A collection of memoirs by Szymon Tokarzewski (1821-1890), a Polish independence activist and multiple exile. The book, first published around 1910-1911, is a valuable record of the fate of Polish exiles imprisoned beyond the Urals in the 19th century.
The author describes the daily life, suffering and social relations of Poles in exile, whom he calls "civilly dead" (disenfranchised persons).
Tokarzewski, who spent a total of about 28-37 years in Siberia, presents an extremely authentic picture of the katorga, often entering into polemics with Russian authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky (whom he met in Omsk prison).
In the book, he reports, among other things, tragic events, such as the senseless death of a young soldier on the swollen Irtysh River, which serves as a criticism of the ruthlessness of tsarist commanders.
