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Aldona Skirgiełło

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Aldona Anna Skirgiełło
Personal details
Born (1977-07-27) 27 July 1977 (age 47)
Warsaw, Poland
Political partySelf-Defence of the Republic of Poland
Alma materAnglia Ruskin University

Aldona Anna Skirgiełło (born 27 July 1977 in Warsaw) is a Polish actor, politician, and farmer. She is known for her appearance in the TTV series "Wives of Podlasie" (Polish: Żony Podlasia), where she played a star role.[1] Skirgiełło was born in Warsaw and worked as a horse rider and photographer for 18 years, and studied law. She abandoned her studies to emigrate to England, where she became a hippologist.[2] She returned to Poland in early 2010s and settled in Podlasie, where she gained attention for her decision to live a "traditional" rural life, without running water nor electricity.[3] After being featured in documentaries on Podlasie,[4] Skirgiełło was invited to the new TTV series "Wives of Podlasie" in March 2024, where she played the main role.[5] Thanks to the series, she gained nationwide popularity and recognizability, and released her autobiography later in 2024.[6]

Skirgiełło also became involved in Polish politics, expressing her interest to run for the first time in 2018.[7] After her unsuccessful independent run in the 2018 Polish local elections, Skirgiełło became a member of the far-left populist party Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland, and ran on its behalf in the 2019 Polish parliamentary election for a Senate seat.[8] Her run was unsuccessful, but she gained media attention,[9] and sparked controversy for using an Orthodox church for campaign purposes.[10] Skirgiełło also ran in the 2024 Polish local elections, but unsuccessfully.[11] In January 2025, Self-Defence nominated Skirgiełło as the official candidate of the party for the 2025 Polish presidential election.[6] Skirgiełło bases her political persona on that of Andrzej Lepper,[8] former deceased leader of the party who gathered a large following in the 2020s despite dying in infamy in 2011.[12]

Biography

[edit]

Aldona Skirgiełło was born on 27 July 1977[13][2] in Warsaw. In her youth, she worked as an horse rider in Służewiec, later a professional photographer for 18 years.[1] Despite beginning an education in law at the University of Warsaw,[2] she abandoned it to become an zootechnician.[14]

Skirgiełło married for the first time in Poland and gave birth to her first daughter in 1999.[2] Her second daughter died in a car accident at the age of 3. Skirgiełło was severely abused by her husband, and recalled being beat with fists and by beer can by her husband, often over petty reasons. After seven years of abuse, Skirgiełło ran away to a Catholic house for lone mothers run by nuns, where men were not allowed to enter. She filed for divorce there, which was granted.[15]

After the divorce, Skirgiełło left Poland for England, where she studied at the Anglia Ruskin University for 9 years.[10] She graduated in two fields - hippologist and racing industry specialist.[2] She worked at horse races in Newmarket, Suffolk, where she met her later husband, an English Gypsy Fred Samuels. The couple decided to return to back to Poland[16] to settle into subsistence farming on a "traditional zagroda [pl]" in Podlasie, raising Gypsy Cobs and other farm animals.[17]

They settled in Wyczółki in the early 2010s,[14][16] and later in 2016 she moved to Stołbce.[18] Skirgiełło later said that she was tired of living in the city, and was inspired by her husband's stories of living in trailers in 1980s. The couple chose Podlasie region, on the border with Belarus, because "it had not yet been so destroyed by civilization". Skirgiełło searched for a long time to find her "dream place".[19] She and her husband attracted media attention in 2015 for their ascetic way of life, as they sought to recreate the way of life of Polish farmers in the 1960s. Their farm had neither running water nor electricity, and they promoted tourism in the region by offering to teach guests rural traditions and old crafts.[3]

In 2016, Polish journalist Błażej Torański published an article about Skirgiełło, which discussed her life story and the radical change in her lifestyle that she settled for. TVP3 Białystok later released a documentary that sparked further interest in Skirgiełło.[4] In late 2017, she became a widow as her husband died. She continued to live on the farm and to raise her son Witold as a lonely mother.[20] In 2019, she became the president of the Nurzec-Stacja Community Development Association (Polish: Stowarzyszenie Rozwoju Gminy Nurzec-Stacja) that promotes agrotourism in the gmina. She ran a tavern and open-air museum, which she closed in 2024 after being given a role in a television series.[2]

In early 2024, Skirgiełło again gained media attention, as the breeder of gypsy horses in Podlasie. The relative interest in her resulted in her being invited to documentary series.[5] In March 2024, she starred in the TTV series "Wives of Podlasie" (Polish: Żony Podlasia).[21] Skirgiełło gained popularity and recognizability through the series, becoming known as "Aldona from Podlasie".[22] In September 2024, the second season of "Wives of Podlasie" started, where Skirgiełło once again played a star role. Skirgiełło also announced that she would soon publish her autobiography.[20] Her biography was published on 22 November 2024, and Skirgiełło held a celebratory event in the public library of Siemianowice Śląskie, which was noted for high attendance.[23]

