Siarhei Prytytski

Siarhei Prytytski also Sergiusz Prytycki (Belarusian: Сяргей Прытыцкі, Russian: Серге́й Притыцкий, Sergey Pritytsky; February 1, 1913, Harkawicze - June 13, 1971, Minsk)[1] was a Belarusian Communist activist in the Second Polish Republic and, after the Soviet invasion of Poland, a politician in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Western Belarus).[2] During the interbellum, he made a widely-publicized assassination attempt on a Belarusian anti-communist activist Jakub Strelczuk in the Polish court at Wilno on 27 January 1936, shooting from two Nagant revolvers.[2] He escaped from prison following the Soviet invasion of Poland and, after the war, served in the Soviet Union as the Central Committee secretary in the Communist Party of the Belarussian SSR.[2]

Life

Sergiusz Prytycki was born on February 1, 1913 in Harkawicze (eastern Poland)[1] as the third son of a school watchman.[2] His parents relocated to Harkawicze from Nizhniy Shkaft, Russia to escape poverty.[2] In 1931 Prytytski became Secretary of the youth committee of the illegal Communist Party of West Belarus in Krynki in the Second Polish Republic. In 1933 - 1934 he was a member of the local committee of the youth CPWB in Slonim and led strikes of forestry workers in the area. In 1933 Prytytski was for the first time arrested by Polish authorities but soon crossed the border. In 1934 - 1935 he studied at the CPWB school in Minsk, East Belarus, USSR. In 1935 he became Secretary of the local youth branch of the CPWB in Slonim.

After shooting a witness during a trial in Wilno on January 27, 1936, Prytytski was arrested and sentenced to death. The sentence provoked public protest and was soon commuted to life imprisonment. In September 1939, after the Soviet invasion of Poland all prison gates were opened and Prytytski was freed.

Invasion of Poland

Following the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 Prytytski was made deputy head of the Executive Committee of the Belastok Voblast of the Belarusian SSR by the invading Soviets who in the following months engaged in an unprecedented campaign of war crimes against the civilian Poles.[3]

After Germany's attack on the USSR in June 1941 codenamed Operation Barbarossa Prytytski escaped to the eastern part of Belarus still under the Soviet control. In June–August 1941 he led the defence preparations around Mahiliou and the creation of defence militia near Homel. In 1942 - 1944 Prytytski was Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Belarusian branch of the Komsomol. In 1944 - 1945 he was head of a partisan command staff.

After the end of war, Prytytski served as the head of regional party branches in Hrodna, Baranavichy, Maladzyechna and Minsk Voblasts. Many streets in the western part of Belarus are named after Prytytski

Sources

  1. 1 2 Grzegorz Rąkowski, Komunisci z Harkawicz: Polska egzotyczna, Part 1. Oficyna Wydawnicza "Rewasz" 2005, page 211. ISBN 8389188376
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Andrzej Poczobut, Joanna Klimowicz (June 2011). "Białostocki ulubieniec Stalina" (PDF file, direct download 2.40 MB). Ogólnokrajowy tygodnik SZ «Związek Polaków na Białorusi» (Association of Poles of Belarus). Głos znad Niemna (Voice of the Neman weekly), Nr 7/60. pp. 6–7 of current document. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Jan Stanisław Smalewski, Sowieckie zdrady (The Soviet betrayals). Part 5. Pisarze.pl. E-tygodnik literacko-artystyczny Numer 49/14 (226). ISSN 2084-6983
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