The state of the Commonwealth arose in 1569 as a result of the unification of Poland and Lithuania. The king of the Commonwealth was elected by the Polish nobility and largely dependent on it. The right to legislate belonged to the Sejm - the assembly of people's representatives. For the adoption of the law, the consent of all those present liberum veto was required - even one vote "against" prohibited the adoption of a decision.

The Polish king was powerless before the nobility, there was always no consent at the Sejm. Groupings of the Polish nobility were constantly at odds with each other. Acting in their own interests and not thinking about the fate of their state, the Polish magnates in their civil strife resorted to the help of other states. This led to the fact that by the second half of the 18th century Poland turned into an unviable state: laws were not issued, rural and urban life was in stagnation.

The state, weakened due to internal turmoil, could no longer offer serious resistance to more powerful neighbors.
The idea of ​​partitioning Poland appeared in international politics as early as early XVIII century in Prussia and Austria. Yes, in the years Northern war(1700-1721), the Prussian kings three times proposed to Peter I the division of Poland, seeking concessions in their favor of the Baltic coast, but each time they were refused.

The end of the Seven Years' War in 1763 created the prerequisites for a rapprochement between Russia and Prussia. On March 31, 1764, in St. Petersburg, both sides entered into a defensive alliance for a period of eight years. The secret articles attached to the treaty concerned the coordination of the policy of the two states in the Commonwealth. And although the question of specific territorial-state changes was not directly raised, the treaty became the first practical step towards the partitions of Poland. At a meeting with Empress Catherine II, a secret project was discussed, which provided for the rejection of part of the Polish lands "for a better circumference and security of the local borders."

In 1772, 1793, 1795 Austria, Prussia and Russia made three divisions of the Commonwealth.

The first partition of the Commonwealth was preceded by the entry of Russian troops into Warsaw after the election of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, a protege of Catherine II, to the Polish throne in 1764 under the pretext of protecting dissidents - Orthodox Christians oppressed by the Catholic Church. In 1768, the king signed an agreement that secured the rights of dissidents, Russia was declared their guarantor. This caused sharp discontent of the Catholic Church and Polish society - the magnates and the gentry. In February 1768, in the city of Bar (now the Vinnitsa region of Ukraine), those dissatisfied with the pro-Russian policy of the king, under the leadership of the Krasinsky brothers, formed the Bar Confederation, which declared the Seim dissolved and raised an uprising. The Confederates fought the Russian troops mainly by partisan methods.

The Polish king, who did not have sufficient forces to fight the rebels, turned to Russia for help. Russian troops under the command of Lieutenant General Ivan Veymarn, consisting of 6 thousand people and 10 guns, dispersed the Bar Confederation, occupying the cities of Bar and Berdichev, and quickly suppressed armed uprisings. Then the Confederates turned to France and other European powers for help, receiving it in the form of cash subsidies and military instructors.

In the autumn of 1768, France provoked a war between Turkey and Russia. The Confederates took the side of Turkey and by the beginning of 1769 concentrated in Podolia (the territory between the Dniester and the Southern Bug), consisting of about 10 thousand people, who were already defeated in the summer. Then the focus of the struggle moved to the Kholmshchina (the territory on the left bank of the Western Bug), where the Pulavsky brothers gathered up to 5 thousand people. The detachment of brigadier (since January 1770, major general) Alexander Suvorov, who arrived in Poland, entered the fight against them, and inflicted a number of defeats on the enemy. By the autumn of 1771, all of Southern Poland and Galicia were cleared of the Confederates. In September 1771, an uprising of troops under the control of the Crown Hetman Oginsky was suppressed in Lithuania. On April 12, 1772, Suvorov captured the heavily fortified Krakow Castle, whose garrison, led by the French colonel Choisy, capitulated after a month and a half siege.

On August 7, 1772, with the capitulation of Czestochowa, the war ended, which led to a temporary stabilization of the situation in Poland.
At the suggestion of Austria and Prussia, who feared the seizure of all Polish-Lithuanian lands by Russia, the First Partition of the Commonwealth was carried out. On July 25, 1772, an agreement on the division of Poland was signed between Prussia, Russia and Austria in St. Petersburg. The eastern part of Belarus with the cities of Gomel, Mogilev, Vitebsk and Polotsk, as well as the Polish part of Livonia (the city of Daugavpils with adjacent territories on the right bank of the Western Dvina River) went to Russia; to Prussia - West Prussia (Polish Pomerania) without Gdansk and Torun and a small part of Kuyavia and Greater Poland (the area of ​​the Netza River); to Austria - most of Chervonnaya Rus with Lviv and Galich and the southern part of Lesser Poland (Western Ukraine). Austria and Prussia received their shares without firing a shot.

The events of 1768-1772 led to an increase in patriotic sentiments in Polish society, which especially intensified after the start of the revolution in France (1789). The party of "patriots" led by Ignaty Pototsky and Hugo Kollontai won the Four-Year Sejm of 1788-1792. In 1791, a constitution was adopted that abolished the election of the king and the right of the "liberum veto". The Polish army was strengthened, the third estate was admitted to the Sejm.

The second division of the Commonwealth was preceded by the formation in May 1792 in the town of Targovitsa of a new confederation - the union of Polish magnates, headed by Branicki, Potocki and Zhevuski. The goals were set to seize power in the country, abolish the constitution that infringed on the rights of magnates, and eliminate the reforms initiated by the Four-Year Sejm. Not relying on their own limited forces, the Targovichi people turned to Russia and Prussia for military assistance. Russia sent two small armies to Poland under the command of generals-generals Mikhail Kakhovsky and Mikhail Krechetnikov. On June 7, the Polish royal army was defeated by Russian troops near Zelntsy. On June 13, King Stanisław August Poniatowski capitulated and went over to the side of the Confederates. In August 1792, the Russian corps of Lieutenant General Mikhail Kutuzov advanced to Warsaw and established control over the Polish capital.

In January 1793, Russia and Prussia carried out the second partition of Poland. Russia received the central part of Belarus with the cities of Minsk, Slutsk, Pinsk and Right-Bank Ukraine. Prussia was annexed territories with the cities of Gdansk, Torun, Poznan.

On March 12, 1974, Polish patriots led by General Tadeusz Kosciuszko raised an uprising and began to successfully move across the country. Empress Catherine II sent troops to Poland under the command of Alexander Suvorov. On November 4, Suvorov's troops entered Warsaw, the uprising was crushed. Tadeusz Kosciuszko was arrested and sent to Russia.

During the Polish campaign of 1794, Russian troops faced an enemy who was well organized, acted actively and decisively, applied tactics that were new for that time. The suddenness and high morale of the rebels allowed them to immediately seize the initiative and achieve major successes at first. The lack of trained officers, poor weapons and poor military training of the militias, as well as decisive actions and the high art of warfare by the Russian commander Alexander Suvorov, led to the defeat Polish army.