Skirgiełło's autobiography gathered attention amongst feminist circles,[24] and noted for detailled recollections of physical and mental abuse that she endured in her first marriage.[15] By December 2024, Skirgiełło became recognizable as "Aldona from Podlasie", and held more events related to her biography.[25] In a radio interview, she expressed satisfaction with sales of her book and announced her plans to write more books.[26] In January 2025, Skirgiełło was nominated as the official presidential candidate of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland, with speculation that she became a candidate "on the basis of the gained popularity" from "Wives of Podlasie".[6]

Political activity

[edit]

In May 2018, Skirgiełło expressed her interest to enter local politics. She portrayed herself as an anti-establishment candidate, arguing that her gmina is a "black hole" that needs to be revitalized by investing in agritourism, and addressing the wealth inequality between the gmina's town and surrounding countryside. However, Skirgiełło was widowed shortly before the election.[7] In the 2018 Polish local elections, she ran for Wójt of Nurzec-Stacja, winning 171 votes (10.14%).[27]

After the local elections, she became a member of a far-left party Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland. She described herself as a representative of the "third way of the late Andrzej Lepper, and called for an economic system that would be neither capitalist nor socialist. She also called for a parliamentary representation of national and ethnic minorities in Poland, especially Orthodox Christians; she also supports reestablishing economic and diplomatic relations with Belarus and Russia, protecting "traditional Christian values" and elimination of the LGBT card from Polish law. In her 2019 political campaign, she declared: "Let's start from the basics. Let's start by rebuilding what should be a strong foundation for an independent Poland. Currently, Polish agriculture and the Polish economy are still being destroyed, on a much larger scale than a few years ago."[10]

In the 2019 Polish parliamentary election, Skirgiełło ran for a Senate seat in the constituency no. 61, which covers Gmina Bielsk Podlaski, Gmina Hajnówka, Gmina Siemiatycze and the Wysokie Mazowieckie County. Skirgiełło sparked controversy by posting her political banner on the fence of the Orthodox Church of Simeon Stylites in Brańsk, highlighting her proposal to give Orthodox ethnic minorities in Poland parliamentary representation. Local parish priest initially defended Skirgiełło, but eventually asked her take down her ad after negative coverage. In the election, she won 5,048 votes (5.91%) in total, and did not win the seat.[28] Despite her poor result, her campaign was highly visible in media thanks to her name recognizability; she considered her result satisfactory, stating: "Self-defence, despite the fact that some claimed it no longer existed, Self-defence is back and it is here to stay and it works."[9]

Skirgiełło also ran in the 2024 Polish local elections, where she once again registered as a candidate for Wójt of her gmina Nurzec-Stacja.[11] She won 4.95% of the vote and failed to win the seat, and the incumbent Wójt was re-elected with an overwhelming margin.[29]

In 2025, Skirgiełło declared her candidacy for the 2025 Polish presidential election.[30][31] She described herself as a "horse breeder, spiritual development mentor, singing songwriter, independent woman and highly controversial local scandalist".[11] Skirgiełło's presidential candidacy opened discussions about gender inequality in Poland, and the possibility of women playing a bigger role in Polish politics.[22] She was nominated as the official presidential candidate of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland at the party's convention in January 2025.[8] This is the first time since the 2010 Polish presidential election that the party nominated its own presidential candidate, and is seen as a part of a revival of interest in the party and its deceased controversial leader Andrzej Lepper.[12]

Similarly to her 2019 Senate run, Skirgiełło often invoked and referenced her Orthodox faith, including posting photos with Orthodox priests.[8] Her 2025 campaign was noted for socially conservative, anti-immigration and pro-Russian messages. She became controvesial for posting videos from the Russian television channel RT, with comments such as "Russian President Putin says that the European elites will soon bow down to Donald Trump and eagerly show their loyalty." and "Russian President Putin claims that if the US presidency had not been “stolen” from Donald Trump in 2020, the Ukrainian crisis would never have happened".[32]

Private life

[edit]

Skirgiełło was married to Fred Samuels,[17] an English Gypsy, but became widowed in 2017. She has one son, Witold.[21] According to hejnakon.pl and TVP journalist Alicja Grzechowiak, she is a descendant of Grand Duke of Lithuania Skirgiełło.[5][4] She is an Eastern Orthodox Christian.[33]

Electoral history

[edit]

