The anniversary of engineer Bolesław Statkowski

On 20 June 1894, in Tiflis (Tbilisi), the half-century of service of an outstanding engineer and researcher was celebrated. The newspaper ‘Kavkaz’ devoted a full page to the event. The dignitaries quoted vied with one another in their congratulations. “You have achieved exceptional successes in the construction of structures that will immortalise you,” wrote one. Another argued that “the raging Terek, tamed by the iron bridges spanning it, and the dark and majestic Darial, cut through by a broad, beautiful road, year after year, generation after generation, century after century, will bear witness to your achievements for posterity”. The list of those who attended in person was headed by the governors of the Caucasus, but every second name thereafter was Polish. Present were Generals Piotr Taranowski and Olgierd Szczerbowicz-Wieczór, the chief surgeon of the Caucasian Army, Jan Minkiewicz, and the chief clerk of Tiflis, Justyn Mickiewicz. Whether they offered their congratulations to Bolesław Statkowski – for it was he who was celebrating the jubilee – in Polish, we do not know. One may, however, assume that, regardless of the language, the Georgian Military Road was the topic of conversation.

The route and the mythical Mount Prometheus

Although construction of the Georgian Military Road began in the late 18th century, the route linking Russia with Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan had for centuries followed the course of the River Terek and passed through the Darial Gorge. The mythical Prometheus was chained at the ‘end of the world’ to the rocks of the Caucasus, and in fact to Mount Kazbek (5,054 metres above sea level), at the foot of which the route ran. The titan’s banishment to this place thus testifies that the Greeks also reached the area, as confirmed by Strabo and Pliny the Elder.

The exceptionally difficult mountainous conditions made the crossing arduous and dangerous. Despite this, none of the rulers ordered the route to be paved, and it was only the Russians who undertook this task. This was brought about by the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 and the incorporation of Georgia (1783) and Azerbaijan (1804–1828) into the empire. It turned out, in fact, that the road’s capacity was a sine qua non for maintaining control over the newly acquired territories.

The Georgian Military Road – the beginnings of its construction

The new route, running alongside the old road, was built by the military, hence its name. But what is good for the army does not always suit civilians, and reconstruction work began as early as 1803. The work was supervised by General Pavel Tsitsyanov, who, nine years earlier, had suppressed the Kościuszko Uprising in the Grodno region. In the Caucasus, he secured substantial funds and began erecting the necessary infrastructure.

As an efficient administrator, he also carried out other tasks. When he took power in Baku on behalf of the Tsar in 1806, he was beheaded, which affected the pace of construction of the Georgian Military Road. At the same time, the engineers also faced natural complications. Glaciologists describe the Kazbek glaciers as ‘advancing’. The dynamics of the ice masses are fuelled by seasonal temperature changes and the activity of Kazbek, which is a dormant volcano and occasionally spews out hot material.

The Greater Caucasus – an inspiration for writers, a challenge for builders

Pushkin, travelling along the Georgian Military Road in 1829, was forced to veer off the damaged route and follow a river that had been buried under snow. In his poem *Obwał* (roughly translated as *Avalanche*), he described how he listened to the sounds of water flowing underground. But what inspired the poet was a curse for the builders. Faced with the landslide, no bridge stood firm, no road surface held up, and without these elements, creating a safe, comfortable road was impossible.

From the outset, therefore, two solutions emerged – to stick with the temporary road or to redesign it. In St Petersburg, the latter option was chosen. It was not without reason that it was said that the construction and constant repairs cost so much that the entire road could have been paved with gold roubles. To solve the problem, scientists were therefore consulted. Their task was to determine whether further landslides were likely and to design a new route. The individuals who had the greatest influence on the road’s final layout were: Hermann von Abich, a German geologist invited by the Tsar, and the Polish engineer Bolesław Statkowski.

Bolesław Statkowski – from Pinsk to Tbilisi (Tiflis)

Statkowski arrived in Georgia in 1847 as a graduate of the St Petersburg Corps of Civil Engineers; many Poles had graduated from this school, including the Kierbedzi family: Stanisław, a bridge engineer, and Stanisław Junior, a builder of the East China Railway.

In the Caucasus, Bolesław Statkowski made a name for himself as an excellent administrator and innovator. This caught the attention of his superiors, and he was commissioned to draw up a plan for the modernisation of the road. His proposal aroused the interest of the decision-makers, and in 1855 the thirty-year-old was sent to Europe. Over the next 16 months, he studied in England, Belgium, France and Switzerland, and assisted with the tunnelling work in the Alps. It is significant that here, too, he did not accept knowledge uncritically.

Flood defences were a hot topic amongst engineers at the time, and the Pole published a pamphlet in which – unlike most specialists — argued that the aim of the builder is to allow water to drain away as quickly as possible, rather than to hold it back. He later developed this concept in the Caucasus, constructing buildings in such a way that the forces of nature could run their course with the least possible damage to infrastructure.

The Georgian Military Road – a new construction

The engineer, born near Pinsk, returned from his internship and in 1857 personally presented the road extension project to Alexander II. The Tsar approved it, ordered its implementation and, as an incentive, awarded Bolesław Statkowski the Order of St Anne, 3rd Class.

Work proceeded on two fronts – the entire 212-kilometre stretch was to be given a hard surface. New post stations, stables and inns were also built. The second part was more complex and involved creating a safe infrastructure. This included iron and stone bridges, but the Polish engineer did not trust these structures.

Bolesław Statkowski was convinced of the destructive power of the Caucasus – he introduced the concept of a mudslide (‘siel’) into scientific literature – which is why he decided to relocate selected sections onto artificially constructed rock ledges. Dynamite was used for this work, and the Caucasus resounded with explosions. This is how the spectacular Zemomletsky Descent came into being – a 5-kilometre stretch of serpentine road carved into the rock, where the difference in altitude between the highest point – incidentally, the highest on the entire route – the Krzyżowa Pass (2,379 metres above sea level) – and the lowest point is one kilometre. This section of the road alone was enough to immortalise the name of the Polish engineer.

The Path of Remembrance – excursions along the Georgian Military Highway

At the foot of the Zemomletsky Descent, a black marble slab has been set into the rock; judging by an archive photograph, it is approximately 2.5 metres high and 1.5 metres wide. The Russian inscription, carved and gilded, read:

The road was built during the tenure of the governor, Prince Bariatyński, between 1857 and 1861 by Colonel Statkowski and according to his design, under the administration of the 8th Transport District of General M. Al’dbrandt.

Today, the plaque is no longer there, and residents of nearby villages suspect that it was removed after the Second World War. Russian is not a popular language in the area, and such historical monuments evoke mixed feelings. However, the imagination suggests a solution. A new plaque is being installed – with inscriptions in Georgian and Polish, and in its centre appears ბოლესლავ სტאטκόВСKI / Bolesław Statkowski.