In 1795, Russia, Austria and Prussia produced the Third, final, partition of the Commonwealth: Courland and Semigallia with Mitava and Libava (modern South Latvia), Lithuania with Vilna and Grodno, the western part of Black Russia, Western Polesie with Brest and Western Volyn with Lutsk; to Prussia - the main part of Podlasie and Mazovia with Warsaw; to Austria - Southern Mazovia, Southern Podlachie and the northern part of Lesser Poland with Krakow and Lublin (Western Galicia).

Stanislaw August Poniatowski abdicated. The statehood of Poland was lost, its lands until 1918 were part of Prussia, Austria and Russia.

(Additional

In the 18th century The Commonwealth experienced economic and political decline. It was torn apart by the struggle of the parties, which was facilitated by the outdated state system: the election and limited royal power, the right liberum veto, when any member of the Sejm (the highest representative body management) could block the adoption of a decision supported by the majority. Neighboring powers - Russia, Austria, Prussia - increasingly intervened in its internal affairs: acting as defenders of the Polish constitution, they impeded political reforms aimed at strengthening the monarchical system; they also demanded the settlement of the dissident issue - granting the Orthodox and Lutheran population of the Commonwealth the same rights as the Catholic population.

First partition of Poland (1772).

In 1764, Russia sent its troops into Poland and forced the Convocation Sejm to recognize the equality of dissidents and abandon plans to abolish the liberum veto. In 1768, with the support of the Catholic powers of Austria and France, a part of the magnates and gentry formed in Bar (Podolia), headed by the Kamenets Bishop A.-S. Krasinski a confederation (armed alliance) against Russia and its protege King Stanisław August Poniatowski (1764–1795); its purpose was to protect the Catholic religion and the Polish constitution. Under pressure from the Russian envoy N.V. Repnin, the Polish Senate turned to Catherine II for help. Russian troops entered Poland and during the campaigns of 1768–1772 inflicted a number of defeats on the Confederate army. At the suggestion of Austria and Prussia, who feared the seizure of all Polish-Lithuanian lands by Russia, on February 17, 1772, the First Partition of the Commonwealth was carried out, as a result of which it lost a number of important border territories: South Livonia with Dinaburg, eastern Belarus with Polotsk, Vitebsk and Mogilev and the eastern part of Black Russia (the right bank of the Western Dvina and the left bank of the Berezina); to Prussia - West Prussia (Polish Pomerania) without Gdansk and Torun and a small part of Kuyavia and Greater Poland (the district of the Netsy River); to Austria - most of Chervonnaya Rus with Lviv and Galich and the southern part of Lesser Poland (Western Ukraine). The section was approved by the Sejm in 1773.

The second partition of Poland (1792).

The events of 1768-1772 led to an increase in patriotic sentiments in Polish society, which especially intensified after the start of the revolution in France (1789). The party of "patriots" headed by T. Kostyushko, I. Pototsky and G. Kollontai achieved the creation of the Permanent Council, which replaced the discredited Senate, the reform of legislation and the tax system. At the Four Years' Diet (1788–1792), the "patriots" defeated the pro-Russian "hetman" party; Catherine II, busy with the war with Ottoman Empire, could not provide effective assistance to its supporters. On May 3, 1791, the Seimas approved a new constitution that expanded the powers of the king, secured the throne for the House of Saxony, forbade the creation of confederations, liquidated the autonomy of Lithuania, abolished the liberum veto and approved the principle of making decisions by the Seimas on the principle of majority. The political reform was supported by Prussia, Sweden and Great Britain, who sought to prevent the excessive strengthening of Russia.

On May 18, 1792, after the end of the Russian-Turkish war, Catherine II protested against the new constitution and called on the Poles to civil disobedience. On the same day, its troops invaded Poland, and the supporters of Russia, led by F. Pototsky and F.K. The hopes of the "patriots" for Prussia did not materialize: the Prussian government entered into negotiations with Catherine II on a new division of Polish lands. In July 1792, King Stanislaus August joined the Confederation and issued a decree disbanding his army. Russian troops defeated the Lithuanian militia and occupied Warsaw. January 13, 1793 Russia and Prussia signed a secret agreement on the Second Partition of the Commonwealth; its conditions were announced to the Poles on March 27 in the Volyn town of Polonny: Russia received Western Belarus with Minsk, the central part of Black Russia, Eastern Polesie with Pinsk, Right-Bank Ukraine with Zhitomir, Eastern Volyn and most of Podolia with Kamenets and Bratslav; Prussia - Greater Poland with Gniezno and Poznan, Kuyavia, Torun and Gdansk. The partition was approved by the Silent Sejm in Grodno in the summer of 1793, which also decided to reduce (reduce) the Polish armed forces to 15,000. The territory of the Commonwealth was halved.

The third partition of Poland and the liquidation of the independent Polish-Lithuanian state (1795).

As a result of the Second Partition, the country became completely dependent on Russia. Russian garrisons were placed in Warsaw and a number of other Polish cities. Political power was usurped by the leaders of the Targowice Confederation. The leaders of the "patriots" fled to Dresden and began to prepare a speech, hoping for help from revolutionary France. In March 1794, an uprising broke out in southwestern Poland, led by T. Kosciuszko and General A. I. Madalinsky. On March 16, T. Kosciuszko was proclaimed dictator in Krakow. Residents of Warsaw and Vilna (modern Vilnius) expelled the Russian garrisons. In an effort to ensure broad popular support for the national movement, T. Kosciuszko issued on May 7 the Polaniec universal (decree), which abolished the personal dependence of the peasantry and greatly facilitated their duties. However, the forces were too unequal. In May, the Prussians invaded Poland, then the Austrians. In the late spring - summer of 1794, the rebels managed to successfully restrain the interventionists, but in September, after the energetic A.V. Suvorov stood at the head of the Russian army, the situation changed not in their favor. On October 10, the tsarist troops defeated the Poles at Maciejowice; T. Kosciuszko was taken prisoner; On November 5, A.V. Suvorov forced Warsaw to surrender; the uprising was put down. In 1795, Russia, Austria and Prussia made the Third, final, division of the Commonwealth: Courland and Semigallia with Mitava and Libava (modern Southern Latvia), Lithuania with Vilna and Grodno, the western part of Black Russia, Western Polesie with Brest and Western Volyn with Lutsk; to Prussia - the main part of Podlasie and Mazovia with Warsaw; to Austria - Southern Mazovia, Southern Podlachie and the northern part of Lesser Poland with Krakow and Lublin (Western Galicia). Stanislaw August Poniatowski abdicated. Polish-Lithuanian state ceased to exist.

AT historical science sometimes they also distinguish the Fourth and Fifth sections of Poland.

Fourth Partition of Poland (1815).

