Russian partition
Encyclopedia
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
that were acquired by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
.
Terminology
To both Russians and Poles, the term Russian Poland was unacceptable. To Russians, Poland ceased to exist, and their newly acquired territories were long lost parts of Russia. To Poles, Poland was simply Polish, never Russian. While Russians used varying administrative names for their new territories (see below), another popular term, used in Poland and adopted by most other historiographies, was the Russian partition.History
The Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
acquired the territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
(a real union
Real union
Real union is a union of two or more states, which share some state institutions as in contrast to personal unions; however they are not as unified as states in a political union...
of Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
) even before the period of the three partitions (in late 18th century). The Russian partition came into existence (albeit not under such name until the official partitions) in the late 17th century, after the Treaty of Andrusovo
Treaty of Andrusovo
The Truce of Andrusovo was a thirteen and a half year truce, signed in 1667 between Tsardom of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which were at war since 1654 over the territories of modern-day Ukraine and Belarus....
granted Russia the "Polish" or Western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Major historical events of the Russian partition include:
- formation of the Napoleonic Duchy of WarsawDuchy of WarsawThe Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
(1807) and its abolition after the Congress of ViennaCongress of ViennaThe Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
(1815) - establishment (1815) and slow downfall of the Congress PolandCongress PolandThe Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
, a Russian protectorate - November UprisingNovember UprisingThe November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
(1830–1831) - January UprisingJanuary UprisingThe January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
(1863–1864) and transformation of Congress Poland into Vistula LandVistula landVistula Land or Vistula Country was the name applied to the lands of the Kingdom of Poland following the defeats of the November Uprising and January Uprising as it was increasingly stripped of autonomy and incorporated into Imperial Russia... - Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907)
- First World War on the Polish lands (1914–1918)
Administrative division
The Russian Empire divided the former territories of the Commonwealth it obtained by creating or enlarging the following guberniyaGuberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
s:
- Belarus Governorate (1802)
- Bratslav Governorate
- Chernigov GovernorateChernigov GovernorateThe Chernigov Governorate , also known as the Government of Chernigov, was a guberniya in the historical Left-bank Ukraine region of the Russian Empire, which was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Malorossiya Governorate with an administrative centre of Chernigov...
- Izyaslav Governorate
- Yekaterinoslav GovernorateYekaterinoslav GovernorateThe Yekaterinoslav Governorate or Government of Yekaterinoslav was a governorate in the Russian Empire. Its capital was the city of Yekaterinoslav .-Administrative divisions:...
/Novorossiya Governorate (1764) - Kiev GovernorateKiev GovernorateKiev Governorate , or Government of Kiev, was an administrative division of the Russian Empire.The governorate was established in 1708 along with seven other governorates and was transformed into a viceroyalty in 1781...
(1708) - Lithuania GovernorateLithuania GovernorateThe Lithuania Governorate was a short-lived governorate of the Russian Empire. After the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, the former territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were divided between the Vilna Governorate and the Slonim Governorate by Catherine II of...
(1795), later split into Lithuania-Grodno Governorate and Lithuania-Vilna Governorate, the last one later split into VilnaVilna GovernorateThe Vilna Governorate or Government of Vilna was a governorate of the Russian Empire created after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795...
and Kovno GovernorateKovno GovernorateThe Kovno Governorate or Government of Kovno was a governorate of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kovno . It was formed on 18 December 1842 by tsar Nicholas I from the western part of the Vilna Governorate, and the order was carried out on 1 July 1843. It used to be a part of Northwestern Krai...
s - Minsk GovernorateMinsk GovernorateThe Minsk Governorate or Government of Minsk was a governorate of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partitions of Poland, and lasted until 1921.- Administrative structure :...
(1793) - Mogilev GovernorateMogilev GovernorateThe Mogilev Governorate or Government of Mogilev was a governorate of the Russian Empire in the territory of the present day Belarus. Its capital was in Mogilev....
(1772) - Podolia GovernoratePodolia GovernorateThe Podolia Governorate or Government of Podolia, set up after the Second Partition of Poland, comprised a governorate of the Russian Empire from 1793 to 1917, of the Ukrainian People's Republic from 1917 to 1921, and of the Ukrainian SSR from 1921 to 1925.-Location:The Podolian Governorate...
