). The newspaper was supposed to serve the mutual rapprochement of Polish and Russian society, thereby normalizing the situation in Lithuania. The democratic Russian press perceived the newspaper as a replenishment in the camp of reactionary periodicals; the conservative press blamed New Time for anti-Russian orientation.

Since 1871, Kirkor, declared bankrupt, was forced to live in Krakow (part of Austria ). He continued to publish literary and scientific almanacs, excavate, read and publish lectures on archeology and literature, including on fraternal Slavic literature, including Russian. His articles and notes appeared in Russian magazines. In 1879 - 1884, Wolf, under the general title "Picturesque Russia", published a series of voluminous volumes of illustrated descriptions of Russian regions. The third volume, devoted to Lithuania and Belarus ( 1882 ; reprint in Belarus, 1993 ; Lithuanian translation, 1995 ), composed mostly Kirkor's essays on the history, folk and high culture, regional studies of Lithuania and Belarus, with characteristics of the Lithuanian language and mythology.

Adam Honora Kirkor died in Krakow and was buried in the city cemetery.

• Kirkor A.-G. Petersburg impressions. // Poles in St. Petersburg in the first half of the XIX century. M .: UFO, 2010.S. 715-730.
• Historical and statistical essays of the Vilnius province. T. 1-2. Vilna, 1852-1853;
• Wycieczka archeologiczna po guberni wileńskiéj przez Jana ze Śliwina // Biblioteka Warszawska.- t. 2-3.-1855
• Ethnographic look at the Vilna province // Ethnographic collection published by the Russian Geographical Society. St. Petersburg, 1858. Issue. 3;
• Przechadzki po Wilnie i jego okolicach. Wilno, 1862 (2 wyd. 1859; 3 wyd. 1865);
• O literaturze pobratymczych narodów słowiańskich. Kraków, 1874;
• Picturesque Russia. T. 3. Part 1: Lithuanian Polesie. Part 2. Belarusian Polesie. St. Petersburg, 1882 (facsimile publication: Mn., 1993).

• History of Belarus
• History of Lithuania

• Voltaire E.A. Kirkor, Adam-Honoriy Karlovich // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• S. Kirkor. Przeszłość umiera dwa razy. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1978.
• Z. Medišauskienė. Adomas Honorijus Kirkoras: tarp Lietuvos, Lenkijos ir Baltarusijs // Lietuvių Atgimimo istorijos studijos, [t.] 8: Asmuo: tarp tautos ir valstybės. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla, 1996. P. 168—194.
• M. Stolzman. Czasopisma wileńskie Adama Honorego Kirkora / Zeszyty naukowe Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego: CCCXXI. Prace historycznoliterackie, zeszyt 26, Warszawa-Krakόw, 1973.
• M. Stolzman. "Nigdy od ciebie miasto ...": Dzieje kultury wileńskiej lat międzypowstaniowych (1832-1863). Olsztyn: Pojezierze, 1987.

• Biography and texts in the Baltic Archive