Who will stand in an unequal dispute:
Puffy Lyakh, or faithful Ross?
Will Slavic streams merge into the Russian sea?
Will it run out? Here is the question.

A.S. Pushkin,
(Russian poet)

Once one of the largest states in Europe, the Commonwealth, dominated by Poland, throughout the 18th century was continuously in decline, which was taken advantage of by its stronger neighbors - Russia, Prussia and the Austrian monarchy. The fate of the Commonwealth was decided in the reign of Catherine II, when most of the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish-Lithuanian lands partly became part of Russia in the second half of the 18th century, after three partitions of the Commonwealth.

Kingdom of Poland under the liberal Alexander I

The Polish question was finally resolved in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna, which decided to transfer the lands of the Principality of Warsaw to Russia. The Polish lands with a population of 3.2 million that ceded to the Russian Empire formed the so-called Kingdom of Poland (the Western outskirts of the Russian Empire). On June 27, 1815, while in Warsaw, Alexander I signed a special constitution, according to which the Kingdom of Poland was proclaimed an autonomous state with its own parliament, army (where they served for 10 years, instead of 25, as in Russia), but connected with Russia by dynastic ties, since the Russian emperor was simultaneously proclaimed the Polish king, and he possessed all the full executive power in this state.

The Polish king (Russian tsar) had the right to change the country's budget, to postpone the convocation of the Polish Sejm (parliament) for an indefinite period. Legislative power was exercised jointly by the king and the bicameral Sejm. The bicameral Sejm had legislative power, was appointed by the king, was convened every two years and was obliged to approve the budget. True, the king (aka the Russian Tsar), in turn, could change the budget at his own discretion (Fedosova E.P.). During his absence from Poland, the king (tsar) appointed a governor - an ethnic Pole.

The highest government body was the State Council, which developed bills approved by the Sejm. It consisted of the Administrative Council and the General Assembly. The competence of the State Council included the consideration of the annual reports of the ministries, the exercise of control over any violations of the constitution. The chairman of the Administrative Council was the governor, and its members were 5 ministers and senior officials appointed by the king.

All office work was conducted in Polish, all positions, both civilian and military, were presented only to the Poles. Unlike Russia, the ministers in Poland were subordinate to the Sejm courts and held accountable for violating the constitution and laws. The independence and irremovability of judges was guaranteed by the Polish constitution. There was nothing like this in Russia, and Russian liberals could only dream of Finnish and Polish freedoms.

The Polish constitution of 1815 was considered one of the most liberal in Europe at that time. The constitution proclaimed freedom of the press and religion, and inviolability of the person. official state language only the Polish language was recognized. Persons from the age of 30 who paid 100 zł tax per year had passive suffrage, and active suffrage - landowners (from the age of 21), priests, teachers, artisans, merchants, tenants, etc. (Fedosova E.P.).

The fact that the autocratic Tsar Alexander swore to fulfill his duties towards his Polish subjects and to be the guarantor of the constitution was an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of Russia. This event was ambiguously perceived in Russia itself.

The inclusion of Poland into Russia, as in the case of Finland, favorably affected the economic development of the region. Poland retained its financial independence from the empire and its monetary unit - the zloty, and at the same time received the actual abolition of customs barriers with Russia and admission to its gigantic market. Progress was noted in all areas, both in the economic and cultural and educational areas. The University of Warsaw was immediately established, which became a hotbed of Polish freethinking, and other Polish higher schools and gymnasiums. The population of the kingdom of Poland also grew rapidly: by 1830, reaching up to 4.5 million people.

A. Kappeler explains such generous motives for the indulgence of the autocracy in the following way: firstly, by the insufficient legitimacy of the spread of Russian rule on Polish territory and the need to reckon with both European powers and the Polish gentry, and secondly, Alexander’s intention to use the Kingdom of Poland as a democratic model for the planned reform of Russia. “The organization that already existed in your country allowed me to immediately provide you with an organization that will put into practice the principles of these liberal institutions ... and whose healing influence I hope, with God's help, to spread to all regions entrusted to me by Providence” (from the speech of Alexander I before the first Sejm in 1818).

Thus, in the Polish example, we also observe a characteristic feature of the Russian autocracy: to use the western outskirts as a prototype for the introduction of Western institutions and norms throughout the country for its successful modernization. However, the foreignness of Poland as part of Russia was too conspicuous, and caused Russian nobles and officials to ask questions why “they can do everything, but we can’t”? Yes, and a clear Polish identity, multiplied by Catholicism, plus the Polonized elites of Poland, Lithuania, Western Belarus and Western Ukraine were too big an obstacle to the unification and Russification of the former territories of the Commonwealth for the imperial authorities.

A particularly numerous corporation was the Polish nobility, which in various Polish regions ranged from 5 to 10% of the population, which far exceeded Russian figures (the Western outskirts of the Russian Empire). Nevertheless, the autocracy with the Polish outskirts decided to work according to an already well-tested scheme. As in the case of the Baltic Sea, in exchange for the loyalty of the dynasty, the autocracy left intact all the land and estate rights of the Polish nobles over the peasants, including non-Poles (Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Belarusians), and also freely included them in the general imperial Russian nobility.

It must be said that the Poles appreciated the royal generosity. According to the Polish researcher Anna Kovalchikova, the Poles sang of Alexander: a caring monarch, a kind “resurrector of Poland”. In a famous song published in 1816 by the famous poet Aloisy Felinsky, Alexander was presented as a benefactor of the Polish people and the “Angel of Peace”, and in the refrain addressed to God, the words were repeated: “To Your throne we raise a prayer // Save our King , God".

Such praise of the Russian autocrat was not accidental. The Polish nobility pinned even greater hopes on Alexander I, namely: the expansion of the territory of the Kingdom of Poland by incorporating Lithuanian and part of Belarusian and Ukrainian lands into it.

In other words, it was about the revival of the Commonwealth within the borders of 1772, but already as part of the Kingdom of Poland and under the Russian crown. It must be said that these plans were not groundless. Alexander repeatedly in conversations with Polish dignitaries spoke about the possibility of annexing to the Kingdom of Poland the territories annexed by Russia from the Commonwealth during the three partitions. These plans, as the historian A. Miller testifies, remained with Alexander until the autumn of 1819.

The implementation of these plans was hindered by a conversation in October 1819 between N. Karamzin and the Tsar, after which Karamzin, developing his thoughts, presented Alexander I with a note entitled “The Opinion of a Russian Citizen”. In it Karamzin, recognizing the injustice produced in the XVIII century. sections of the Commonwealth with the participation of Russia, at the same time, he severely warned the tsar that an attempt to annex Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Belarusian lands to the Kingdom of Poland would be extremely undesirable among the mass of the Russian nobility, and so dissatisfied with the Polish constitution.