In 1807, having defeated Prussia and concluded the Treaty of Tilsit with Russia, Napoleon formed the Grand Duchy of Warsaw headed by the Saxon elector from the Polish lands taken from Prussia; in 1809, having won a victory over Austria, he included Western Galicia in the Grand Duchy ( see also NAPOLEONIC WARS). After the fall of the Napoleonic Empire, at the Congress of Vienna 1814–1815, the Fourth Partition (more precisely, the redistribution) of Poland was carried out: Russia received the lands that had been ceded to Austria and Prussia as a result of the Third Partition (Mazovia, Podlasie, the northern part of Lesser Poland and Chervonnaya Rus), with the exception of Krakow, declared a free city, as well as Kuyavia and the main part of Greater Poland; Prussia was returned the Polish coast and the western part of Greater Poland with Poznan, Austria - the southern part of Lesser Poland and most of Chervonnaya Rus. In 1846, with the consent of Russia and Prussia, Austria annexed Krakow.

Fifth Partition of Poland (1939).

As a result of the fall of the monarchy in Russia and the defeat of Germany in the First World War, an independent Polish state was restored in 1918 as part of the original Polish lands, Galicia, Right-Bank Ukraine and Western Belarus; Gdansk (Danzig) acquired the status of a free city. August 23, 1939 Nazi Germany and the USSR signed a secret agreement on the new division of Poland (the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), which was implemented with the outbreak of World War II in September 1939: Germany occupied the lands to the west, and the USSR east of the Bug and San rivers. After the end of World War II, the Polish state was again restored: according to the decisions of the Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945) and the Soviet-Polish Treaty of August 16, 1945, German lands east of the Oder were annexed to it - West Prussia, Silesia, East Pomerania and East Brandenburg; at the same time, almost all of the territories annexed in 1939 were retained by the USSR, with the exception of the Bialystok district (Podlasie) returned to Poland and a small area on the right bank of the San River.

Ivan Krivushin

Three divisions of the Commonwealth (1772, 1793, 1795) between Austria, Prussia and Russia led to the absence of the Polish state for 123 years. political map Europe. Throughout the 19th century, Polish politicians and historians argued about who was more to blame for the loss of independence. Most considered the external factor to be decisive. And among the powers that divided Poland, the role of the main organizer was assigned to the Russian Empire and Catherine II. This version is popular to this day, layering on events in the history of Poland in the 20th century. As a result, a stable stereotype was formed: Russia for several centuries was the main enemy of Poland and the Poles.

Actually

The partitions of Poland in the 18th century were diligently managed by Soviet historians: the Poles' version of the role of Russia was shared by Karl Marx, with whom it is not easy to argue with in Marxist historiography. Some archival documents about the divisions of the Commonwealth were declassified only starting from the 1990s, and modern researchers have received additional documentary grounds for an objective analysis of the processes that led to the disappearance of one of the largest states of the then Europe.

Let's start with just one wishes of three powerful neighbors for the divisions of Poland were completely insufficient.

Unlike Austria, Russia and Prussia, the Commonwealth did not have any prerequisites for the imperial development of the state, nor a strong regular army, nor a consistent foreign policy. Therefore, it was the internal factor of the collapse of the state that was of paramount importance.

The well-known Polish historian Jerzy Skowronek (in 1993-1996 - the chief director of the state archives of Poland) noted: “The partitions and the fall of Poland were a tragic refutation of one of the“ brilliant ”principles of the foreign policy of the gentry of the Commonwealth. He said that it was the impotence of the state that was the basis and condition for unlimited democracy and the freedom of each of its citizens, at the same time serving as a guarantee of its existence ... In fact, it turned out the opposite: it was the impotence Polish state prompted its neighbors to liquidate Poland.

So, the very quality of the Polish state made it possible for an external factor to play.

But the initiator of the process was not Catherine II at all. Russia was quite satisfied with the policy of “tough and comprehensive guardianship” that had developed since the time of the weakening Polish state. But in Berlin and Vienna, they were set up completely differently.

Jerzy Skowronek logically emphasized: “The main instigator of the divisions of Poland was Prussia, it was willingly supported by Austria. Both powers feared that Russia, implementing its policy, would firmly draw the entire Commonwealth into the orbit of its unlimited influence.

That is, the Russian Empire did not pursue the goal of erasing its centuries-old geopolitical adversary represented by Poland from the geographical map at all costs. A similar desire was experienced primarily by the Prussian king Frederick II, and for quite understandable reasons.

Part of the Prussian lands with Königsberg, formed on the basis of the possessions of the Teutonic Order, before mid-seventeenth centuries was in vassalage from Poland. Russian Field Marshal I.F. Paskevich reasonably argued that "Prussia is a concession from Poland to the Elector of Brandenburg." But even later, in the conditions of the separation of East Prussia from the rest of the territories with a center in Berlin, the full existence of Prussia without the seizure of Polish lands was impossible.

Naturally, the main initiator of all three partitions of Poland was the Kingdom of Prussia.

The final version of the first section in January 1772 was imposed on Austria and Russia by the Prussian king. Catherine II for some time resisted these plans of Frederick II. But in conditions when the Polish authorities and the weak king Stanislaw August could not provide Russia with stable support for its positions against the background of the growing resistance of Berlin and Vienna to Catherine's new successes in big war with Turkey (1768-1774), the empress accepted the partition project. The Russian empress assumed that Poland, although in a truncated form, retaining its capital Warsaw, would remain an independent state.

But Prussia did not want to stop there and became the main initiator and organizer of the next two sections. Taking advantage of the fact that the only possible opponent of such a development of events - France - was engulfed in revolution since 1789, his nephew Friedrich Wilhelm II, who replaced Frederick II, who died in 1786 on the throne, brought the matter of the elimination of Polish statehood to an end.

In the early 1790s, Prussia, as Jerzy Skowronek wrote, “showed particular cynicism: luring the Poles with the prospect of an allegedly possible union, it pushed the Commonwealth to a quick formal withdrawal from the tutelage of Russia (even accompanied by anti-Russian gestures) and to the beginning of rather radical reforms , and then left her to the mercy of fate, agreeing on the second section.

While Russia in 1772-1795 received territories with a non-Polish peasant majority of the population (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Latvians), Prussia included the most important part of the original Polish lands with the capital Warsaw, capturing the most economically and culturally developed Polish regions.

And they didn’t talk about the “victory over Poland” in Russia either at the end of the 18th century, or in 1815, when, as a result of the victory over Napoleon (with whose troops the 100,000-strong Polish army of Marshal Jozef Poniatowski marched on Moscow and fought desperately), Warsaw and the lands adjacent to it became part of the Russian Empire as the autonomous Kingdom of Poland.

Results and lessons

The main thing that the disappearance of Poland in the 18th century teaches us is succinctly and precisely stated by Jerzy Skowronek. It is impossible not to cite this quote again: “The impotence of the state is the basis and condition for unlimited democracy and the freedom of each of its citizens, at the same time serving as a guarantee of its existence ... In fact, it turned out the other way around: it was the impotence of the Polish state that pushed its neighbors to liquidate Poland.”

Golden letters. In granite. For edification. And not only the Poles.

Sources and literature

Solovyov S.M. History of the fall of Poland. M., 1863.

Kareev N.I. The fall of Poland in historical literature. SPb., 1888.

