How the Poles lived under the Russian Empire. Poland as part of the Russian empire

• The subject and method of the history of the domestic state and law
  • The subject of the history of the domestic state and law
  • The method of the history of the domestic state and law
  • Periodization of the history of the domestic state and law
• Old Russian state and law (IX - early XII century.)
  • Formation of the Old Russian state
    • Historical factors of the formation of the Old Russian state
  • The social structure of the Old Russian state
    • Feudal-dependent population: sources of education and classification
  • State system of the Old Russian state
  • The system of law in the Old Russian state
    • Ownership in the Old Russian state
    • Law of Obligations in the Old Russian State
    • Marriage and family and inheritance law in the Old Russian state
    • Criminal law and trial in the Old Russian state
• State and law of Russia in the period feudal fragmentation(early XII-XIV centuries)
  • Feudal fragmentation in Russia
  • Features of the socio-political system of the Galicia-Volyn principality
  • Social and political structure of the Vladimir-Suzdal land
  • Social and political system and law of Novgorod and Pskov
  • State and law of the Golden Horde
• Formation of the Russian centralized state
  • Prerequisites for the formation of the Russian centralized state
  • Social system in the Russian centralized state
  • State system in the Russian centralized state
  • Development of law in the Russian centralized state
• Estates-representative monarchy in Russia (mid-16th - mid-17th century)
  • Social system during the period of the estate-representative monarchy
  • State system during the period of the estate-representative monarchy
    • Police and prisons in ser. XVI - mid. XVII century
  • Development of law in the period of the estate-representative monarchy
    • Civil law in the middle. XVI - mid. XVII century
    • Criminal law in the Code of 1649
    • Legal proceedings in the Code of 1649
• Formation and development of an absolute monarchy in Russia (second half of the 17th-18th centuries)
  • Historical preconditions for the emergence of an absolute monarchy in Russia
  • The social system of the period of absolute monarchy in Russia
  • State system of the period of absolute monarchy in Russia
    • Police in absolutist Russia
    • Prisons, exile and hard labor in the 17th-18th centuries
    • Reforms of the era of palace coups
    • Reforms during the reign of Catherine II
  • Development of law under Peter I
    • Criminal law under Peter I
    • Civil law under Peter I
    • Family and inheritance law in the 17th-18th centuries
    • The emergence of environmental legislation
• State and law of Russia during the period of decay serfdom and the growth of capitalist relations (first half of the 19th century)
  • The social system during the decay of the serf system
  • State system of Russia in the nineteenth century
    • State reform of authorities
    • His Imperial Majesty's own office
    • The system of police bodies in the first half of the 19th century.
    • The prison system of Russia in the nineteenth century
  • Development of the form of state unity
    • Finland's status within the Russian Empire
    • The incorporation of Poland into the Russian Empire
  • Systematization of the legislation of the Russian Empire
• The state and law of Russia during the establishment of capitalism (second half of the 19th century)
  • Abolition of serfdom
  • Zemskaya and city reforms
  • Local government in the second half of the 19th century.
  • Judicial reform in the second half of the 19th century
  • Military reform in the second half of the 19th century.
  • Reform of the police and prison system in the second half of the 19th century.
  • Financial reform in Russia in the second half of the 19th century.
  • Reforms of the education system and censorship
  • Church in the system of government of tsarist Russia
  • Counter-reforms of the 1880-1890s
  • The development of Russian law in the second half of the XIX century.
    • Civil law of Russia in the second half of the XIX century.
    • Family and inheritance law in Russia in the second half of the 19th century.
• State and law of Russia during the period of the first Russian revolution and before the outbreak of the First world war (1900-1914)
  • Background and course of the first Russian revolution
  • Changes in the social structure of Russia
    • Agrarian reform P.A. Stolypin
    • Formation of political parties in Russia at the beginning of the XX century.
  • Changes in the state system of Russia
    • Reform of state bodies
    • Establishment of the State Duma
    • The punitive measures of P.A. Stolypin
    • The fight against crime at the beginning of the XX century.
  • Changes in law in Russia at the beginning of the XX century.
• State and law of Russia during the First World War
  • Changes in the state apparatus
  • Changes in the field of law during the First World War
• The state and law of Russia during the February bourgeois-democratic republic (February - October 1917)
  • February Revolution of 1917
  • Dual power in Russia
    • Solving the issue of the state unity of the country
    • Reform of the prison system in February - October 1917
    • Changes in the state apparatus
  • Activities of the Soviets
  • Legal activity of the Provisional Government
• Creation of the Soviet state and law (October 1917 - 1918)
  • All-Russian Congress of Soviets and its decrees
  • Fundamental changes in the social order
  • The demolition of the bourgeois and the creation of a new Soviet state apparatus
    • Powers and activities of the Soviets
    • Military Revolutionary Committees
    • Soviet armed forces
    • Working militia
    • Changes in the judicial and penitentiary systems after the October Revolution
  • Nation-building
  • Constitution of the RSFSR 1918
  • Creation of the foundations of Soviet law
• Soviet state and law during the Civil War and intervention (1918-1920)
  • Civil war and intervention
  • Soviet state apparatus
  • Armed Forces and Law Enforcement
    • Reorganization of the police in 1918-1920
    • The activities of the Cheka during the Civil War
    • Judicial system during the civil war
  • Military Union of Soviet Republics
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• Soviet state and law during the New Economic Policy (1921-1929)
  • Nation-building. Formation of the USSR
    • Declaration and Treaty on the formation of the USSR
  • Development of the state apparatus of the RSFSR
    • Reconstruction of the national economy after the civil war
    • Judicial authorities during the NEP period
    • Creation of the Soviet prosecutor's office
    • Police of the USSR during the NEP period
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    • Codification of law during the NEP period
• Soviet state and law in the period of radical breakdown of social relations (1930-1941)
  • State management of the economy
    • Collective farm construction
    • National Economy Planning and Reorganization of Management Bodies
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  • Law enforcement reforms in the 1930s
  • Reorganization of the armed forces in the 1930s
  • USSR Constitution 1936
  • Development of the USSR as a union state
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• Soviet state and law during the Great Patriotic War
  • The Great Patriotic War and the restructuring of the work of the Soviet state apparatus
  • Changes in the organization of state unity
  • The development of Soviet law during the Great Patriotic War
• The Soviet state and law in the post-war years of the restoration of the national economy (1945-1953)
  • The internal political situation and foreign policy of the USSR in the first post-war years
  • Development of the state apparatus in the post-war years
    • The system of corrective labor institutions in the post-war years
  • Development of Soviet law in the post-war years
• Soviet state and law during the period of liberalization of social relations (mid-1950s - mid-1960s)
  • Development of the external functions of the Soviet state
  • The development of the form of state unity in the mid-1950s.
  • The restructuring of the state apparatus of the USSR in the mid-1950s.
  • The development of Soviet law in the mid-1950s - mid-1960s.
• Soviet state and law during a period of slowing down social development(mid 1960s - mid 1980s)
  • Development of external functions of the state
  • USSR Constitution 1977
  • The form of state unity according to the Constitution of the USSR of 1977
    • Development of the state apparatus
    • Law enforcement in the mid-1960s - mid-1980s.
    • The bodies of justice of the USSR in the 1980s.
  • Development of law in the middle. 1960s - mid. 1900s
  • Correctional labor institutions in the middle. 1960s - mid. 1900s
• Formation of the state and law of the Russian Federation. The collapse of the USSR (mid 1980s - 1990s)
  • The policy of "perestroika" and its main content
  • The main directions of development of the political regime and state system
  • The collapse of the USSR
  • External consequences of the collapse of the USSR for Russia. Commonwealth of Independent States
  • Formation of the state apparatus of new Russia
  • Development of the form of state unity of the Russian Federation
  • Development of law during the collapse of the USSR and the formation of the Russian Federation