Karamzin, in particular, referred to the fact that "according to the old fortresses, Belarus, Volyn, Podolia, together with Galicia, were once the indigenous property of Russia." In addition, he wrote about the naivety of hopes for the loyalty of the Poles and assured him that, having received the promise, tomorrow they "demand Kyiv, Chernigov, and Smolensk" (the Western outskirts of the Russian Empire).

By 1820, even at the very top of the imperial government, the liberal flirtations of the authorities themselves had been put an end to. One way or another, but the questions of the territorial expansion of Poland as part of the Russian Empire were put to rest. Soon other cracks in the model of relations were highlighted: the privileged western outskirts - the imperial center. Tsarist censorship intensified its work in Poland. The persecution of free-thinking teachers and students began. But the greatest discontent accumulated in the Polish army. The Polish army was numerically limited (up to 30 thousand people), which did not allow the numerous gentry to realize themselves in military service.

Until the mid-1920s, the situation in Poland remained calm for the Russian authorities. The dissatisfaction among the freedom-loving Poles was caused only by the governor - Konstantin Pavlovich, the king's brother. He was also the commander-in-chief of the Polish army. Constantine, despite the fact that he wanted to please the Poles, was distinguished by despotism and rare rudeness towards his foreign subordinates. As a result, in the first four years of the existence of the Polish army alone, 49 officers committed suicide. It is no coincidence that it was in the army officer environment that the first anti-government underground circles arose. Initially, the Russian authorities treated them kindly, but after the suppression of the Decembrist uprising in St. Petersburg in December 1825, and in Poland, the conspirators began to be severely persecuted.

Polish uprising and Nicholas I

New Russian monarch Nicholas I, although with extreme irritation about all constitutions, initially recognized the special status of Poland and even solemnly crowned himself with the Polish crown. But this did not calm the Polish nobility, rather, on the contrary, on the wave of enthusiasm for pan-European romantic nationalism, the Polish youth elite grew convinced of the need to create an independent Polish national state.

The Petersburg authorities, unwittingly, generously rewarding the Polish province with a constitutional status, pushed it towards national liberation and the creation of an independent state. The Polish gentry, being the main carrier of national identity, soon became the main engine of the Polish national movement. Already by 1828, a "Military Union" was formed in Poland, consisting mainly of the gentry, who began to directly prepare for the uprising. The July Revolution of 1830 in France was the starting point for the Polish nationalists.

The explosion of Polish nationalism was the first in a chain of national movements and nationalisms in the Russian Empire. The conflict between the Polish gentry elite, which put forward more exaggerated demands on the imperial authorities than they could be satisfied in the Romanov Empire, and the Russian autocracy turned out to be inevitable.

In many ways, the success of the uprising was provoked by the inaction of Konstantin Pavlovich, who, although he was rude to Polish officers, at the same time knew about conspiratorial organizations in Poland. But he was in no hurry to take appropriate action. He was afraid not so much of the Polish conspirators as of his even tougher brother, Tsar Nicholas I, who did not hide his dislike for the Poles. He was afraid of unpredictable actions. And it nearly cost him his life. On the very first day of the uprising, November 29, 1830, the conspirators burst into his residence shouting "Death to the tyrant!" (Yuri Borisenok). The Grand Duke managed to escape, and the rebels soon captured the entire city.

It is characteristic that the Polish uprising of 1830-1831. took place under the slogan of restoring an independent "historical Commonwealth" within the borders of 1772, that is, when it included Ukrainian, Belarusian and Lithuanian lands. led by tycoon Adam Czartoryski. It is also curious that the rebellious Poles counted on solidarity actions and assistance from the Russian revolutionaries. Thus, during the Polish uprising, the famous slogan was born: "For your freedom and ours!" It is also significant that the Russian civilian population in Poland was not attacked by the Poles.

The hastily assembled 80 thousandth Polish army entered into a confrontation with the Nikolaev empire, which at that time was the most powerful state in the world. Nevertheless, the Poles fought bravely against the Russian army. But already on May 26, 1831, the Russian army of Field Marshal I. Dibich defeated the army of Polish rebels in the battle of Ostroleka, opening the way to Warsaw. But only on September 7, 1831, after a fierce assault, Warsaw was taken by Russian troops.

The uprising was brutally suppressed by all the power of the Nikolaev Russian Empire. A large part of the Polish political, military and spiritual elite left for a European foreign land and there, in exile, continued to fight against Romanov's Russia, creating a negative anti-Russian public background in Europe.

The “ungratefulness of the Poles” made it possible for Nicholas to free himself from the obligation to observe the “godless” constitution, which was brought to Moscow as a war trophy along with the banners of the defeated Polish army. The Sejm and the former State Council were abolished, the ministries were replaced by commissions, the Polish voivodeships were renamed into provinces. Polish financial autonomy was being cut. The "hotbed of Polish free-thinking" - Warsaw University - was closed. The national Polish army was also liquidated, and several tens of thousands of soldiers and officers were exiled to Siberia and the Caucasus. From now on, Polish soldiers and officers were required to serve only in the Russian army.

Poland after the uprising

In 1831 The Committee for the Affairs of the Kingdom of Poland was formed. It included the largest dignitaries of Nikolaev Russia: A.N. Golitsyn, I.V. Vasilchikov, D.N. Bludov, M.A. Korf, K.V. Nesselrode, A.I. Chernyshov, E.V. Kankrin and others. The purpose of the work of this committee was the desire of the authorities to eliminate the consequences of the uprising, as well as to prepare new form administration of Poland. The most important document prepared by the committee was a special Charter called "Organic Statute" (1832) (National policy of Russia: history and modernity).

The main task is the gradual but steady merging of the rebellious and isolated Poland with the Russian Empire. A large personal role in this was played by the new royal governor I.F. Paskevich-Erivansky, who held this post until 1856. A course was taken to unify the administration of Poland with the empire and to fill posts in the administration with Russian officials.

In 1839, the Warsaw educational district was created, subordinate to the Ministry of Public Education; Ministry of Railways of Poland (in 1846) reassigned central government. In 1841, Russian money was introduced in the Kingdom of Poland, in 1848 - Russian standards and weight, and in 1850 customs borders were liquidated and a customs tariff was established (National outskirts of the Russian Empire ...).

Petersburg knew that the revolutionary Polish nationalists who had emigrated to France had not calmed down and were waiting in the wings to start a new round of the struggle for independence. Moreover, the forces of emigrants and local radicals were preparing a new all-Polish uprising for the unification of all Polish territories divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria into an independent single state in 1844. However, all attempts to raise the Polish peasants to fight against foreigners and make the uprising truly "popular", first in 1844, then in 1846, failed. The class partitions within Polish society turned out to be too strong.

