Summary

The first part of the volume contains papers given on 22 November, 2003 at the scientific conference Municipal local governments in the Suwalszczyzna region in the 19th and 20th centuries, organized in Suwalki by the Augustowsko—Suwalskie Learnt Society, State Archive and Regional Museum. In his essay Slawomir Filipowicz presents short periods in the 19th century, when a municipal local government functioned in Suwalki. The author puts a special emphasis on legal regulations of those days. Andrzej Matusiewicz wrote about a municipal local government in Suwalki in the interwar period. The author concentrated on the course and results of elections to the town council in the years 1920, 1927, 1934 and 1939, and on the process of fomiation of the town authorities. The text supplements the list of candidates to the town council in the period discussed. The history of the Suwalki local government is continued by two other authors: Tadeusz Radziwonowicz (The Suwalki local government in the years 1944-1950) and Jaroslaw Schabieński (The National Town Council in Suwalki in the years 1978-1984 in the light of archival documents). Both articles contain lists of councillors and members of the town authorities of that time. In his article The authorities of Augustow in the interwar period, Jaroslaw Szlaszyński describes the functioning of the local govemment. He discusses and analyses sources of arguments and conflicts, circumstances causing change of mayors. Stanisław Buchowski presented the main areas of activity of the Town Council in Sejny in the inerwar period, making use, first of all, of the minutes of sessions.

 In the part Studies and materials there are three articles. Jaroslaw Schabieński discusses the birth and activities of the "Solidarity" movement in Suwalskie Province in the years 1980-198l, basing himself on a wide range of sources. It is the first publication devoted completely to this issue. Mariusz Filipowicz devoted his text The Augustow round-up in July 1945 in the light of ocuments preserved to those tragic  events of the summer 1945 in the Augustowska Forest. Broader studies of the problems of political life and political attitudes of the "Polish" part of the Suwalki guberniya are presented in the article by Malgorzata Dajnowicz Political visage of the Polish Suwalszczyzna at the beginning of the 20th century.

The volume contains two statements. Stanislaw Cieślukowski, making use the entries in the register of  births, marriages and deaths at the Suwalki St. Alexander ’s church, is trying to identify the towns and villlages around Suwalki, which came into being in the 18th century and which were given names containing the word "Budy". Sławomir Filipowicz discusses the contents of the set Superintendent's Office of the Vilnius  School District 1919-1939, kept at LCVA in Vilnius. The author stresses the great significance of the set for studies of the history of education in counties of Augustow, Sejny and Suwalki in the interwar period.

Tadeusz Radziwonowicz and Marek Sidor prepared and sent to press Spirydion Gąsowski’s last will from 1864. He was the owner of Karolin near Grodno. The will contains a description of his estate, reasons for making the document, in which he included his views on the family, marriage, bringing up children, place and role of the woman in the family. There is also a lot of history of the estate and its owners, and the will is supplemented with a very interesting letter from the testator's wife.

The magazine also contains reviews, among others, from Krystyna Pasiuk's study: The last bush-and-forest guerrillas. The "Blady" - Burdyn's troop and reports from 2002 activities of the Augustowsko-Suwalskie Learnt Society, the Regional Museum and the State Archive in Suwałki.

Translated by Elżbieta Rzemieniewska