Activities of political exiles in the creation of the prerequisites of cultural development of the Baikal region

Tibodeau Hope Tsydenova

the article deals with the ascetic activity of political exiles from the Decembrists and Polish rebels in Transbaikalia, who, thanks to the perseverance of the moral spirit and a high degree of education, preserved their noble dignity in inhuman conditions of hard labour. Being the bearers of advanced socio-political views, they have become invaluable guides in the field of education and culture for 30 years of their stay in the new society. Without any other means of livelihood, former prisoners were forced to teach after serving prison sentences and labor duties in the hardest mine works, generously sharing a solid baggage of humanitarian and technical knowledge with the local population. They also possessed the skills of choral and instrumental music-making and introduced it to the younger generation. Similar contacts of exiled poles with young people were extremely negatively perceived by the gendarmerie authorities, who were zealously pursuing them in an effort to block harmful free-thinking.

Keywords:political exile, penal servitude, hard labor Academy, the nobility, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the culture, the tutor, the regular army, "barabanshiki music".