In an effort to reduce Polish nationalism and dilute it with religious traditionalism, the Russian authorities sought to curtail the secular principle and pander to conservatism and clericalism. Civil marriage was abolished and replaced by a church one. Much attention was paid to the policy of Russification. The history of Russia has been introduced as a compulsory subject in all schools. And the teaching of history, geography and statistics had to be conducted in Russian (Western outskirts of the Russian Empire).

However, the Russification of Nicholas in general was of a very superficial nature, and the complete integration of the Kingdom of Poland into Russia did not occur during this period. The isolation and foreignness of Poland within Russia was felt by all Russian travelers or officials who were there on duty. But the main thing - the undisguised hostility towards Russia of the Polish intelligentsia and gentry, multiplied by the indestructible desire to create an independent national state, was an insurmountable obstacle to the assimilation and integration of Poland.

POLAND. HISTORY since 1772
Partitions of Poland. First section. In the midst of Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774 Prussia, Russia and Austria carried out the first partition of Poland. It was produced in 1772 and ratified by the Sejm under pressure from the invaders in 1773. Poland ceded to Austria part of Pomerania and Kuyavia (excluding Gdansk and Torun) to Prussia; Galicia, Western Podolia and part of Lesser Poland; eastern Belarus and all lands north of the Western Dvina and east of the Dnieper went to Russia. The victors established a new constitution for Poland, which retained the "liberum veto" and elective monarchy, and created State Council of 36 elected members of the Sejm. The division of the country awakened a social movement for reform and national revival. In 1773, the Jesuit Order was dissolved and a commission for public education was created, the purpose of which was to reorganize the system of schools and colleges. The four-year Sejm (1788-1792), headed by enlightened patriots Stanislav Malakhovsky, Ignacy Potocki and Hugo Kollontai, adopted a new constitution on May 3, 1791. Under this constitution, Poland became a hereditary monarchy with a ministerial system of executive power and a parliament elected every two years. The principle of "liberum veto" and other pernicious practices were abolished; cities received administrative and judicial autonomy, as well as representation in parliament; peasants, over whom the power of the gentry was maintained, were considered as an estate under state protection; measures were taken to prepare for the abolition of serfdom and the organization of a regular army. The normal work of the parliament and the reforms became possible only because Russia was involved in a protracted war with Sweden, and Turkey supported Poland. However, the magnates opposed the constitution and formed the Targowice Confederation, at the call of which the troops of Russia and Prussia entered Poland.

