THE CONGRESS KINGDOM 237a social revolution at home. He was hoping against hope for a military success
which would force the Tsar to negotiate, encourage the Powers to intervene,
and defuse criticism at home. When success was not forthcoming, his caution
was discredited. His authority was prolonged by the fitful spread of the Rising
to Lithuania. Deputies reached the Sejm in Warsaw from Belostok, Vilna, and
Minsk. Peasants in Samogitia sang,Dabar lenkai naprapula kol Zemaitiai gyui
(Poland has not perished, whilst Samogitia is still alive). But Gielgud failed to
dislodge the Russians from their Lithuanian bases, and fierce repressions began.
In the Sejm, the Kalisz Group held the ring for a time between the Whites and
the Reds. Two of their leaders held seats in the Government. But attitudes polar-
ized incessantly. When the conservative camp successfully blocked a bill for dis-
tributing state-owned land among soldiers and peasants, the radical Patriotic
Society came to the fore. It exercised an influence far greater than its tiny mem-
bership might have indicated. Suppressed by Chfopicki in December, it now set
the pace in political discussions. Its slogan, 'For your freedom and ours', was
aimed at Czartoryski and at the Tsar alike. Its militant leaders-Tadeusz
Krepowiecki (1798-1847), Jan Nepomucen Janowski (1803-88), Jan Czyriski
(1801 67), and the Revd Aleksander Pulaski (1800-38) and their journal, Nowa
Polska (New Poland), combined demands for an intensified war effort with calls
for emancipation of the serfs and the Jews. They frightened as many people as
they converted. In Lodz, mill owners raised units for service with the Russians.
Elsewhere, in Lublin, Kielce, Kalisz, and above all, in Warsaw itself, the work-
ers supported the Rising, and initiated a rudimentary armaments programme.
Senior clerics urged restraint; radical priests urged resistance. Both landowners
and peasants adopted contradictory positions. By June, Skrzynecki was threat-
ening to discipline the Opposition. When a bill to reintroduce dictatorial pow-
ers failed by only seven votes, he struck of his own accord. Unsuccessful officers,
political critics, and alleged spies and provocateurs were seized and put on trial.
But the rot continued. No sooner had the Sejm resolved to replace Skrzynecki
with General Dembinski, when the Warsaw mob took over. On the night of 15
August, the prisons were forced. Thirty-four prisoners, including four generals,
were butchered in cold blood. The following day order was restored by the
army. The barricades were destroyed. The mob leaders were shot. The Patriotic
Society was disbanded. General Jan Krukowiecki (1772.-1850), the governor of
Warsaw, was declared Dictator. Czartoryski fled the capital, and took refuge
with the army. The forces of the Rising were tearing themselves apart.
Meanwhile, the Russian army was building a position of unassailable superi-
ority. Diebitsch, who fell victim to cholera, was replaced by General Ivan F.
Paskievitch (1782.-1856). The main force had taken to the valley of the Vistula
to the north, and was receiving heavy reinforcements from Prussia. On 27 July,
Paskievitch crossed the river unopposed in the vicinity of Thorn, and began his
march on Warsaw from the west. By the time of the August 'coup', he had
already captured the main Polish supply centre at Lowicz, and was preparing to
lay siege to the capital. The defenders hurriedly threw up earthworks and