Lipka Tatars: Muslims in Poland?

Tatars first migrated to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century from the former territories of the Mongol Empire—the Golden Horde and Crimea. Their migration was the result of the geopolitical calculations of the European leaders. During the territorial struggles for dominance between the Grund Duchy of Lithuania and the Golden Horde, Tatars proved to be skilled warriors. Leaders of the Grand Duchy and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth offered knighthoods and lands to Tatars in exchange for their military service. Throughout the centuries, Lipka Tatars formed a strong community on the European continent and resisted assimilation.

The Turkic-speaking Lipka Tatars originated from the Golden Horde, also known as the Kipchat Khanate, located in the northwest of the Mongol Empire during the 13th century. Following the collapse of the Mongol Empire in the mid-13th century, leaders of the Golden Horde acquired political and territorial influence over its vast territories, including parts of Eastern Europe. The Golden Horde’s imperialistic ambitions coincided with the expansionist foreign policy aspirations of the newly formed Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which covered areas that are now Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Russia.

Eventually, the two political entities found themselves engaged in a military confrontation over their territorial expansion. Among the leaders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke Vytautas played a key role in confronting the Golden Horde during 1392–1430 and extending the Duchy’s geopolitical influence.

Acquiring dominance over the socio-culturally distinct lands required forming political alliances with other regional leaders, like the Tatar and Mongol rulers. As part of this strategy, Grand Duke Vytautas offered the Golden Horde’s Tatars involved in military campaigns the chance to relocate to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania’s territory. The move was motivated by the Tatars’ proven skill as warriors.

Hence, in the 14th century, the first migration of Tatars occurred to what are now Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania. The new Tatar settlers were widely called Lipka, which translates to “Lithuania” in Crimean. In return for the Lipka Tatars’ military services, the Lithuanian rulers granted them autonomy over their religion and culture. The pragmatic decision greatly contributed to the expansionist ambitions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Tatars assisted the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in its struggle against their Christian neighbors, the Teutonic Knights, in the 1390s. Later, in July 1410, Lipka Tatars played a decisive role during the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War at the Battle of Grunwald.

Much later, in September 1683, Tatars stood on the side of the Polish King Jan III Sobieski in the Battle of Vienna against the Ottoman Empire’s invasion. During this battle, Lipka Tatars fought against their ancestors, the Crimean Tatars, who served in the Ottoman forces.

In 1519, the Tatar petition was presented to the Grand Duke of Lithuania to prove their loyalty and dedication. It read:

“Vytautas is highly revered among us. He did not order us to forget the Prophet… We swore an oath upon our swords to love the Lithuanians when the fate and destiny of war brought us to their homeland, and they said, ‘This land, these waters… will be shared between us.’”

The petition provides an insightful look into the power dynamics and diplomacy of that era, as well as how minority ethnic and religious groups tried to navigate the obstacles of multiethnic states such as the Duchy of Lithuania.

Historical sources vary regarding the exact number of Lipka Tatars residing in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.  It is estimated that in the 14th century, about 3,500 Tatars relocated to the region. Only half a century later, around 7,000 Tatars were living in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the successor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The marriage of the Polish Queen Jadwiga and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Jogaila, in 1386 laid the foundation for the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569 by merging the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a united entity.

The 17th century was characterized by strict policies towards religious and cultural minorities, including Lipka Tatars, who were no longer able to enjoy religious liberty on the territory of the Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1667, new laws prohibited the promotion of Lipka Tatars in the military service and the construction of new mosques in certain areas of the Commonwealth. Sejm, the legislative organ of the Polish-Lithuanian government, ruled that only four percent of the wages would be paid to the Lipka Tatar soldiers, causing widespread frustration and economic burden for the Tatar communities. These developments culminated in the well-known Lipka Rebellion in 1672.

By this time, Polish-Ottoman relations began deteriorating, and subsequent wars broke out in 1672 and 1683. Regiments made up of Lipka Tatar warriors refused to serve the Commonwealth Army. A large number of Lipka Tatars chose to fight for the Ottoman Empire.

The Treaty of Zurawno was signed in 1676. The treaty ended the Polish-Ottoman War and granted Lipka Tatars the autonomy to choose between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Fearing to lose the support of skilled Tatar soldiers, in 1677, the Polish Sejm reviewed earlier decrees and reaffirmed privileges and religious freedom for Lipka Tatars, including the right to buy land (free of taxation), build mosques, and hire Christian employees.

Polish King Jan Sobieski ensured the smooth resettlement and integration of Lipka Tatars in different provinces of Poland. Specifically, Podlasie is the province where the first settlements of Polish Tatars emerged in the late 1670s. The majority of the Lipka Tatars remain in Podlasie in the 21st century.

According to Artur Konopacki, a researcher on Tatar culture, Tatars who settled in Poland during this period enjoyed a special status within the Commonwealth’s multi-ethnic population, contributing to the increase of the Lipka Tatar population. Konopacki outlines, “They [the Lipka Tatars] were quite different because they had their own religion, but they weren’t really persecuted… They were viewed as the community’s protectors.”

In 1679, King Jan III Sobieski issued a decree that banned the marriage of Lipka Tatars to non-Muslims residing in the Commonwealth. The decree further contributed to the maintenance of the distinct Tatar identity. Hence, the assimilation process of Lipka Tatars was slow and stretched for centuries. Although their original Kipchak language had disappeared by the 17th century, traditional names, cuisine, and customs are well preserved even today.

