An implacable fighter against Catholicism or a “victim of Latin Polish propaganda”: the story of one appeal to the authorities by K.A. Govorsky

The purpose of this article is to identify the ideological and value attitudes of the Western Russian publicist K.A. Govorsky in the context of establishing communication with representatives of the central Russian government through appeals. The article is based on notes by K.A. Govorsky, addressed to Prince S.N. Urusov, Director of the Spiritual and Educational Administration at the Holy Synod, and A.P. Govorsky, Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod. The author analyzes the historical views of the journalist, which are aimed at proving the primacy of Russian Orthodox principles in the Western Region. Special attention is paid to the peculiarities and conditions of that stage in the creative and professional biography of K.A. Govorsky, which preceded the compilation of notes and had a significant impact on the nature of his views. It is concluded that Govorsky’s notes sent to representatives of the central imperial administration reflected his attempts to personally integrate into the implementation of the practices of revising the history of the Western Region, offering a constructive cultural and civilizational identification matrix and using a historical resource to increase the legitimacy and attractiveness of Russian principles in the region. Govorsky, long before the sharp deterioration of Russian-Polish relations and the beginning of the January Uprising of 1863-1864, showed his interest in creating a historical narrative loyal to the all-Russian imperial space, capable of resisting Polish political and cultural claims. Govorsky’s notes made a significant contribution to the intellectual construction of the threats and challenges that took place in the Northwestern Region, the response to which was to attract active local public figures to the Russian government, who were able to find the historical foundations of the depolonization of the region and provide information support for this area of government policy.