(1773) - Polotsk Governorate
- Pskov Governorate
- Slonim Governorate (1795) (several months after creation connected to Lithuania GovernorateLithuania GovernorateThe Lithuania Governorate was a short-lived governorate of the Russian Empire. After the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, the former territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were divided between the Vilna Governorate and the Slonim Governorate by Catherine II of...
in and split off from it in 1801 as Lithuania-Grodno Governorate) - Volhynia Governorate (1793)
After the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
in 1815, the Russian Empire created a separate entity called Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
out of some of the above governorates. See administrative division of Congress Poland
Administrative division of Congress Poland
The administrative division of Congress Poland changed several times. Immediately after its creation, 1815-1816, the Congress Kingdom of Poland was divided into departments, a relic from the times of the French-dominated Duchy of Warsaw. In 1816 the administrative divisions were reformed into the...
for details. Territories in the Russian partition which were not incorporated into Congress Poland were officially known as the Western Krai
Western Krai
Western Krai or Stolen Lands is an unofficial name, introduced in 1834 by a Polish historian Maurycy Mochnacki, of the westernmost parts of the Imperial Russia, but excluding the Kingdom of Poland...
, and in Poland as the taken lands .
The Western Krai comprised the following lands of the Commonwealth:
- from the first partition of PolandFirst Partition of PolandThe First Partition of Poland or First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. Growth in the Russian Empire's power, threatening the Kingdom of Prussia and the...
(1772): Polish Inflants (LatgaleLatgaleLatgale is one of the four historical and cultural regions of Latvia recognised in the Constitution of the Latvian Republic. It is the easternmost region north of the Daugava River...
), the northern part of the Polotsk Voivodeship, the entire Mstsislaw Voivodeship and Vitebsk Voivodeships, and the southeastern part of the Minsk VoivodeshipMinsk VoivodeshipMinsk Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413 and later in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth till the partitions of the Commonwealth in 1795...
(about 92,000 km²) - from the second partition of PolandSecond Partition of PolandThe 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the second of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation of 1792...
(1793): the remaining part of the Minsk Voivodeship, the entire Kiev Voivodeship, Bracław Voivodeship and Vilnius VoivodeshipVilnius VoivodeshipThe Vilnius Voivodeship was one of voivodeships in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, created in 1413, from the Duchy of Lithuania and neighbouring lands.- Geography and administrative division :...
s, parts of Podole VoivodeshipPodole VoivodeshipThe Podole Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland, since the 14th century till 1793/1795, except for a short period of Ottoman Empire administration as Podolia Eyalet. Together with the Bracław Voivodeship it formed the historical province...
and eastern parts of the Wołyń Voivodeship and Brest Litovsk Voivodeships (about 250,000 km²) - from the third partition of PolandThird Partition of PolandThe Third Partition of Poland or Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1795 as the third and last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Background:...
(1795): all the territories east of the Bug RiverBug RiverThe Bug River is a left tributary of the Narew river flows from central Ukraine to the west, passing along the Ukraine-Polish and Polish-Belarusian border and into Poland, where it empties into the Narew river near Serock. The part between the lake and the Vistula River is sometimes referred to as...
(about 120,000. km²) and after 1807 the Belostok OblastBelostok OblastBelostok Oblast was an administrative division in the Russian Empire. The region had a capital in Belostok .-History:...
)
It consisted of 9 guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
s: six Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n ones that constituted the Northwestern Krai
Northwestern Krai
Northwestern Krai was a subdivision of Imperial Russia in the territories of the present day Belarus and Lithuania. Together with the Southwestern Krai it formed the Western Krai...
(Vilna Governorate
Vilna Governorate
The Vilna Governorate or Government of Vilna was a governorate of the Russian Empire created after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795...
, Kovno Governorate
Kovno Governorate
The Kovno Governorate or Government of Kovno was a governorate of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kovno . It was formed on 18 December 1842 by tsar Nicholas I from the western part of the Vilna Governorate, and the order was carried out on 1 July 1843. It used to be a part of Northwestern Krai...
, Grodno Governorate
Grodno Governorate
The Grodno Governorate, was a governorate of the Russian Empire.-Overview:Grodno: a western province or government of Europe lying between 52 and 54 N lat 23 and E long and bounded N by Vilna E by Minsk S Volhynia and W by the former kingdom of Poland The country was a wide plain in parts very...
