Lithuanian archeologists believe they have found the remains of Kastus Kalinouski, one of the leaders of the January uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (present-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, parts of Ukraine, and western Russia) against the Russian Empire.
The digs were carried out on the top of the Gediminas Hill in the centre of Vilnius. Now the research is being done on the remains uncovered.
“There is strong evidence that there are the remains of Kastus Kalinouski among our findings,” Rimantas Jankauskas, a professor at Vilnius University, says.
‘Kastus Kalinouski. The Last Days’. Belsat TV documentary
According to him, before making any final conclusions, one should complete the examination of all the remains found on Gediminas Hill:
“In other words, if we do not find a ‘better-suited’ candidate, whom most evidence would coincide with, we will state that we have found the remains of Kastus Kalinouski.”
“Kalinouski is part of the national pantheon of Belarus. He was recognized as a national hero in Belarus at the beginning of the XXth century. He was not even prohibited by the Soviet authorities as he held leftist views. Many Belarusian cities have streets named after Kastus Kalinouski. He is an outstanding public figure, military leader, politician, whose memory is immortalized. If the place of his burial is known, it will be of importance to the Belarusian nation,” Andrey Kazakevich, Director of the Institute of Political Studies “Political Sphere”, says.
