“It was an outcry that Poland has the right to freedom,” Kasprzyk said during the ceremony.
He also reminded, that despite Western Europe cheering on the Polish cadets fighting against Russian imperialism, the uprising was left to fend for itself.
November Uprising
The November Uprising began on the evening of November 29, 1830, when a group of conspirators from the Infantry Officer School headed by Piotr Wysocki tried to kill Grand Duke Konstanty, Tsar Nicholas I’s brother, in the Belvedere. The attempt failed, but the residents of the capital rose up against the Tsar’s governor.
Around 54,000 insurgents fought against the 115,000-strong Russian army for over a year. After the failure of the uprising, repressions against the Polish people intensified.
The Polish military, as well as the remnants of an independent Polish administration and higher education, were abolished. Russia further imposed a contribution and began constructing a citadel from where Russian cannons were aimed at Warsaw.
The uprising also resulted in the Great Emigration. Numerous aristocrats, officers, soldiers, and artists—including Frederic Chopin, Adam Mickiewicz, and Juliusz Słowacki—never returned to Poland.
