Chapter 4: Russia and its empire,
nationalities and satellite states
nationalities: context and definitions
in the middle part of the 19th century the Russian empire
consisted of Great Russia and the national minorities
the main national minority groups were from Poland, Finland,
the Caucasus and Central Asia and the Baltic provinces
Russian Jews- geographical location was artificially created and
crossed the boundaries of other groups
first Russian census 1897- minorities made up about 55% of
the empire's population in the Ukraine
not all national minorities opposed the ruling elites
the Finns, Baltic Germans and Christian Armenians remained
fairly loyal
the Poles, Ukrainians and Tatars did not
all treated roughly the same
all leaders aimed to Russify peoples of the empire in what
proved to be a naive and unrealistic attempt to create internal
stability
main objective of uncooperative national minorities- gain
autonomy or break away from Russian rule and gain
independence
russo-polish relations
by the time Alexander II took the throne, Poland was firmly
under Russian control
located on the Western edge
had never obviously been part of the Russian Empire
Poles had a long history of attempting to break away from
Tsarist rule
1830- attempted coup against Russian rule resulting in
independence
many Poles grew hopeful that Alexander II's reformist attitude
would lead to an improvement in their position
was wary of the situation in Poland
measures to prevent insurgency that had been in place before
the mid-1850s were retained
Russian artillery squads based in Poland were not directly
issued with shells to prevent munitions getting into the wrong
hands
if military conflict broke out the artillery would have to wait for
the shells to be released from heavily guarded storage
facilities, delaying mobilisation
,the polish revolt 1863
the initial reforms made by Alexander II seemed to give
renewed hope to the Poles that they would be granted certain
freedoms
rise in Polish nationalism characterised by increasing demands
for political autonomy, education reforms (reopening of
Warsaw university) and debate over whether serfs in Poland
should also be emancipated
independence and the role of Wielopolski
not all polish people agreed with the idea of full independence
there were those who wanted to break away from Russian
control completely and reclaim territory in the east that had
been lost by Poland to Russia in land partitions made in the
18th century
there were other individuals and groups that campaigned for
partial independence
led by Marquis Aleksander Wielopolski
appointed Prime Minister of Poland in 1862
greeted with suspicion by staunch nationalists who viewed him
as a tsarist lapdog
his push for reforms and the framing of a policy that gave
Poland a national identity was done with Russian guidance and
approval
the rise in polish nationalism
opposition from nationalists to the notion of compromise with
Russia had started to mount from the middle of 1861
summer 1862- swelling of patriotic fervour; increased in mass
meetings and demonstrations
protest extended to an attempted assassination of Wielopolski
and his viceroy Grand Duke Konstantin
introduced the forced conscription of young male Poles into the
Russian army to divert the potential manpower resources away
from his opponents
new recruits failed to cooperate
fled to the woods to create bands of renegade rebels
platform was laid for an attempt at an insurrection
the course of the revolt
january 1863-spring 1864- polish government faced rebellion
on a wide scale
no major military confrontations
rebels threatened the stability of government through the
adoption of guerrilla warfare
, rebels were supported by the Russian Land and Liberty
movement
had the help of some sympathetic Russian military officers
rebel leader Jaroslaw Dabrowski- officer trained and deployed
in the Russian army
nationalist movement failed to get total support from the
majority of the population
significant destruction and disruption occurred in the
countryside
by the middle of 1864 the Russian army had stepped in to
regain control
rebel leaders were captured and executed
interior and foreign minister Gorchakov wanted Poland to be
continued to be ruled by the Polish aristocracy under the
control of the Russian tsar
war minister Milyutin wanted the Polish gentry to be purged-
believed they had lost the support of the countryside;
conspired with peasant ringleaders to bring down the
government; Russian officials needed to be brought in to carry
out administration and governance at grass-roots level; Poland
would be converted into part of Russia
direct control of Poland was placed in the hands of Milyutin
immediately put his plan into operation
hundreds of the Polish nobility were exiled to Siberia; estates
were transferred to incoming Russian officials who were to
take over the duties of the nobles
polish peasants were emancipated and gained more
favourable terms than Russian peasants; gained freehold
rights to allotted lands and paid for this through a reformed
taxation system; resulted in all landowners paying tax to
compensate those who had property redistributed
rural district councils set up; were to contain members from all
sections of Polish society
the plan laid the basis for a cross-class Polish civic
consciousness which remained absent in Russia
level of nationalism diminished along with the level of
autonomy that the Poles had experience before the revolt
Russian became the official language of administration and
governance; taught in schools to ensure its role was
consolidated
Catholic Church was not allowed to communicate with the
Vatican; believed that a number of bishops had been
sympathetic to the rebels
start of the process of Russification that was to spread to other
territories similar to Poland
, Russification ensured that until the end of 1915 Poland was
considered an integral part of Russia
by the 1890s Poland had revealed its importance in fuelling
Russian industrialisation
a polish proletariat emerged that showed an interest in and
enthusiasm for marxism and socialisn
1892- Polish Socialist Party formed
1893- Social Democratic Party set up
re-emergence of nationalists who formed the National
Democrats group
polish politicians elected from these parties went on to make
important contributions to the first and second dumas
their representation fell by 1914
the impact of the First World War on Russo-Polish relations
WW1 was a major turning point for Russian Poles
German successes at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes in
August and September 1914 provided the impetus for a rapid
advance into Russian territory
September 1915- German and Austrian advances meant that
Russia was forced to give up jurisidiction over Warsaw and
Vilna
Poland was free from Russian rule
official independence was not granted until 1918 with the
signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
the Russo-Polish war 1920
the Russian Civil War created the prospect of Poland losing its
newly found freedom
1920- Red Army suffered a major defeat in its attempt to
recapture Polish territory
after taking Kiev, the Red Army moved westwards towards
Poland
Lenin believed that by invading Poland he would be able to
free workers from their tyranny and this would have a knock
on effect for the proletariat in neighbouring states
the Poles did not welcome Lenin in the way he envisaged
Russian forces were halted outside Warsaw before being
forced to retreat
16th October 1920- armistice between Poland and Russia was
signed
Polish independence was confirmed
agreed that western Ukraine and western Belorussia should
come under Polish authority
freedom and territory gained would remain in place until the
aftermath of WW2
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