, Minsk Governorate
Minsk Governorate
The Minsk Governorate or Government of Minsk was a governorate of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partitions of Poland, and lasted until 1921.- Administrative structure :...
, Mogilev Governorate
Mogilev Governorate
The Mogilev Governorate or Government of Mogilev was a governorate of the Russian Empire in the territory of the present day Belarus. Its capital was in Mogilev....
and Vitebsk Governorate) and three Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
ones that constituted the Southwestern Krai
Southwestern Krai
Southwestern Krai , also known as Kiev General Governorate or Kiev, Podolia, and Volhynia General Governorate was a subdivision of the Russian Empire that included much of the territory of modern-day Ukraine covering both banks of the Dnieper River.The Governorate General consisted of several...
(Volhynia Governorate, Podolia Governorate
Podolia Governorate
The Podolia Governorate or Government of Podolia, set up after the Second Partition of Poland, comprised a governorate of the Russian Empire from 1793 to 1917, of the Ukrainian People's Republic from 1917 to 1921, and of the Ukrainian SSR from 1921 to 1925.-Location:The Podolian Governorate...
and Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate , or Government of Kiev, was an administrative division of the Russian Empire.The governorate was established in 1708 along with seven other governorates and was transformed into a viceroyalty in 1781...
).
In the first partition, Russia gained 92,000 km² and 1.3 million people. In the second, 250,000 km² and 1 million people. In the third, 120,000 km² and 1.2 million people. Overall, Russia had gained about 62 percent of the former Commonwealth territory (462,000 km²) and about 45 percent of the population (3.5 million people). The Russian partition was thus the largest and most populous of the three partitions (the other two being the Austrian partition
Austrian partition
The Austrian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired by the Austrian Empire during the partitions of Poland in late 18th century.-History:...
and the Prussian partition
Prussian partition
The Prussian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia.-History:...
).
For changes in the administrative division of Russian partition in the 19th century, see administrative division of Congress Poland
Administrative division of Congress Poland
The administrative division of Congress Poland changed several times. Immediately after its creation, 1815-1816, the Congress Kingdom of Poland was divided into departments, a relic from the times of the French-dominated Duchy of Warsaw. In 1816 the administrative divisions were reformed into the...
.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(1914–1918), many of the territories were occupied by the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
(primarily, German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
) and came to be administered by the Ober Ost
Ober Ost
Ober Ost is short for Oberbefehlshaber der gesamten Deutschen Streitkräfte im Osten, which is a German term meaning "Supreme Commander of All German Forces in the East" during World War I. In practice it refers not only to said commander, but also to his governing military staff and the district...
.
Society
The RussificationRussification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
policies were harsh, and there were many repressions, particularly in the aftermath of the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
(1830–1831) and the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
(1863–1864). Many Poles were exiled to Siberia. Polish language was discriminated against, losing its official status; there was no education in the Polish language and publications in Polish were few. There was nonetheless growth in national consciousness, and the Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907) resulted in the general improvement of the situation. Some major political parties of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
developed around that time in the Russian partition (ex. Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
).
Economy
The territories of the Russian partition saw moderate economic growth. Much of the output of the Polish partition was exported to Russia proper, especially after the border between Congress Poland and Russia was abolished in 1851. The emancipation reform of 1861Emancipation reform of 1861
The Emancipation Reform of 1861 in Russia was the first and most important of liberal reforms effected during the reign of Alexander II of Russia. The reform, together with a related reform in 1861, amounted to the liquidation of serf dependence previously suffered by peasants of the Russian Empire...
was a major step towards industrialization and urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
. Particularly, the last three or four decades before World War I saw significant economic development and urbanization. On the other hand, development stalled in many areas: there was no compulsory education, and the educational system was constantly underfinanced.
Further reading
- Norman Davies: God's PlaygroundGod's PlaygroundGod's Playground is a book written in 1979 by Norman Davies, covering the history of Poland.Davies was inspired to the title by Jan Kochanowski's 1580s Boże igrzysko ....
, p. 60-82: ROSSIYA: The Russian Partition (1772-1918)