Second and third sections. January 23, 1793 Prussia and Russia carried out the second partition of Poland. Prussia captured Gdansk, Torun, Greater Poland and Mazovia, and Russia captured most of Lithuania and Belarus, almost all of Volhynia and Podolia. The Poles fought but were defeated, the reforms of the Four Years Sejm were reversed, and the rest of Poland became a puppet state. In 1794, Tadeusz Kosciuszko led a massive popular uprising, which ended in defeat. The third partition of Poland, in which Austria participated, took place on October 24, 1795; after that, Poland as an independent state disappeared from the map of Europe.
foreign rule. Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Although the Polish state ceased to exist, the Poles did not give up hope for the restoration of their independence. Each new generation fought, either by joining the opponents of the powers that divided Poland, or by raising uprisings. As soon as Napoleon I began his military campaigns against monarchical Europe, Polish legions were formed in France. Having defeated Prussia, Napoleon created in 1807 from the territories captured by Prussia during the second and third partitions, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (1807-1815). Two years later, territories that became part of Austria after the third partition were added to it. Miniature Poland, politically dependent on France, had a territory of 160 thousand square meters. km and 4350 thousand inhabitants. The creation of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was considered by the Poles as the beginning of their complete liberation.
Territory that was part of Russia. After the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna (1815) approved the divisions of Poland with the following changes: Krakow was declared a free city-republic under the auspices of the three powers that divided Poland (1815-1848); the western part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was transferred to Prussia and became known as the Grand Duchy of Poznan (1815-1846); its other part was declared a monarchy (the so-called Kingdom of Poland) and annexed to the Russian Empire. In November 1830, the Poles raised an uprising against Russia, but were defeated. Emperor Nicholas I canceled the constitution of the Kingdom of Poland and began repressions. In 1846 and 1848 the Poles tried to organize uprisings, but failed. In 1863, a second uprising broke out against Russia, and after two years of partisan warfare, the Poles were again defeated. With the development of capitalism in Russia, the Russification of Polish society also intensified. The situation improved somewhat after the 1905 revolution in Russia. Polish deputies sat in all four Russian Dumas (1905-1917), seeking the autonomy of Poland.
Territories controlled by Prussia. On the territory under the rule of Prussia, an intensive Germanization of the former Polish regions was carried out, the farms of Polish peasants were expropriated, and Polish schools were closed. Russia helped Prussia put down the Poznan uprising of 1848. In 1863, both powers signed the Alvensleben Convention on Mutual Assistance in Combating the Polish National Movement. Despite all the efforts of the authorities, at the end of the 19th century. The Poles of Prussia still represented a strong, organized national community.
Polish lands within Austria. On the Austrian Polish lands, the situation was somewhat better. After the Krakow uprising of 1846, the regime was liberalized, and Galicia received local administrative control; schools, institutions and courts used Polish; Jagiellonian (in Krakow) and Lviv universities became all-Polish cultural centers; by the beginning of the 20th century. Polish political parties emerged (National Democratic, Polish Socialist and Peasant). In all three parts of divided Poland, Polish society actively opposed assimilation. The preservation of the Polish language and Polish culture became the main task of the struggle waged by the intelligentsia, primarily poets and writers, as well as the clergy of the Catholic Church.
First World War. New opportunities for achieving independence. The First World War divided the powers that liquidated Poland: Russia was at war with Germany and Austria-Hungary. This situation opened up fateful opportunities for the Poles, but also created new difficulties. First, the Poles had to fight in opposing armies; secondly, Poland became the scene of battles between the warring powers; thirdly, disagreements between Polish political groups escalated. Conservative national democrats led by Roman Dmovsky (1864-1939) considered Germany the main enemy and desired the victory of the Entente. Their goal was to unite all Polish lands under Russian control and obtain the status of autonomy. The radical elements, led by the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), on the contrary, considered the defeat of Russia as the most important condition for achieving Poland's independence. They believed that the Poles should create their own armed forces. A few years before the outbreak of World War I, Jozef Piłsudski (1867-1935), the radical leader of this group, began military training for Polish youth in Galicia. During the war, he formed the Polish legions and fought on the side of Austria-Hungary.
Polish question. August 14, 1914 Nicholas I in an official declaration promised after the war to unite the three parts of Poland into an autonomous state within the Russian Empire. However, in the fall of 1915, most of Russian Poland was occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary, and on November 5, 1916, the monarchs of the two powers announced a manifesto on the creation of an independent Kingdom of Poland in the Russian part of Poland. On March 30, 1917, after the February Revolution in Russia, the Provisional Government of Prince Lvov recognized Poland's right to self-determination. July 22, 1917 Pilsudski, who fought on the side of the Central Powers, was interned, and his legions were disbanded for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the emperors of Austria-Hungary and Germany. In France, with the support of the powers of the Entente, in August 1917 the Polish National Committee (PNC) was created, headed by Roman Dmowski and Ignacy Paderewski; the Polish army was also formed with the commander-in-chief Józef Haller. On January 8, 1918, US President Wilson demanded the creation of an independent Polish state with access to the Baltic Sea. In June 1918 Poland was officially recognized as a country fighting on the side of the Entente. On October 6, during the period of the collapse and collapse of the Central Powers, the Regency Council of Poland announced the creation of an independent Polish state, and on November 14, Piłsudski transferred full power in the country. By this time, Germany had already capitulated, Austria-Hungary had collapsed, and a civil war was going on in Russia.
State formation. new country faced great difficulties. Cities and villages lay in ruins; there were no connections in the economy, which for a long time developed within the framework of three different states; Poland had neither its own currency nor public institutions; finally, its borders were not defined and agreed with the neighbors. Nevertheless, state building and economic recovery proceeded at a rapid pace. After transition period When the socialist cabinet was in power, on January 17, 1919, Paderewski was appointed prime minister, and Dmovsky was appointed head of the Polish delegation at the Versailles Peace Conference. On January 26, 1919, elections were held to the Sejm, the new composition of which approved Piłsudski as head of state.
Question about borders. The western and northern borders of the country were determined at the Versailles Conference, according to which part of the Pomerania and access to the Baltic Sea were transferred to Poland; Danzig (Gdansk) received the status of a "free city". At a conference of ambassadors on July 28, 1920, the southern border was agreed upon. The city of Cieszyn and its suburb Cesky Teszyn were divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia. Violent disputes between Poland and Lithuania over Vilna (Vilnius), an ethnically Polish but historically Lithuanian city, ended with its occupation by the Poles on October 9, 1920; accession to Poland was approved on February 10, 1922 by a democratically elected regional assembly.
April 21, 1920 Pilsudski made an alliance with the Ukrainian leader Petliura and launched an offensive to liberate Ukraine from the Bolsheviks. On May 7, the Poles took Kyiv, but on June 8, pressed by the Red Army, they began to retreat. At the end of July, the Bolsheviks were on the outskirts of Warsaw. However, the Poles managed to defend the capital and repel the enemy; this ended the war. The treaty of Riga that followed (March 18, 1921) was a territorial compromise for both sides and was officially recognized by the conference of ambassadors on March 15, 1923.
Internal position. One of the first post-war events in the country was the adoption of a new constitution on March 17, 1921. It established a republican system in Poland, established a bicameral (Sejm and Senate) parliament, proclaimed freedom of speech and organizations, equality of citizens before the law. However, the internal situation of the new state was difficult. Poland was in a state of political, social and economic instability. The Sejm was politically fragmented due to the multitude of parties and political groups represented in it. The ever-changing government coalitions were characterized by instability, and the executive branch as a whole was weak. There were tensions with national minorities, which made up a third of the population. The Locarno Treaties of 1925 did not guarantee the security of Poland's western borders, and the Dawes Plan contributed to the restoration of the German military-industrial potential. Under these conditions, on May 12, 1926, Pilsudski carried out a military coup and established a "sanation" regime in the country; Until his death on May 12, 1935, he directly or indirectly controlled all power in the country. The Communist Party was banned, and political trials with long prison sentences became commonplace. As German Nazism intensified, restrictions were introduced on the basis of anti-Semitism. On April 22, 1935, a new constitution was adopted, which significantly expanded the power of the president, limiting the rights of political parties and the powers of parliament. The new constitution was not approved by the opposition political parties, and the struggle between them and the Piłsudski regime continued until the outbreak of World War II.
Foreign policy. The leaders of the new Polish Republic tried to secure their state by pursuing a policy of non-alignment. Poland did not join the Little Entente, which included Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania. On January 25, 1932, a non-aggression pact was signed with the USSR.
After Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in January 1933, Poland failed to establish allied relations with France, while Great Britain and France concluded a "pact of consent and cooperation" with Germany and Italy. After that, on January 26, 1934, Poland and Germany signed a non-aggression pact for a period of 10 years, and soon the duration of a similar agreement with the USSR was extended. In March 1936, after the military occupation of the Rhineland by Germany, Poland again unsuccessfully tried to conclude an agreement with France and Belgium on Poland's support for them in the event of a war with Germany. In October 1938, simultaneously with the annexation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, Poland occupied the Czechoslovak part of the Teszyn region. In March 1939, Hitler occupied Czechoslovakia and put forward territorial claims to Poland. On March 31, Great Britain, and on April 13, France guaranteed the territorial integrity of Poland; in the summer of 1939, Franco-Anglo-Soviet negotiations began in Moscow aimed at curbing German expansion. The Soviet Union in these negotiations demanded the right to occupy the eastern part of Poland and at the same time entered into secret negotiations with the Nazis. On August 23, 1939, a German-Soviet non-aggression pact was concluded, the secret protocols of which provided for the division of Poland between Germany and the USSR. Having ensured Soviet neutrality, Hitler untied his hands. On September 1, 1939, World War II began with an attack on Poland.
government in exile. The Poles, who, contrary to promises, did not receive military assistance from France and Great Britain (both of them declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939), could not hold back the unexpected invasion of powerful motorized German armies. The situation became hopeless after September 17 Soviet troops attacked Poland from the east. The Polish government and the remnants of the armed forces crossed the border into Romania, where they were interned. The Polish government in exile was headed by General Władysław Sikorski. In France, new Polish army, naval and air forces were formed with a total strength of 80 thousand people. The Poles fought on the side of France until its defeat in June 1940; then the Polish government moved to the UK, where it reorganized the army, which later fought in Norway, North Africa and Western Europe. In the Battle of England in 1940, Polish pilots destroyed more than 15% of all downed German aircraft. In total, more than 300 thousand Poles served abroad, in the armed forces of the allies.
German occupation. The German occupation of Poland was particularly brutal. Hitler included part of Poland in the Third Reich, and transformed the rest of the occupied territories into a general government. All industrial and agricultural production in Poland was subordinated to the military needs of Germany. Polish higher educational establishments were closed, and the intelligentsia was persecuted. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to work or imprisoned in concentration camps. Polish Jews were subjected to particular cruelty, who were first concentrated in several large ghettos. When in 1942 the leaders of the Reich took the "final solution" of the Jewish question, Polish Jews were deported to death camps. The largest and most infamous Nazi death camp in Poland was the camp near the city of Auschwitz, where more than 4 million people died.
The Polish people offered both civil disobedience and military resistance to the Nazi occupiers. The Polish Home Army became the strongest resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Europe. When the deportation of Warsaw Jews to death camps began in April 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto (350,000 Jews) revolted. After a month of hopeless struggle, without any outside help, the uprising was crushed. The Germans destroyed the ghetto, and the surviving Jewish population was deported to the Treblinka extermination camp.
Polish-Soviet agreement of July 30, 1941. After the German attack on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Polish government in exile, under British pressure, concluded an agreement with the Soviet Union. Under this treaty, diplomatic relations between Poland and the USSR were restored; the Soviet-German pact regarding the partition of Poland was annulled; all prisoners of war and deported Poles were to be released; The Soviet Union provided its territory for the formation of the Polish army. However, the Soviet government did not comply with the terms of the agreement. It refused to recognize the pre-war Polish-Soviet border and released only a part of the Poles who were in Soviet camps.
On April 26, 1943, the Soviet Union severed diplomatic relations with the Polish government in exile, protesting against the latter's appeal to the International Red Cross with a request to investigate the brutal murder of 10,000 Polish officers interned in 1939 in Katyn. Subsequently, the Soviet authorities formed the core of the future Polish communist government and army in the Soviet Union. In November-December 1943, at a conference of three powers in Tehran (Iran), an agreement was reached between the Soviet leader I.V. Stalin, American President F. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill that the eastern border of Poland should pass along the line Curzon (it approximately corresponded to the border drawn in accordance with the 1939 treaty between the German and Soviet governments).
Lublin government. In January 1944, the Red Army crossed the border of Poland, pursuing the retreating German troops, and on July 22 in Lublin, with the support of the USSR, the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKNO) was created. On August 1, 1944, the underground armed forces of the Home Army in Warsaw, under the leadership of General Tadeusz Komorowski, began an uprising against the Germans. The Red Army, which was at that moment on the outskirts of Warsaw on the opposite bank of the Vistula, suspended its offensive. After 62 days of desperate fighting, the uprising was crushed, and Warsaw was almost completely destroyed. On January 5, 1945, the PKNO in Lublin was reorganized into the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland.
At the Yalta Conference (February 4-11, 1945), Churchill and Roosevelt officially recognized the inclusion of the eastern part of Poland into the USSR, agreeing with Stalin that Poland would receive compensation from the German territories in the west. In addition, the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition agreed that non-communists would be included in the Lublin government, and then free elections would be held in Poland. Stanisław Mikołajczyk, who resigned as prime minister of the government in exile, and other members of his cabinet joined the Lublin government. On July 5, 1945, after the victory over Germany, it was recognized by Great Britain and the USA as the Provisional Government of National Unity of Poland. The government in exile, which at that time was headed by the leader of the Polish Socialist Party, Tomasz Artsyszewski, was dissolved. In August 1945, at the Potsdam Conference, an agreement was reached that the southern part of East Prussia and the territory of Germany east of the Oder and Neisse rivers were transferred under Polish control. The Soviet Union also provided Poland with 15% of the 10 billion dollars in reparations that defeated Germany had to pay.