Senat

[edit]
Election year Party # of
votes 		% of
vote 		District Elected?
2019 Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland 5,048 5.91% Senat Constituency no. 61 No

Wójt of Nurzec-Stacja

[edit]
Election year Party # of
votes 		% of
vote 		Elected?
2018 Independent 171 10.14% No
2024 Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland 78 4.95% No

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Buczek, Julita (18 October 2024). "Aldona z programu "Żony Podlasia" pokazała zęby i wywołała burzę. Leje się hejt". Super Express (in Polish).
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Aldona Skirgiełło". Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b Chrzanowski, Przemysław (31 March 2015). "Chcą żyć jak za dawnych lat… w wiosce interaktywnej".
  4. ^ a b c "Z Alicją Grzechowiak, laureatką (ex equo) Nagrody SDP im. Stefana Myczkowskiego za najlepsze publikacje o problemach ochrony środowiska rozmawia Błażej Torański". Archived from the original on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Tam gdzie pasą się cygańskie konie". Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Żona z Podlasia chce zostać prezydentem Polski". Tygodnik Siedlecki (in Polish). 29 January 2025.
  7. ^ a b Nowicki, Jerzy (21 May 2018). "Mam pomysł na tę gminę" (in Polish).
  8. ^ a b c d Chołodowski, Maciej (29 January 2025). "Znana z programu "Żony Podlasia" kandydatką do prezydenckiego fotela. Z ramienia Samoobrony". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish).
  9. ^ a b "Kampania wyborcza na ostatniej prostej". Telewizja Polska (in Polish). 10 October 2019.
  10. ^ a b c "Wybory parlamentarne 2019. Podlaska kandydatka Samoobrony wykorzystuje cerkiew w kampanii". Archived from the original on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Pietraszewski, Mikołaj (30 January 2025). "Jest kolejna kandydatka w wyborach prezydenckich. Mówi o sobie "lokalna skandalistka"". Radio Zet (in Polish).
  12. ^ a b Ferfecki, Wiktor (8 January 2025). "Andrzej Lepper patronem nowej partii w Polsce. „Odzew jest bardzo duży"". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish).
  13. ^ "Aldona Anna Skirgiełło". Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Postanowiliśmy żyć zgodnie z naturą". Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  15. ^ a b Woźniak, Agnieszka (15 December 2024). "Aldona z "Żon Podlasia" o byłym mężu: Stosował przemoc" (in Polish).
  16. ^ a b "Mam pomysł na tę gminę". Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  17. ^ a b "Chcą żyć jak za dawnych lat… w wiosce interaktywnej". Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  18. ^ "Podlaski Produkt Lokalny. Sery, kozy i cygańskie konie". Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  19. ^ "Wyczółki. Aldona Skirgiełło and Fred Samuels decided to live in harmony with nature". poranny.pl (in Polish). 16 April 2015.
  20. ^ a b "Żony Podlasia. Aldona z popularnego serialu podbija serca widzów. Niedługo pojawi się biografia bohaterki". Współczesna (in Polish). 5 September 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Żony Podlasia. Aldona z popularnego serialu podbija serca widzów. Niedługo pojawi się biografia bohaterki". Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  22. ^ a b Zuchowicz, Katarzyna (7 February 2025). "Polka prezydentką kraju? "Czy chcemy tego, czy nie, w polityce jest cicha walka płci"" (in Polish).
  23. ^ ""Aldona z Podlasia" - biografia Aldony Anny Skirgiełło już w rękach czytelników" (in Polish). 22 November 2024.
  24. ^ Awolusi, Danuta. "Recenzja książki: Aldona z Podlasia". Granice.
  25. ^ "Za tydzień spotkanie autorskie w orlańskiej bibliotece z Aldoną Skirgiełło". bielsk.eu (in Polish). 4 December 2024.
  26. ^ Bolewska-Iwaniuk, Agnieszka (1 December 2024). "Rozmowa z Aldoną Anną Skirgiełło znaną jako Aldona z Podlasia" (in Polish).
  27. ^ "Wyniki głos. i wyb. Wójta".
  28. ^ "Wyniki wyborów 2019 do Senatu RP".
  29. ^ "Wyniki w wyborach Wójta Gminy Nurzec-Stacja" (in Polish).
  30. ^ "Żony Podlasia. Aldona Skirgiełło wystartuje w wyborach na prezydenta RP". Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  31. ^ "Jeszcze jedna kandydatka w wyborach prezydenckich. To "Aldona z Podlasia"". Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  32. ^ "Prezydencka egzotyka. Polskie niespodzianki na liście startowej do najwyższego urzędu". OKO.press (in Polish). 10 February 2025.
  33. ^ "Aldona Anna Skirgiełło". 10 October 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
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