Dyakov V.A. collapse. How the Commonwealth disappeared from the map of Europe // Motherland. 1994. No. 12. S. 32-35.

Skowronek E. Strikes from three sides. Partitions of Poland as an integral part European history(1772 - 1793 - 1795) // Motherland. 1994. No. 12. S. 36-40.

Nosov B.V. Establishment of Russian domination in the Commonwealth. 1756-1768 M., 2004.

Stegniy P.V. Partitions of Poland and diplomacy of Catherine II. 1772. 1793. 1795. M., 2002.

Sunday, March 25, 2012 00:13 + to quote

In 1772, 1793, 1795 Austria, Prussia and Russia made three divisions of the Commonwealth.

First section The Commonwealth was preceded by the entry of Russian troops into Warsaw after the election to the Polish throne of the protege of Catherine II Stanislav August Poniatowski in 1764 year under the pretext of defending dissidents- Orthodox Christians oppressed by the Catholic Church.

AT 1768 In the same year, the king signed an agreement that secured the rights of dissidents, Russia was declared their guarantor. This caused sharp discontent of the Catholic Church and Polish society - the magnates and the gentry. In February 1768 years in the city Bar(now the Vinnitsa region of Ukraine), dissatisfied with the pro-Russian policy of the king, under the leadership of the Krasinsky brothers, formed Bar Confederation, which declared the Sejm dissolved and raised an uprising. The Confederates fought the Russian troops mainly by partisan methods.

The Polish king, who did not have sufficient forces to fight the rebels, turned to Russia for help. Russian troops under the command of Lieutenant General Ivan Weymarn as part of 6 thousand men and 10 guns dispersed the Bar Confederation, occupying the cities of Bar and Berdichev, and quickly suppressed armed uprisings. Then the Confederates turned to France and other European powers for help, receiving it in the form of cash subsidies and military instructors.

autumn 1768 France provoked a war between Turkey and Russia.

The Confederates took the side of Turkey and to the top 1769 years concentrated in Podolia (the territory between the Dniester and the Southern Bug) consisting of about 10 thousand people who had already been defeated in the summer.

Then the focus of the struggle moved to the Kholmshchina (the territory on the left bank of the Western Bug), where the Pulavsky brothers gathered up to 5 thousands of people. The detachment of the brigadier (since January 1770, major general) who arrived in Poland entered the fight against them. Alexandra Suvorova, which inflicted a number of defeats on the enemy.

By autumn 1771 year, all of southern Poland and Galicia were cleared of the confederates. In September 1771 year in Lithuania, an uprising of troops under the control of the crown hetman was suppressed Oginsky.
12th of April 1772 Suvorov captured the heavily fortified Krakow Castle, the garrison of which, led by a French colonel Choisy capitulated after a month and a half siege.

August 7, 1772 with the capitulation of Czestochowa, the war ended, which led to a temporary stabilization of the situation in Poland.

At the suggestion of Austria and Prussia, who feared the seizure of all Polish-Lithuanian lands by Russia, The first section of the Commonwealth.

July 25, 1772 between Prussia, Russia and Austria in St. Petersburg signed an agreement on the division of Poland.
The eastern part of Belarus with the cities of Gomel, Mogilev, Vitebsk and Polotsk, as well as the Polish part of Livonia (the city of Daugavpils with adjacent territories on the right bank of the Western Dvina River) went to Russia;

To Prussia - West Prussia (Polish Pomerania) without Gdansk and Torun and a small part of Kuyavia and Greater Poland (near the Netza River);

To Austria - most of Chervonnaya Rus with Lviv and Galich and the southern part of Lesser Poland (Western Ukraine).

Austria and Prussia received their shares without firing a shot.

Events 1768-1772 years led to the growth of patriotic sentiments in Polish society, which especially intensified after the start of the revolution in France (1789). The party of "patriots" led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Ignatius Potocki and Hugo Kollontai won the Four-Year Sejm of 1788-1792.

In 1791, a constitution was adopted that abolished the election of the king and the right of the "liberum veto". The Polish army was strengthened, the third estate was admitted to the Sejm.

Second section The Commonwealth was preceded by the formation in May 1792 years in the town of Targovitsa of the new confederation - Union of Polish magnates, headed by Branicki, Potocki and Zhevuski.

The goals were set to seize power in the country, abolish the constitution that infringed on the rights of magnates, and eliminate the reforms initiated by the Four-Year Sejm.

Not relying on their own limited forces, the Targovichi people turned to Russia and Prussia for military assistance.

Russia sent two small armies to Poland under the command of generals-generals Mikhail Kakhovsky and Mikhail Krechetnikov.

On June 7, the Polish royal army was defeated by Russian troops near Zelntsy. On June 13, King Stanisław August Poniatowski capitulated and went over to the side of the Confederates.

In August 1792 of the year Russian corps of lieutenant general Mikhail Kutuzov advanced to Warsaw and established control over the Polish capital.

In January 1793, Russia and Prussia carried out second partition of Poland.

Russia received the central part of Belarus with the cities of Minsk, Slutsk, Pinsk and Right-Bank Ukraine. Prussia was annexed territories with the cities of Gdansk, Torun, Poznan.

March 12 1974 year Polish patriots led by General Tadeusz Kosciuszko raised an uprising and began to successfully move across the country. Empress Catherine II sent troops to Poland under the command of Alexander Suvorov.

On November 4, Suvorov's troops entered Warsaw, the uprising was crushed. Tadeusz Kosciuszko was arrested and sent to Russia.

During the Polish campaign 1794 years, Russian troops faced an enemy who was well organized, acted actively and decisively, applied tactics that were new for that time. The suddenness and high morale of the rebels allowed them to immediately seize the initiative and achieve major successes at first.
The lack of trained officers, poor weapons and poor military training of the militias, as well as decisive actions and high combat skills of the Russian commander Alexander Suvorov, led to the defeat of the Polish army.

AT 1795 Russia, Austria and Prussia produced The third, final, section of the Commonwealth:

Courland and Semigallia with Mitava and Libava (modern South Latvia), Lithuania with Vilna and Grodno, the western part of Black Russia, Western Polesie with Brest and Western Volyn with Lutsk went to Russia;

To Prussia - the main part of Podlasie and Mazovia with Warsaw;

To Austria - Southern Mazovia, Southern Podlasie and the northern part of Lesser Poland with Krakow and Lublin (Western Galicia).

Stanislaw August Poniatowski abdicated.
The statehood of Poland was lost, its lands before 1918 were part of Prussia, Austria and Russia.

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CAPTURE OF WARSAW

It is impossible to know history, because it is not a multiplication table, it must be understood. Understanding is made up of two factors - knowledge historical facts and the ability to analyze them, that is, to identify priority events and establish cause-and-effect relationships between them. This, and nothing else, is the understanding of history. Understanding the history of one's country (purely from a practical point of view) is necessary not in order to pass for a highly cultured person, but solely in order to form one's own civic position based on self-respect and a pragmatic approach to neighboring peoples and one's own rulers.