Poland was part of the Russian Empire from 1815 to 1917. It was a turbulent and difficult period for the Polish people - a time of new opportunities and great disappointments.

Relations between Russia and Poland have always been difficult. First of all, this is a consequence of the neighborhood of the two states, which for many centuries gave rise to territorial disputes. It is quite natural that during major wars, Russia has always been drawn into the revision of the Polish-Russian borders. This radically affected the social, cultural and economic conditions in the surrounding areas, as well as way of life Poles.

"Prison of Nations"

The "national question" of the Russian Empire caused different, sometimes polar opinions. Thus, Soviet historical science called the empire nothing more than a “prison of peoples,” while Western historians considered it a colonial power.

But in the Russian publicist Ivan Solonevich, we find the opposite statement: “Not a single people in Russia was subjected to such treatment as Ireland was subjected to in the times of Cromwell and the times of Gladstone. With very few exceptions, all the nationalities of the country were perfectly equal before the law.”

Russia has always been a multi-ethnic state: its expansion gradually led to the fact that the already heterogeneous composition of Russian society began to be diluted with representatives of different peoples. This also applied to the imperial elite, which was noticeably replenished with immigrants from European countries who came to Russia "to catch happiness and ranks."

For example, an analysis of the lists of the "Razryad" of the late 17th century shows that in the boyar corps there were 24.3% of persons of Polish and Lithuanian origin. However, the vast majority of "Russian foreigners" lost their national identity, dissolving in Russian society.

"Kingdom of Poland"

Having joined Russia following the results of the Patriotic War of 1812, the “Kingdom of Poland” (since 1887 - “Privislinsky Territory”) had a twofold position. On the one hand, after the division of the Commonwealth, although it was a completely new geopolitical entity, it still retained ethno-cultural and religious links with its predecessor.

And on the other hand, national self-consciousness grew here and the sprouts of statehood made their way, which could not but affect the relationship between the Poles and the central government.
After joining the Russian Empire, the "Kingdom of Poland" undoubtedly expected changes. There were changes, but they were not always perceived unambiguously. During the entry of Poland into Russia, five emperors were replaced, and each had his own view of the westernmost Russian province.

If Alexander I was known as a "polonophile", then Nicholas I built a much more sober and tough policy towards Poland. However, you will not refuse him the desire, in the words of the emperor himself, "to be as good a Pole as a good Russian."

On the whole, Russian historiography positively evaluates the results of Poland's centenary entry into the empire. Perhaps it was Russia's balanced policy towards its western neighbor that helped create a unique situation in which Poland, not being an independent territory, for a hundred years retained its state and national identity.

Hopes and disappointments

One of the first measures introduced by the Russian government was the abolition of the "Napoleon Code" and its replacement by the Polish Code, which, among other measures, provided peasants with land and improved the financial situation of the poor. The Polish Sejm passed the new bill, but refused to ban civil marriage, which grants freedom.

This clearly marked the orientation of the Poles to Western values. There was someone to take an example from. So in the Grand Duchy of Finland, serfdom was already abolished by the time the Kingdom of Poland became part of Russia. Enlightened and liberal Europe was closer to Poland than "peasant" Russia.

After the “Alexandrov freedoms”, the time of the “Nikolaev reaction” came. In the Polish province, almost all office work is translated into Russian, or into French for those who did not speak Russian. The confiscated estates are complained to by persons of Russian origin, and all the highest positions are replaced by Russians.

