Grisha Ashvayants and other Armenians in the Ukrainian trilogy of Józef Łobodowski

The article analyses the image of Armenians and their fate in the novel cycle of the Polish emigratory writer Józef Łobodowski (1909-1988). This cycle, called the Ukrainian trilogy (Komysze, 1955; W stanicy, 1958; Droga powrotna, 1960), is based on experiences of the author, who spent his youth in Kuban during World War One and the period shortly after the Bolshevik revolution. In this trilogy, Armenians do not constitute only the oriental decoration. Writing about these people, Łobodowski realised more serious intention. He seems to indicate that friendship between the novel hero Staś Majewski and the Armenian boy Grisha Ashvayants means not only incredible adventures but primarily the effective alliance of the weak against threatening powers. This alliance is not only individual but also uniting even the whole nations.