Polish Karaites
The Karaimi of West Ukraine and Lithuanian Karaimai were originally known as Polish Karaites. They were the Karaites who published the Minhag HaQaraim in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and were finally allowed to establish their own community in Trakai in 1864. It is from this group that the Firkovich Family came. All the books adopted by the Karaimites were published by this group. However, this group also published Hizzuk Emunah which was a forgotten and unknown book both to Karaimites and to the Crimean Karaites from Egypt before Mordechai Alfandari introduced it to the latter.
Seraya Shapshal came to rule the group in 1928.
It is very doubtful that they were of Crimean Karaite origin but were probably descended from Romaniot Jews and Keraites or Karimi-Karaitizers instead.