Nicholas I, who visited Warsaw in 1835, feels a protest brewing in Polish society, and therefore forbids the deputation to express loyal feelings, "in order to protect them from lies."
The tone of the emperor's speech strikes with its uncompromisingness: “I need deeds, not words. If you persist in your dreams of national isolation, of the independence of Poland and similar fantasies, you will bring upon yourself the greatest misfortune ... I tell you that at the slightest disturbance I will order to shoot at the city, turn Warsaw into ruins and, of course, I'll fix it."

Polish riot

Sooner or later, empires are replaced by national-type states. This problem also affected the Polish province, in which, on the wave of growth of national consciousness, they gain strength and political movements, which have no equal among other provinces of Russia.

The idea of ​​national isolation, up to the restoration of the Commonwealth within its former boundaries, embraced ever wider sections of the masses. The dispersal force of the protest was the students, who were supported by workers, soldiers, as well as various strata of Polish society. Later, part of the landlords and nobles joined the liberation movement.

The main points of the demands made by the rebels are agrarian reforms, the democratization of society and, ultimately, the independence of Poland.
But for the Russian state it was a dangerous challenge. The Russian government responded sharply and harshly to the Polish uprisings of 1830-1831 and 1863-1864. The suppression of the riots turned out to be bloody, but the excessive rigidity that was written about Soviet historians, did not have. The rebels preferred to be sent to remote Russian provinces.

The uprisings forced the government to take a number of countermeasures. In 1832, the Polish Sejm was liquidated and the Polish army was disbanded. In 1864, restrictions were placed on the use of the Polish language and the movement of the male population. To a lesser extent, the results of the uprisings affected the local bureaucracy, although there were children of high-ranking officials among the revolutionaries. The period after 1864 was marked by an increase in "Russophobia" in Polish society.

From dissatisfaction to benefits

Poland, despite the restrictions and infringement of freedoms, received certain benefits from belonging to the empire. So, during the reign of Alexander II and Alexander III Poles began to be more often appointed to leadership positions. In some counties their number reached 80%. The Poles had the opportunity to advance along public service no less than the Russians.

Even more privileges were given to Polish aristocrats, who automatically received high ranks. Many of them oversaw the banking sector. Profitable places in St. Petersburg and Moscow were available for the Polish nobility, and they also had the opportunity to open their own business.
It should be noted that, in general, the Polish province had more privileges than other regions of the empire. So, in 1907, at a meeting of the State Duma of the 3rd convocation, it was announced that in various Russian provinces taxation reaches 1.26%, and in the largest industrial centers of Poland - Warsaw and Lodz, it does not exceed 1.04%.

Interestingly, the Privislinsky Krai received 1 ruble 14 kopecks back in the form of subsidies for each ruble given to the state treasury. For comparison, the Middle Black Earth Territory received only 74 kopecks.
The government spent a lot in the Polish province on education - from 51 to 57 kopecks per person, and, for example, in Central Russia this amount did not exceed 10 kopecks. Thanks to this policy, from 1861 to 1897 the number of literate people in Poland increased 4 times, reaching 35%, although in the rest of Russia this figure fluctuated around 19%.

At the end of the 19th century, Russia embarked on the path of industrialization, backed by solid Western investment. Polish officials also received dividends from this, participating in railway transportation between Russia and Germany. As a result - the emergence of a huge number of banks in major Polish cities.

The year 1917, tragic for Russia, ended the history of “Russian Poland”, giving the Poles the opportunity to establish their own statehood. What Nicholas II promised has come true. Poland gained freedom, but the union with Russia so desired by the emperor did not work out.

The next division of the Polish lands took place during the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815. Despite the declared autonomy of the Polish lands as part of Prussia, Austria and Russia, in reality this autonomy was realized only in the Russian Empire. At the initiative of the liberal-minded Emperor Alexander I, a Kingdom of Poland, which received its own constitution and lasted until 1915.

According to the constitution, Poland could independently elect the Sejm, the government, and also have its own army. However, over time, the initial provisions of the constitution began to be limited.

This led to the creation of a legal opposition in the Sejm and the emergence of secret political societies.

The uprising that broke out in Warsaw in 1830 and was brutally suppressed by Nicholas I led to the abolition of the constitution of 1815.

After the death of Emperor Nicholas I freedom movement gaining new strength. Despite its division into two warring camps (“whites” - aristocrats and “reds” - social democrats), the main demand is the same: to restore the constitution of 1815. The tense situation leads to the introduction of martial law in 1861. The liberal-minded governor of Poland, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, is unable to cope with the situation. To stabilize the situation, it was decided to conduct a recruitment in 1863, sending "unreliable" youth to the soldiers according to pre-compiled lists. This served as a signal for the beginning of the “January Uprising”, suppressed by the tsarist troops, which resulted in the introduction of a military regime of government in the Kingdom of Poland. Another result of the uprising was the peasant reform in order to deprive the rebellious gentry of social support: the Decree on the Organization of the Peasants of the Kingdom of Poland, adopted in 1864, eliminated the remnants of serfdom and widely endowed Polish peasants with land. At the same time, the tsarist government began to pursue a policy aimed at eliminating Polish autonomy and closer integration of Poland into the Russian Empire.

When Nicholas II ascended the Russian throne, there was new hope for a more liberal Russian stance towards Poland. However, despite the refusal to further Russify the Poles, no real shift took place in the attitude of the tsarist government towards them.

The creation in 1897 of the National Democratic Party of Poland (it was organized on the basis of the "People's League") led to a new round of the rise of national consciousness. The party, which set itself the strategic goal of restoring the independence of Poland, made every effort to fight the Russification laws and sought, above all, to restore Polish autonomy. Over time, it established itself as the leading political force of the Kingdom of Poland, and also took an active part in the Russian State Duma, forming the Polish Kolo faction there.

The revolution of 1905-1907 did not bypass Poland, which was swept by a wave of revolutionary uprisings. During this period, the formation of the Polish Socialist Party falls, which organized a number of strikes and strikes. The leader of the party was Jozef Pilsudski, who, in the midst of Russo-Japanese War traveled to Japan, where he tried to obtain funding for the all-Polish uprising and the organization of the Polish army, which would have acted in the war on the side of Japan. Despite the opposition of the National Democrats, Piłsudski achieved some success, and in subsequent years, the Fighting Organization of the Socialist Party was created with Japanese money. Its militants in the period from 1904 to 1908 committed dozens of terrorist acts and attacks on various Russian organizations and institutions.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION SYMBOLS OF RUSSIA

Poland within the Russian Empire

Banners of Polish units in the Russian army

In 1772, the first partition of Poland took place between Austria, Prussia and Russia. May 3, 1791, the so-called. The four-year Sejm (1788-1792) adopted the Constitution of the Commonwealth.

In 1793 - the second section, ratified by the Grodno Seim, the last Seim of the Commonwealth; Byelorussia and Right-Bank Ukraine went to Russia, Gdansk and Torun to Prussia. The election of Polish kings was abolished.

