Documents
The work of the Polish-Kazakh, Polish-Uzbek, and Polish-Kyrgyz Historical Commissions – together with the collaboration of Polish researchers, museum professionals, and historians and archivists from Central Asian countries – has made it possible to access hundreds of documents concerning Poles and Polish citizens who arrived in Central Asia between the 18th and 20th centuries.
These records pertain to hundreds of thousands of soldiers, exiles, settlers, and refugees who left a lasting mark on the region and are still remembered by local communities. Some of the materials have been catalogued and translated into Polish, while others are presented in their original language.
Obtained Documents
Most of the documents were produced by local Russian or Soviet authorities and institutions. Both administrative and security officials continuously monitored the presence of Poles, who were regarded as unfriendly— or even openly hostile— to Moscow’s rule.
Local institutions compiled reports on the Polish community as a whole, as well as on individual members, gathered directives from central authorities, and subsequently prepared implementation reports. Whenever possible, the Polish population established their own institutions and associations, whose activities were recorded in numerous documents. The analysis of this extensive body of material sheds new light on the history of Poles and Polish citizens in the distant regions of Central Asia.
Search
We provide access to archival decrees, orders, instructions, and regulations issued both by central Russian and Soviet authorities, and by local administrative, regional, or republican offices. These documents concern the resettlement, deportation, repatriation, and settlement of the Polish population, as well as matters related to their employment, provisioning, supervision, and welfare. Some of the available records include various registers of Polish families living in specific localities – most of them presented here for the first time.
Users can search the collection using an AI-assisted search engine, which allows queries in both Polish and Russian (Cyrillic). It retrieves documents containing the entered names, localities, or any other specified words, and displays a list of matching records with excerpts and active links to the full documents. This system makes accessing the materials simple and intuitive, even for those without prior experience in archival research.
Sample documents:
Archives
Chronology
PDF
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