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The Pavlov Republic

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The Pavlov Republic is one of the most unusual episodes in Lithuanian history. Have you ever heard how, during the 18th century, very close to Vilnius in what is now the Šalčininkai district, there used to be an independent republic, with its own constitution, coat of arms, currency, parliament, treasury, welfare fund, police force, doctor and school, all governed by a president and a parliament of peasants? Only parts of the house, the stables and a few other buildings have survived to this day to remind us of it, but in the second half of the 18th century it was a place where some of the most radical and progressive social reforms in the Republic of the Two Nations were carried out.

The Pavlov Republic came about in 1769, when the estate of Merkinė was acquired by the Vilnius canon Povilas Ksaveras Bžostovskis. After buying some rather neglected land, together with its serfs, Bžostovskis gradually disposed of the estate’s arable fields and the practice of unpaid labour, and replaced the corvée economy with a cash-based economy. This allowed the peasants to organise themselves, either entirely or in part, and to engage in trade and crafts (so that they could pay the rent), and it also gave them their personal freedom. Bžostovskis opened a school and set about having books translated for the peasants. Much importance was attached to education and health. He promulgated a Statute (or constitution) for the peasants, and granted them self-rule in the form of a peasant parliament, which elected him, as its benefactor, president for life. He established a court made up of peasants, including foresters and manual workers, and formed an army of 150 men, who trained every day in order to prepare for the defence of the homeland … In this way, he founded the Pavlov Republic, which was later recognised by the King of Poland Stanislaw Augustus Poniatowski.

The republic existed for 26 years, from 1769 to 1795 (until the Third Partition of the Republic of the Two Nations). During this time, the income of the estate more than doubled, because by granting the peasants the freedom to organise themselves, and the chance to earn money and obtain an education, they worked much more productively and willingly. The reforms at the Pavlov Republic showed very clearly how inefficient the system based on serfdom was.

Today, when we go to Merkinė, we can still see the ruins of the old Pavlov Republic: the house, the servants’ quarters, the remains of Bžotovskis’ stables, and the completely restored ice house of the mansion. Some three-dimensional stands have been created for visitors, through which we can get a rough impression of what the mansion looked like before it was completely abandoned. They show the architecture of the house and the servants’ quarters as it would have looked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, for they are based on photographs surviving from those times.

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