In 1795, after the third partition, the Polish state ceased to exist. Western Ukraine (without Lvov) and Western Belarus, Lithuania, Courland went to Russia, Warsaw - to Prussia, Krakow, Lublin - to Austria.

After the Congress of Vienna, Poland was again divided. Russia received the Kingdom of Poland with Warsaw, Prussia received the Grand Duchy of Poznan, and Krakow became a separate republic. The Republic of Krakow ("the free, independent and strictly neutral city of Krakow with its surroundings") was annexed by Austria in 1846.

In 1815, Poland received the Constitutional Charter. On February 26, 1832, the Organic Statute was approved. The Russian Emperor was crowned Tsar of Poland.

At the end of 1815, with the adoption of the Constitutional Charter of the Kingdom of Poland, Polish flags were also approved:

• Naval standard of the Tsar of Poland (that is, the Russian emperor);

Yellow cloth depicting a black double-headed eagle under three crowns, holding four nautical charts in its paws and beaks. On the chest of the eagle is a crowned ermine mantle with a small coat of arms of Poland - a silver crowned eagle on a scarlet field.

• Palace Standard of the Tsar of Poland;

White cloth depicting a black double-headed eagle under three crowns, holding a scepter and orb in its paws.

On the chest of the eagle is a crowned ermine mantle with a small coat of arms of Poland - a silver crowned eagle on a scarlet field.

• Flag of the military courts of the Kingdom of Poland.

A white flag with a blue St. Andrew's cross and a red canton, which depicts the coat of arms of Poland - a silver crowned eagle on a scarlet field.

In Polish flag studies literature, the last flag is referred to as "the flag of the Polish Black Sea trading companies of the 18th century." However, this statement raises very big doubts.

Most likely in this case we are dealing with falsification. The fact is that the Andreevsky flag with an eagle was used by Polish emigrants as a national one. Due to the very complicated relations between Russia and Poland, it was extremely unpleasant for Polish nationalists to realize that the national flag of the Poles was, in fact, the occupying Russian flag. As a result, the myth of "Polish trading companies" was born.

Other official flags of Poland from the time of her stay in the Russian Empire are not known.

section map

Based on materials from vehillographia

Like Finland, the Kingdom of Poland was part of the Russian Empire until the end of its existence as an autonomous entity with its own constitution. In 1915, after the occupation of Polish territory by Austro-Hungarian troops, the unrecognized Kingdom of Poland was formed, and after the end of the First World War, the independence of Poland was guaranteed for

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

According to the Union of Lublin in 1569, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania united into one state, called the Commonwealth (literal translation into Polish of the Latin respublica). It was an atypical state formation: the king was elected by the Sejm and gradually he lost the levers of government. The gentry, that is, the nobility, had considerable power. However, the work of the Sejm was also paralyzed, since any decision could only be taken unanimously. During the XVII-XVIII centuries. The Commonwealth gradually turned into an object of European politics, and significantly strengthened neighbors claimed its territory: Sweden and the Moscow kingdom. Despite the awareness of numerous problems and bleak prospects by the Polish society, no decisive steps were taken to correct the situation. The king became a nominal figure, and the gentry did not want to part with their privileges even in the face of the threat of the state losing its independence.

By the end of the 18th century, Prussia, Austria and Russia were most interested in the Polish territories. However, Empress Catherine II sought to preserve an independent Poland, since this allowed her to control this state alone through her proteges. The Austrians and Prussians did not agree with this position. They put pressure on the Russian government, and Catherine, realizing that a new war could break out because of the Polish lands, agreed to the division.

In 1772, an agreement was imposed on the Commonwealth, according to which it lost a third of its territory. Russia received the eastern regions of Belarus and the Polish part of Livonia. In 1793 the second partition took place. Russia became the owner of the central regions of Belarus and the Right-Bank Ukraine. Only a quarter of the Commonwealth retained its independence. After an unsuccessful one in 1795, Prussia, Austria and Russia divided the remnants of the country among themselves.

During the divisions, the process of returning the lands lost was completed. Russia did not claim historical Polish territory, which allowed Catherine to renounce the title of Queen of Poland.

Formation of the Kingdom of Poland

One of the reasons for the creation of the autonomous Kingdom of Poland within the Russian Empire was the need to achieve the loyalty of the local population and thereby secure the western borders. Another reason stemmed from the declarations of the Congress of Vienna, which took place after the defeat of Napoleonic France. The three states that participated in the partitions guaranteed autonomy to the Polish lands, but this was realized only by the Russian side.

The liberal-minded Russian emperor Alexander I played an important role in the process of creating autonomy. He sincerely believed that this would allow organizing cooperation and mutually beneficial existence between the two Slavic peoples.

Legal aspects

Inclusion in the Kingdom of Poland took place in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Treaties, ratified on May 3, 1815. From them it followed that the Polish lands were assigned to Russia forever.

During Napoleonic Wars there was a redistribution of the lands divided between the three states. So, in addition to the former territories, it was annexed to Russia. Such a significant territorial increase, of course, met Alexander's desire to create a foothold for Russia in Europe, but at the same time it brought new problems. They were supposed to be resolved by granting a constitution to the Kingdom of Poland under Alexander I. The emperor's plan aroused sharp opposition from England and Austria. In particular, the representatives of these states, referring to the anarchy of the gentry in the last years of the existence of the Commonwealth, argued that the Poles had not reached the necessary level of development to receive a constitution. They offered to confine themselves to the introduction of local self-government, but Alexander resolutely rejected such a proposal.

Preparation of the Polish constitution

After the final accession to Russia of the Kingdom of the Polish special body involved in the development of the constitution, was not created. The first draft of the document was prepared by the emperor's closest advisers, including Prince Adam Czartoryski, a Pole by birth. But Alexander was not satisfied with the document. Firstly, he was excessively large, and secondly, he was imbued with an oligarchic spirit. Czartoryski agreed with the emperor's remarks and set about developing a new project.

Many prominent Polish public figures. Through their efforts, a new constitutional project consisting of 162 articles was drawn up. The emperor personally got acquainted with him and made amendments regarding the expansion of his powers. Only after that the text of the constitution on French was signed. On June 20, 1815, it was promulgated, and from the next year it entered into force. Thus, it took a little more than two weeks to develop the constitution of the Kingdom of Poland, which became part of the Russian Empire.

The document consisted of seven sections devoted to the main problems state structure newly formed autonomy. Briefly, they can be summarized as follows:

• the basic principles of the state structure of the Kingdom of Poland as part of the Russian Empire;
• fixed rights and obligations of the Poles;
• organization and functioning of the executive branch of government;
• principles of formation of legislative bodies;
• administration of justice and organization of Polish judicial institutions;
• formation of local armed forces.

