Kastus Kalinouski

Wincenty Konstanty Kalinouski, sometimes known as Kastus Kalinouski, was a 19th-century Belarusian writer, journalist, lawyer, and revolutionary who lived from 2 February [O.S. 21 January] 1838 to 22 March [O.S. 10 March] 1864. He was a key figure in the national revivals of Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus as well as the leader of the January Uprising in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's territories that once belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Kalinouski, one of many participants in the unsuccessful January Uprisings, is particularly adored in Belarus where he is seen as a pioneer and an embodiment of Belarusian nationalism.

In his writing, Kalinouski emphasized the importance of freeing all members of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from Russian rule as well as preserving and advancing the Greek-Catholic religion and Belarusian language. He also championed the up until that point gentry-dominated idea of mobilizing peasants for the cause of national independence. He was active in Vilnius's clandestine Provincial Lithuanian Committee following the start of the January Uprising. He was soon appointed the Polish National Government's commissar for the Grodno Governorate. His works gained him a following among both the gentry and peasants, which allowed the partisan formations he oversaw to expand quickly. Due to his accomplishments, he was elevated to the position of Plenipotentiary Commissar of the Government for Lithuania (Komisarz Penomocny Rzdu na Litw), making him the supreme leader of all partisan troops battling in the modern-day nations of Lithuania, Belarus, eastern Poland, and Ukraine.