But sometimes the current rulers of the Russian Federation themselves will not interfere with an understanding of history in order to more professionally solve tactical political problems. Suppose we need to find a reason to cancel the hated red day of the calendar on November 7, and even adequately respond to the Poles, who impudently celebrate on November 9 the liberation from the age-old Muscovite yoke, along with another public holiday - the day of the defeat of the "Bolshevik hordes" near Warsaw in 1920.

Are we celebrating defeat in the war?

It was for this purpose that the event of deep antiquity was far-fetched and inflated - the capitulation of the Moscow garrison of Poles and Litvins to Pozharsky's people's militia in 1612. The garrison was caused by technical reasons (those locked in the Kremlin simply had nothing to eat), and therefore was not accompanied by any special exploits of the militias. In addition, you can call the Poles occupiers only with a very, very big stretch. They were only one of the forces that took part in the civil war (Troubles) in Russia, along with the Swedes, Tatars, Dnieper Cossacks, the rebels of Ivan Bolotnikov, the rebellious supporters of both False Dmitrys (the Poles were friends with them, then fought) and simply crowds of robbers. Moreover, it was the Poles who, from a certain moment, had the legal right to be in the Kremlin, for the Polish prince Vladislav was elected Russian tsar and the people of the white stone beat him with their foreheads. Drama to those events is added by the fact that the Western Russian principalities, which formed the basis of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, acted in that mess as opponents of Moscow. So, it turns out that on November 4 we celebrate a not very significant episode of the Troubles, which had all the signs civil war. If we perceive those events as an interstate confrontation between Russia and the Commonwealth and Sweden, then it was only a long series of defeats that ended in the heavy Stolbovsky peace with Sweden, and with the Poles not even peace, but the Deullin truce, which resulted in large territorial losses in the north and west. Well, in what other state can it occur to the rulers to celebrate the defeat in the war and the bloody civil slaughter? In tsarist Russia, the official authorities used those events as raw material for propaganda myths (let us recall, for example, the myth of Susanin, for which not a single confirmation has been found), although rather sluggishly, for one reason alone. The expulsion of the warriors of the Russian Tsar Vladislav from Moscow served as a prologue to the defeat of the Jagiellonian dynasty in the struggle for the Moscow throne and the accession of the Romanov dynasty. Formally, by the way, Vladislav, as a descendant of the Rurikovich, had much more rights to the title of Tsar of All Russia than the thin-born Mikhail Romanov, and if the former had officially converted to Orthodoxy, then the Russians would not have had a formal reason to violate the oath of allegiance given to him.

Intelligentsia - the fifth column of Russia

However, the critics of Putin's initiative to celebrate November 4 as ... - by God, I forgot the name of this great holiday, and without me it's enough. But I want to draw attention to the fact that it is on November 4 that one can rightfully celebrate the victory over the Poles, if it’s so impatient, though for a completely different reason - on this day in 1794, the brilliant Count Suvorov took the Warsaw suburb with a battle - a fortress Prague, as a result of which the Polish army capitulated, and the Commonwealth ceased to exist. The result of the war of 1794 was the return to the Russian Empire of the Western Russian regions with the cities of Lutsk, Brest, Grodno, Vilna and the entry into its composition of Courland, inhabited mainly by Lithuanians, Latvians and Germans. Actually, the Polish lands were divided among themselves by the formal allies of Russia in that war - Prussia and Austria.

We, the Russians, have no reason to be ashamed of that Suvorov victory, because we did not seize someone else's, but returned our own, brought the population of the lands annexed to the empire liberation from Polish economic, religious and cultural oppression, and this applies not only to Russians, but also to Courland the Germans, along with the local Baltic tribes. By the way, when I called Brest and Lutsk Russian cities, I did not make a reservation at all. The population of these lands considered themselves Russian, and then no one even knew the words “Ukrainian” and “Belarusian”. The only differences from other Russians were the clogging of local dialects with many Polonisms and the presence of the Uniate Church, that is, Orthodox by rite, but recognizing the supremacy of the Pope and some Catholic dogmas. However, very soon Polonisms began to disappear from popular life, and the vast majority of Uniates either returned to the bosom of the Orthodox Church or converted to Catholicism (the latter did not have the slightest reason to infringe on rights). As for the literate stratum (parts of the townsfolk, service people and nobles), they used the common Russian literary language, knew the Polish language and local Russian-Polish dialects spoken by the peasantry. True, together with the Russian tillers and the German nobility (they honestly served the tsars, and often more zealously than the Russian nobles themselves), Russia had the dubious fortune of accepting a lot of Jews and the Polonized-Catholic gentry into its citizenship, but this is a separate story.

Why didn’t the current masters of the Kremlin even think that the glorious Suvorov victory (he himself equated the Prague affair with the storming of Ishmael) is much more suitable as an occasion for celebration, because, firstly, it was a truly brilliant victory, a classic example of the triumph of Russian weapons in the moment of its heyday at the end of the 18th century, and secondly, a victory that put an end to more than two centuries of interstate Polish-Russian confrontation, a victory that resulted in the restoration of the national unity of the Russian people? (The only Russian land that remained under Austrian rule, Eastern Galicia, together with Bukovina, was annexed to the USSR only as a result of the Second World War.) Probably the main reason is that for two centuries, the domestic intelligentsia went out of its way to pervert this glorious era, and not because she needed it for some reason, but solely out of subservience to the West in connection with her own dementia and greed. As a result, two persistent myths were formed by common efforts:

1. About the noble Polish rebels fighting under the leadership of the glorious Tadeusz Kosciuszko for holy freedom.

2. About the brutal cruelty of Russian soldiers who, having taken Prague by storm, slaughtered the civilian population of this suburb of Warsaw. All the nuns, they say, were raped beforehand, and the killed babies were impaled on spikes and carried in this form in order to intimidate enemies.

In fact, the myth of the Prague massacre then played exactly the same role that Goebbels's lie about the Polish prisoners of war innocently murdered by Russians in Katyn played in the past century. If the Germans used this propaganda canard to mobilize Europeans to fight "Russian barbarism", then at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. The Poles were used in their own interests by the French, who managed to gather a pan-European army of twelve languages ​​for a campaign against Russia. In both cases, the domestic intelligentsia joyfully chimed in with hostile propaganda, which it continues to do to this day. In the century before last, the notorious writer Faddey Bulgarin and the prominent "historian" Nikolai Kostomarov were well-known popularizers of Suvorov's "atrocities", today the most popular propagandists of this myth are the novelist Alexander Bushkov and the "historian" Andrei Burovsky (he is generally a clinical case). Today, these types are sung along by a whole choir of intellectuals of “democratic” nationality, entrenched in the media.