Such an organization of the articles, their share of the general body of the text of the constitution (the most detailed are the articles relating to the executive branch) is fully consistent with the Constitutional Charter adopted a year earlier in France.

Legislature

According to the constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, the highest legislature a bicameral Sejm became, which also included the Polish tsar (that is, the Russian emperor). The Sejm was convened every two years, but if an extraordinary session was necessary, the tsar issued a special decree. The members of the Senate, the upper chamber, were appointed by the tsar for life from among the princes, bishops, governors and castellans. In order to become a senator, it was necessary to overcome the age and property qualifications.

The lower chamber was formed from representatives of the provinces of the Kingdom of Poland, and therefore it was called the Chamber of Ambassadors. 77 people belonged to the number of nobles, and in total 128 deputies sat in the chamber. The size of the Senate was not to exceed half of that number. Elections to the Chamber of Ambassadors were two-stage, and for voters there was a moderate property qualification.

Equality was established between the two chambers: the king could send a bill to either of them. An exception was made only for laws related to the financial sector. They were necessarily sent first to the Chamber of Ambassadors. The Sejm had no legislative initiative. The vote on the bill was open, no changes to the text were allowed, this was the prerogative of the State Council. The king had the right of absolute veto.

executive power

The head of this branch was the king. His powers were extremely wide. So, only the monarch had the right to declare war and conclude peace, as well as control the armed forces. Only he could appoint senators, bishops and judges. The monarch was also in charge of the budget. In addition, the king had the right to pardon and dissolve the Chamber of Ambassadors with the appointment of new elections.

Thus, the tsar was the central figure in the administration of the Kingdom of Poland. At the same time, he was still an unlimited monarch, since he was obliged to take an oath of allegiance to the constitution. Since he could not stay in Poland all the time, the position of governor was introduced, who was appointed by the tsar. His powers coincided with those of the king, with the exception of the right to appoint senior officials.

Under the king or governor, an advisory body was established - the State Council. He could draw up bills, approve ministerial reports, and also declare violations of the constitution.

To address current issues, a government was created, consisting of five ministries. Their area of ​​expertise was as follows:

• religion and education system;
• justice;
• distribution of finances;
• law enforcement organization;
• military affairs.

Background of the Polish Uprising of 1830

Under Alexander I, the Kingdom of Poland as part of the Russian Empire was one of the most dynamically developing regions. Economic growth was observed in all areas National economy owing to which the budget deficit was overcome. The increase in the population also testifies to the increase in the standard of living: in total, by 1825, 4.5 million people lived on the territory of the autonomy.

However, crises also accumulated. First of all, the Polish national elite counted on the inclusion in the Kingdom of Poland of the lands acquired by Russia during the three partitions. The position of Emperor Alexander allowed counting on this, but, faced with serious opposition, the emperor abandoned this idea.

Another source of dissatisfaction among the Poles was the figure of the governor - the emperor's brother, Konstantin. Although he tried in every possible way to please his wards, his frankly despotic methods of management met with dull resistance. Among the officers, cases of suicide became more frequent, and the intelligentsia united in underground circles, banned after the speech of the Decembrists.

The accession of Nicholas I did not cause joy either, unlike his older brother, who did not sympathize with liberal trends and was hostile to the constitution. Despite his personal attitude, he nevertheless took the oath and intended to maintain the methods of administration that had developed since the inclusion of the Kingdom of Poland into the Russian Empire. But the Poles decided to seek independence. In 1828, the "Military Union" took shape, within which plans for an armed uprising were developed.

The uprising and its aftermath

The revolution of July 1830 in France spurred the Poles to action. Having put forward the slogan of restoring the Commonwealth within the borders before the first partition, the Polish army opposed the Russian units. The governor was overthrown and narrowly escaped reprisal. It is significant that Konstantin Pavlovich was informed about the unrest in the army units, but he was in no hurry to take drastic measures, fearing the Polish nationalists less than the emperor. Nicholas himself, by decision of the rebels, was deposed as the Polish king.

Despite fierce resistance, the Polish army was utterly defeated on May 26, 1831. Soon, only Warsaw remained under the control of the rebels, holding out until September 7. By decisive actions, Emperor Nicholas managed to keep the Kingdom of Poland within the Russian Empire. But the consequences of the uprising for the Poles were tragic. Nicholas got the opportunity to cancel the constitution and bring the system of government in line with the general imperial. The Sejm and the State Council were abolished, the ministries were replaced by departmental commissions. The army of the Kingdom of Poland was disbanded, and the ability of the local government to manage finances was significantly curtailed.

After the uprising

The privileges of the Kingdom of Poland under Nicholas I were rapidly declining. The constitution was replaced by the Organic Statute of 1832, which laid down the idea of ​​a gradual merger of Poland with the Russian Empire. Leadership positions were replaced by Russian officials, and a number of Polish departments (for example, communications or the Warsaw educational district) entered into direct subordination to the central government.

The established authoritarian regime caused a mass emigration of the Polish intelligentsia. From abroad, they tried to raise the Polish people, especially the peasantry, to revolt by means of leaflets and appeals. However, the contradictions between the gentry and the peasantry, which had been preserved since the time of the Commonwealth, were so strong that none of these attempts was crowned with success. In addition, the Nikolaev administration, in opposition to nationalism, put forward conservatism and clericalism. The influence of the Catholic Church brought to naught all attempts by emigration to convince the people of the need to fight for independence.

In 1863, the Poles nevertheless undertook a new uprising, which the Russian army again managed to suppress. Another attempt to get rid of Russian rule showed that the integration course of Nicholas I was not crowned with success. Mutual distrust and hostility were established between the two peoples. Forced Russification did not alleviate the situation either: the history of Russia was taught in educational institutions, and the training itself was conducted in Russian.

It should be noted that in educated circles almost all Western states sections of the Commonwealth were considered a historical injustice. This was especially evident when the Poles were divided between two opposing camps during the First World War and were forced to fight each other. Many Russian public figures were also aware of this, but it was dangerous to express such thoughts aloud. However, the stubborn desire of the Poles for independence did its job. At the final stage of the First World War, the American President, in his 14 points on a peaceful settlement, separately brought up the Polish question. In his opinion, the restoration of Poland within the historical borders was a matter of principle. However, the vagueness of the term "historical borders" caused a fierce debate: should we consider those that had developed by 1772 or the borders of the medieval Polish kingdom? Dissatisfaction with the decisions of the conferences in Versailles and Washington led to a war between the RSFSR and Poland, which ended in victory for the latter. But international contradictions did not end there. Czechoslovakia and Germany claimed a number of Polish regions. This, and other controversial decisions of the peace conferences after the First World War, led to a new great war in Europe, the first victim of which was an independent Poland.