The three partitions of Poland in the late 18th century (1772, 1793, and 1795) and the subsequent division of the Polish territories between Russia, Prussia, and Austria altered the socio-cultural and settlement structure of Lipka Tatars. The Polish Tatar communities of Podlasie, in the neighborhood of Studzianki, fell under Austrian control. It was also referred to as West Galicia. Russia acquired Vilnius, the Nowogródek and Minsk regions, and Prussia gained Augustów, Suwałki, and Kalwaria, as well as Grodno and Sokolniki.

The Tatars did not experience significant restraints from the new rulers. The Russian Tsars (Catherine II and Alexander I), particularly, acknowledged the special status of Lipka Tatar minorities and treated them with respect. This, in turn, facilitated the Lipka Tatars’ quicker integration into Polish society. For example, Tatar Jan Murza Tara Buczacki was elected to the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland in 1818 by the Biała Podlaska district. Many Lipka Tatars found jobs in various administrative fields during the 19th century, such as banking, jurisprudence, local government, and the medical field.

Lipka Tatars in the 20th Century

The 20th century brought significant changes to the Lipka Tatar communities in Europe, especially during World War I. In 1918, the newly established Second Polish Republic gave the Lipka Tatars religious liberty by encrypting the right to religious freedom for all faiths in the new constitution. Thus, Lipka Tatar communities in Poland thrived. About 6,000 Lipka Tatars resided in Poland and practiced Islam in 17 active mosques during this time.

The foundation of the Muslim Religious Association in Poland in 1925 marked a remarkable event in the history of ethnic minorities in Poland. The association remains one of the oldest Muslim organizations in Poland, even 100 years later.

The start of World War II disrupted the peaceful coexistence of Lipka Tatars in Poland. The Polish territories populated by Lipka Tatars became a battlefield of the geopolitical rivalry between the great powers—the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. In 1939, with the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the eastern part of Poland fell under the influence of the Soviet Union. Consequently, the majority of the Lipka Tatars found themselves under communist rule. The ethnic policy of the Soviet Union was strict, envisaging deportation, division, and resettlement of ethnic minorities. Many Lipka Tatars were relocated to remote areas of the Soviet Union.

In 1941, Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler’s rule, invaded the Soviet Union and seized control of the eastern part of Poland. The Nazi occupation of Eastern Poland brought tremendous suffering to the Polish people and ethnic minorities residing there. Again, Lipka Tatar minorities faced persecution, deportation, and forced labor.

The end of World War II, particularly the Yalta Conference held in 1945, granted the eastern territories of Poland, including the Lipka Tatar communities, to the Soviet Union. Once more, ethnic and religious minorities, including Tatars, found themselves constrained by the harsh secular communist policies. Ramadan Yaqoob, a descendant of the Crimean Tatars, outlined in his 2016 interview with the BBC:

“The Soviet period was the worst. All the religious leaders and people of any knowledge were either killed or sent into exile in the farthest reaches of Siberia. Books and archives were burned. Mosques were closed and destroyed. Communities were closed. Islam was forbidden.”

With the establishment of the independent Republic of Poland in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, like other ethnic minorities in the Soviet Union, the Lipka Tatars were given the possibility to enjoy a cultural and religious renaissance. Many mosques and cultural centers were established in several towns and villages, mainly in eastern Poland.

In the 21st century, about 10,000–15,000 Lipka Tatars reside in the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Specifically, in Poland, according to the 2011 census, 1,916 people declared themselves of Lipka Tatar ethnicity.

Most  Lipka Tatars reside in northern Poland—Mazury, Tricity—and even western Poland —Gorzów, Wielkopolski—for instance. However, major Tatar cultural festivals and celebrations (Muslim holidays such as Ramadan Bayrami and Qurban) take place in Bohoniki and Kruszyniany, two small communities near the Polish-Belarusian border.

Centuries of the assimilation process with Polish society, albeit slow, shaped the religious practices of the Lipka Tatars. They have, for example, modified some of the Sunni Islam rules regarding consuming pork and alcohol. The majority of Lipka Tatars speak Polish, and many of them celebrate Catholic Christmas.

In connection to the history of Lipka Tatars living in Poland and elsewhere, ethnologists introduced the term “Tatarhood.” It highlights the Tatars’ commitment to the notion of endogamy, which dictates they must marry within their community. The centuries-long, rigorous adherence to this rule highlights how crucial it is to preserve unique Tatar identities. Because of this, Lipka Tatar’s physical attributes are distinctive: they have somewhat slanted eyes, high cheekbones, a sturdy build, and olive skin, contributing to an enhanced collective sense of identity.

On the other hand, Poland has also contributed to the revival of Tatar culture by including it in the Polish historical narrative. For instance, the so-called Tatar Trail is a 150-kilometer-long tourist attraction composed of several Polish cities: Białystok, Sokółka, Bohoniki, Krynki, Kruszyniany, Krynki, and Supraśl. The Tatar Trail provides a unique experience for interested individuals, showcasing the fascinating history of Polish and Tatar coexistence.

Captivated by the history of the Lipka Tatars, Bogusław R. Zagórski, an expert on the Islamic world, noted,

“In the grand scheme of things, it is the only example of a lasting Muslim community in a non-Islamic European country. A community that has, throughout the ages, enjoyed the same rights and privileges until today. They feel that Poland is their fatherland. It’s a phenomenon that Poland can be proud of.”