The fifth column acts to the detriment of Russia in the name of the triumph of "universal values". This means that the war continues, and it is no longer for oil and diamonds, not for political control over the so-called post-Soviet space, this war is being waged for the sake of eradicating the Russian name itself. The systematic “drang nah osten” is being carried out with the aim of destroying our national self-consciousness, because a person without a clan and tribe, an Ivan who does not remember his kinship, is easier to turn into a slave and less effort needs to be spent on keeping him in a bestial state. If the enemy wins, then future historians will call the territory from Brest to Vladivostok the post-Russian space, and the Russian people will turn into the same chimera as the Romans, Carthaginians, ancient Egyptians, Scythians or Etruscans.

WHAT THE POLISH PANS FIGHTED FOR

I will try to briefly (as far as the format of a newspaper article allows) show the absolute falsity of these myths. The war of 1794 was not Russia's aggression against "freedom-loving" Poland and was provoked by the Poles themselves. In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the pro-Russian-oriented king Stanislav August Poniatowski then ruled (he, the former ambassador of the Commonwealth in Russia, was known as the lover of Catherine Alekseevna, the future Empress Catherine the Great). By agreement with the official Polish authorities, a contingent of Russian troops was in the country to prevent the invasion of the Swedes and military depots used to supply the Russian army operating against the Turks in the Balkans. The troops did not interfere in local affairs, although Russian diplomats turned the gentry at their own discretion, since it was fantastically corrupt. In the end, whoever has dinner with a girl dances her, and the election of King Poniatowski was generously funded from the Russian treasury. So in this situation, no one except the Lyakh elite was to blame.

On March 13, an uprising suddenly breaks out in Poland, which, at the invitation of the gentry, was led by the notorious Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a professional military man, a hero of the struggle for US independence. Mutinies and inter-clan squabbles in Poland were so commonplace that the army command did not even consider it necessary to take precautions. On April 4, the rebels, led by the proclaimed Generalissimo and dictator of Poland, Kosciuszko, defeated the Russian detachment of General Tormasov near the town of Raclavice (I must say, the Russian command allowed this to be done out of their stupidity), and on April 16, riots swept Warsaw. These were precisely the riots, for the rebels were mostly fond of robbery, did not have a leading center and did not put forward any political demands. Historian S.M. Solovyov in his "History of the Fall of Poland" in passing writes about the atrocities of the crowd in one line: "Wherever they see a Russian, they grab, beat, kill, officers are taken prisoner, orderlies are mostly killed." An angry mob tore to pieces the nephew of the Russian envoy Igelstrom when he was on his way to the Polish king to negotiate the withdrawal of Russian troops. At the same time, a Polish officer was also killed, accompanying Igelstrom, who was trying to prevent the massacre. The rebels did not shun reprisals against the wounded, even killing officers. So, in retaliation for stubborn resistance, Colonel Prince Gagarin, seriously wounded in battle, was cruelly tortured.

The mutiny took place on Good Thursday, when the 3rd battalion of the Kiev regiment (about 500 people) had the turn to fast in the church, where, being unarmed, it was captured by the rebels and mostly slaughtered. As you can see, the "freedom fighters" were completely deprived of any complexes - to desecrate a temple by murder is in the order of things for them. Showered from the roofs of houses with a hail of bullets, Russian detachments broke out of the city. One of them was headed by the Russian envoy to Poland, Igelstrom. At first, he wanted to surrender to the Poles and thus stop the bloodshed, stipulating the terms of surrender and the withdrawal of Russian troops. However, he was never able to fulfill his intention, because there was simply no one to surrender. The crowd, intoxicated with violence, perpetrated a bloody bacchanalia, neither the king nor the command of the Polish army controlled the brutal murderers. The same Russian soldiers who could not escape from the city were mostly killed, and some were captured. When Stanislav August, in response to the demands of the rebels, declared that the Russian troops would never lay down their arms and it would be better just to let them out of the city, he was showered with insults and hurried to hide from the angry crowd in his palace.

The Russian Empire could not afford such a brazen insult. If the Poles spit in the face of a great power, then let them prepare to wash themselves with blood. At that time, Russia was not ruled by some lousy intellectual like Gorbachev or even Nicholas I, who suffered the murder of the Russian envoy Griboedov in Persia in 1829. At that time, the German Catherine sat on the throne, who did not exchange national interests for universal human values ​​and did not suffer from vulgar liberalism .

What was the goal pursued by the gentry, starting a rebellion? The only thing she wanted was to return the Russian lands to her possession, which she referred to only as Vskhodnie Kresy (eastern outskirts), up to and including Smolensk and Kyiv, because there were too many gentry in Poland - about 10% of the total population, and land and there were not enough slaves for everyone. Russia has been steadily squeezing the Poles out of there since 1654, when it entered the war for the liberation of Little Russia, which wished to go under the hand of the Moscow Tsar, and therefore the Russians, who did not allow the gentry to suck the blood of Russian peasants, were to blame for the fact that the pans became dispossessed beggars . If the rebels wanted to free themselves from foreign domination in their country, then they would have to overthrow the pro-Russian king Poniatowski and break all agreements with Russia, since Polish laws made it possible to do this without armed struggle within the framework of political process. But the rebels did not try to do this, the king himself fled to the Russian borders, fearing for his life. The only clear demand that was put forward was the demand for land and slaves.

And the thesis that the rebels allegedly fought for freedom looks completely idiotic. For whose freedom? The Polish peasantry was, perhaps, the most downtrodden in Europe and most often participated in the war, either on the basis of the "order" of their bar, or believing in empty promises of land and freedom. Kosciuszko, perhaps, was the only one who tried to put forward social demands in order to turn the gentry rebellion into a nationwide uprising, but this only aroused the indignation of the landowners.

The slogans of national revival were also not on the agenda, because in this case the rebels would have to fight not with the Russians, but with the Austrians and Prussians, who had snatched off pieces of Polish territory proper. They, of course, would not mind, but only in the West there was absolutely no free land fund, so the vast eastern expanses looked more than tempting.

KATYN 18TH CENTURY

So there really was a massacre in Warsaw, but only Russians and Poles, suspected of sympathizing with Russia, suffered in it. Having built many gallows ahead of time, the crowd proceeded on May 28 to the Warsaw prison and demanded that “traitors” be handed over to them for reprisal. The head of the prison Mayevsky refused and was among the first to be pulled up. The prison guards, seeing such a turn, did not prevent further reprisals, to which all the prisoners were indiscriminately subjected, among which, as one might assume, were the Russians captured during the April riot.

Meanwhile, on August 14, General Suvorov arrived in Poland, and the affairs of the rebels became very sour. Kosciuszko was powerless, suffering one defeat after another. Finally, on November 4 (according to the new style), Alexander Vasilyevich stormed Prague - a fortified suburb of Warsaw on the right bank of the Vistula, after which on November 10 the rebels officially capitulated. For this success, Alexander Vasilyevich was promoted to field marshal general.

In the disposition on the assault (order), Suvorov specifically warns the soldiers against revenge for the comrades killed in April, because the soldiers of the same Kiev regiment, who lost the 3rd battalion in the church and the Kharkov regiment, who lost 200 people killed during a breakthrough from the city, participated in the assault on Prague : “Do not engage in shooting, do not shoot without need; beat and drive the enemy with a bayonet; work quickly, quickly, bravely, in Russian! Do not run into houses; the enemy asking for mercy, spare; do not kill the unarmed; do not fight with the women; don't touch the kids."

In the Russian army, it was customary to carry out orders, especially those that came from Suvorov, adored in the troops. To disobey his order is to show him the blackest disrespect. And as for retribution with the enemy for an insult, the Russians understood this matter in their own way. The cornet of the Kharkov regiment Fedor Lysenko, during the battle near Maciewice on October 10, asked the authorities for permission "... to leave the regiment to find the Polish Revolution, the Commander-in-Chief, General Kosciuszki." When the Poles, unable to withstand the onslaught, fled, Lysenko, noticing the Polish commander-in-chief from afar, made his way to him, and then, “chasing him, gave two wounds to the head with his saber, captured the commander Kosciuszka, who was mentioned by the Polish Revolution.” The feat of the commoner Lysenko, who had become an officer, was not noted in any way, but on the other hand, three generals at once beaten by Kostyushka - Ferzen, Tormasov and Denisov, received orders for capturing the leader of the rebels.

However, it is unlikely that Russian soldiers generally had the opportunity to inflict violence on the civilian population of Prague. The fact is that the civilian population, seeing how enemy troops approach their city, always tries to escape from there, if there is somewhere. In this case, the inhabitants only had to cross the bridge to the left bank of the Vistula in order to take refuge in Warsaw. Even if they had not done it in advance, the day before the assault, Russian artillery bombarded Prague, and you have to be a complete psycho not to run in horror from deadly cannonballs and fires that broke out.

True, the "historians" are trying to explain the "steadfastness" of the defenders of Prague by the fact that the entire population, young and old, took up arms and died, defending each of their homes, for the freedom of Poland. One nuance must be taken into account here - as many sources indicate, Prague was a Jewish suburb of Warsaw, and for Jews to die for the freedom of Poland, and even more so for the right of the gentry to have slaves in the east, this is, excuse me, some kind of fantasy. Yes, and where would the Jews get weapons if even the rebel army lacked it - the second and third line of Kosciuszka's troops were usually cosigners - mobilized peasants armed only with scythes worn on long shafts. In any case, if a person takes up arms and participates in battle, it is no longer possible to consider him a peaceful inhabitant.

The tales of Prague's fierce resistance are nonsense. The whole thing was over in a few hours, and the losses of the 25,000th Russian army amounted to only 580 killed and 960 wounded, while out of 20,000 Poles defending Prague, 8,000 were killed and wounded and 9,000 were taken prisoner, and 2,000 are considered drowned in Vistula, where they rushed in panic after the Russians, cutting off the enemy's retreat, set fire to the bridge during the battle. Yes, the patriotic impulse of the gentry dried up somehow very quickly.

But let's assume that the Russians really, as the "historian" Burovsky writes, "waving still screaming babies on bayonets towards the not taken city, shouted that they would do the same with all Poles." I wonder if Burovsky will be able to shout something if he is slightly impaled on a bayonet. Even more interesting, why frighten the enemy in this way? After all, any normal person at the sight of such horrors will no longer have any desire to surrender, if the enemy does not spare even children. Even mothers will protect their children like she-wolves, let alone men who have weapons in their hands. Meanwhile, Suvorov in every possible way encouraged the Poles to capitulate. Firstly, he did not fire cannons at Warsaw (and this is a very weighty argument, you know!). Secondly, many captured gentry were released on parole not to fight the Russians again immediately after the battle (peasant rebels were not taken prisoner at all, since it is more expensive to feed such a horde). By the way, many of them broke their word and appeared in Russia as allies of Napoleon, such as, for example, General Jan Dombrovsky. King Poniatowski asked Suvorov to release one captured officer. Suvorov replied: “If you like, I will free you a hundred of them ... two hundred ... three hundred ... four hundred ... so be it - five hundred ...” On the same day, more than five hundred officers and other Polish prisoners were released. Thirdly, he offered such gracious terms of surrender that it was simply impossible to refuse.

The Poles did not keep themselves waiting. First, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the unrecognized government of the rebels, Ignatius Pototsky, arrived for negotiations, but Alexander Vasilyevich did not honor him with his attention, demanding representatives of official authorities to discuss the terms of surrender. The next day, three authorized deputies of the magistrate signed an act of surrender with Suvorov, which promised the following: “In the name of Her Imperial Majesty, my Most August Sovereign, I guarantee to all citizens the security of property and person, as well as the oblivion of all the past, and I promise when Her troops enter Imperial Majesty do not allow any abuses. On November 9, the solemn ascent of Suvorov and his troops to Warsaw took place. At the end of the bridge, representatives of the Warsaw magistrate with a bow handed Suvorov the city keys. Suvorov complied with the terms of the agreement, which greatly surprised the Poles, who were anxiously awaiting punishment for their bloody sins. The Russian field marshal thus earned great recognition from the townspeople, on whose behalf on November 24, 1794, on the day of the angel of Empress Catherine II, the Warsaw magistrate presented him with a golden snuffbox (now located in the Suvorov Museum), adorned with diamonds. The coat of arms of Warsaw was depicted on the lid - a floating mermaid, and above it was the inscription "Warszawa zbawcy swemu" (Warsaw to its savior). At the bottom, the date of the storming of Prague is "November 4, 1794". The chronicles also mention a richly decorated saber with the inscription "Warsaw to its deliverer", presented by the inhabitants of Warsaw to Suvorov as a token of gratitude for stopping the self-will of the mob. In a letter to Rumyantsev, Suvorov noted: “Everything is consigned to oblivion. In conversations we address ourselves as friends and brothers. Germans are not liked. We are adored."

But Suvorov personally answered all reproaches of cruelty: “At the beginning of the Polish campaign, the peace-loving field marshals spent all their time preparing stores. Their plan was to fight for three years with the indignant people. What bloodshed! And who could vouch for the future! I came and won. With one blow I gained peace and put an end to the bloodshed.

So why is the myth of the Prague massacre so firmly rooted in world public opinion? After the defeat of the rebellion throughout Europe, representatives of the Polish aristocracy spread like cockroaches, shouting at every corner about the bloody atrocities of Russian punishers. Especially many emigrants fled to France, where, sitting in pubs, they retold their horror stories over and over again, enriching them with more and more details. And this had very interesting consequences. In 1814, the Russian regiments, which had lodged there until 1818, solemnly entered Paris. The Parisians, having heard terrible fables from the fugitive Poles, were in a daze, imagining how terrible bearded Cossacks would rape everyone and cut children with sabers. However, it turned out that the Russians are not savages at all, and the maximum liberties that the Cossacks can afford is to wash the horses and splash around in the Seine themselves, embarrassing the French women with the sight of their naked torsos. Cossack officers, as it turned out, speak excellent French and show all their dashing exclusively at feasts and balls, dancing to the drop of local beauties.

But Poles are Poles - they fawn over the strong, but are always ready to stab the weak. Today they revere Suvorov as nothing more than a war criminal and a strangler of Polish freedom, and shed crocodile tears for the innocently murdered Prague babies, as well as for the Katyn inmates tortured by the evil tyrant Stalin. The Russians for them are again the personification of barbarism and bloody atrocities, and the current masters of the Russian Federation play along with them energetically. It is understandable - after all, they are doing one thing - they are turning Russians into Russians with all their might, and Russia into the Vskhodniye Kres of the civilized West.

Main reasons:

• Internal crisis- lack of unanimity in the administrative apparatus of the state (Seim), the struggle for power between the Polish and Lithuanian nobility.
• Outside intervention– Prussia, Austria and Russia had a strong economic and political influence.
• Religious policy- an attempt by the Polish clergy, through power, to spread Catholicism throughout the territory of the Commonwealth

Internal crisis

"Reitan - the decline of Poland", painting by Jan Matejko. Canvas, oil

By the middle of the 18th century, the Commonwealth, which emerged from the unification of Lithuania and Poland in 1569, was in a state of deep internal crisis. Despite the presence of a king, the power to make laws and determine the path of development of the state belonged to the Sejm, a council of representatives who promoted the interests of the Polish and Lithuanian nobles. The Seimas met subject to the rule of liberum veto - a decision on any issue could only be taken unanimously by all participants. Given that each of the representatives defended only their own interests - the development of the state, both economically and politically, did not occur, most of the meetings turned out to be fruitless. Moreover, foreign diplomats actively bribed the Sejm deputies to frustrate or promote decisions that were of interest to them.

By 1764, August Poniatowski ascended the Polish throne - Catherine II promoted her former favorite to the highest state post of the Commonwealth

Outside intervention

Engraving "Partition of the Kingdom of Poland"

Not taking part in Seven Years' War The Commonwealth provided an opportunity for Russian, Austrian and French troops to freely maneuver across their territory to attack Prussia.

The Prussian king Frederick II, wanting to undermine the neighbor's already shaky economy, organized the issuance of counterfeit Polish money. The interest of Prussia was caused by the desire to unite its northeastern and western territories, separated by part of the Polish lands.

Attempts to reform the political system in 1764 were completely leveled by 1767 - using Poniatowski, part of the pro-Russian Polish nobles and the diplomatic talents of Ambassador Nikolai Repnin, Catherine II pushed through the abolition of all innovations and the return of liberum veto.

Religious policy

The Polish clergy, professing Catholicism, actively used the influence of the nobility to spread their religion to the eastern part of the country, most of whose population belonged to Orthodox Christianity.

In 1768, Repnin pushed through the adoption of equal truths for Catholics and Orthodox, which, together with other interventions in internal politics The Commonwealth caused indignation of some of the Polish and Lithuanian nobles. The Bar Confederation, formed at the call of the Bishop of Krakow, declared war on Poniatowski and all supporters of the patronage of Catherine II, calling on France and the Ottoman Empire for help.

As a result, Russia defeated most of the forces of the Bar Confederation (part of the troops took refuge in fortresses and held out until 1772) and in 1772 a secret agreement was concluded between the countries participating in the partition on maintaining the laws in force in the territories of the Polish Kingdom.

The first section of the Commonwealth

Reasons for the first section:

• In addition to those mentioned above, Austria and Prussia feared Russia's success in Russian-Turkish war, which began in 1768, and offered to divide the Kingdom of Poland in exchange for the end of hostilities. In case of refusal, the Austrian and Prussian monarchs threatened to unite and declare war on Catherine II.

Even before the secret convention in Vienna was signed and the first partition took place, Russia and Prussia agreed on the terms of the partition at a meeting in St. Petersburg. February 6, 1772.

To 5th of August, at the time of the announcement of the manifesto on the division of the Kingdom of Poland, the military forces of Prussia, Russia and Austria had already occupied the territories distributed between them. Catherine II received eastern Belarus and part of the Baltic lands at her disposal. The Prussian king was able to fulfill the planned unification of his lands - the regions of Poland between them were ceded to Prussia. Austria annexed several southern regions of the Commonwealth, with rich salt mines.

England and France, on whose support the Bar confederates hoped, did not show an active position.

Result of the first section:

• The Russian Empire annexed to its territory about 92 thousand km² with a population of about 1.3 million people
• Prussia united its territories, receiving about 36 thousand km² and half a million people, and also gained control over most of the foreign trade of the Commonwealth.
• Austrian acquisitions were estimated at 83 thousand km² of territory (fertile land + mines), and 2.6 million people.

The second section of the Commonwealth

Reasons for the second section:

• Attempt to restore Poland's independence
• The presence of two irreconcilable parties in power
• Assistance of the Polish king August Poniatowski - a former favorite of Catherine II

After the first partition, the country's leadership realized the imminence of an inevitable catastrophe and tried to reform the structure of the state. The changes affected the financial, agricultural and military spheres, industrial policy and, finally, resulted in the adoption of the constitution on May 3, 1791.

Adoption of the constitution of the Commonwealth - May 3, 1791

The newly elected Sejm equalized the rights of merchants and gentry (the nobility), canceled most of the clauses of the constitution previously promoted by Repnin, including liberum veto, increased the size of the army to 100 thousand soldiers and proclaimed the right of the Commonwealth to make political decisions without consulting with the Russian Empire.

Russian-Polish war of 1792

Such events could not help but make Catherine II fear the restoration of the borders of 1772, therefore Russian troops, with the support of the pro-Russian "hetman" party and Austria, opposed the forces of the "patriotic" party. As a result of the Russian-Polish war of 1792, the Lithuanian troops suffered a crushing defeat, and the Poles were pushed back to the Bug River.

Map after the second section

The second division of the Commonwealth took place January 23, 1793- Having organized the Grodno Seim for this purpose, Catherine II and Frederick II signed another convention.

Result of the second section:

• Russia received central Belarus - 250 thousand km² of land and 4 million people living on them.
• Prussia annexed another 40,000 km² of western territories populated mainly by indigenous Poles.

The third section of the Commonwealth

Reasons for the third section:

• T. Kosciuszko uprising

Tadeusz Kosciuszko tried to unite the disparate sections of the population for the only worthy goal in his opinion - to restore the territorial integrity of the Commonwealth and rid it of interference from neighbors tearing the country apart - Austria, Prussia and Russia.

Despite several successful battles, Kosciuszko's attempts to attract the peasants to the uprising (reduction of corvee for them and some relaxation of feudal rights according to the "Polanets universal") were not supported by the Polish and Lithuanian nobility. The troops brought in by Russia, under the leadership of A.V. Suvorov, suppressed the rebellion. However, the rebels managed to find secret archives in Warsaw, which they captured, according to which some of the participants in the Grodno Seim and the Polish king A. Poniatowski personally received a monetary reward for their assistance in the second section.