The incorporation of Poland into the Russian Empire

The Polish state ceased to exist in 1795, when it was divided between Austria, Prussia and Russia. Lithuania, Western Belarus, Western Volhynia and the Duchy of Courland, which was in vassal dependence on Poland, ceded to Russia.

In 1807, after France's victory over Prussia in the part of Polish territory that belonged to her, Napoleon formed a new state - the Principality of Warsaw, to which in 1809 part of the Polish lands that were part of Austria were annexed. The Principality of Warsaw was a constitutional monarchy. The Prince of Warsaw, on the basis of the union with the Kingdom of Saxony, was the Saxon king, dependent on France. The Principality of Warsaw took part in the war of 1812-1814. on the side of Napoleonic France.

At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Alexander I, who believed that Russia as a victorious country should receive new lands and secure its western borders, achieved the inclusion of most of the territory of the Principality of Warsaw into the Russian Empire. Austria. Prussia, Russia came to an agreement that the Principality of Warsaw will be transformed into the Kingdom of Poland, will receive a new constitution, according to which the Russian emperor will become the king of Poland, the head of the executive branch of the Polish state. Thus, the new Polish state was part of the Russian Empire on the basis of the union.

According to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland, the Russian emperor appointed his governor. The post of Secretary of State for the Kingdom of Poland was established. The legislative body was the Sejm, elected by direct elections by all estates on the basis of a property qualification.

All participants in the war with Russia on the side of Napoleon received an amnesty and had the right to enter service in the state apparatus and in the army of the Kingdom of Poland. The commander of the Polish army was appointed by the Russian emperor as the king of Poland. Many subjects of the Russian emperor were dissatisfied with the fact that the defeated Poles who participated in the war on the side of Napoleon and the defeated Poles received more rights than the victors.

Having become part of the Russian Empire, retaining the effect of its laws, administration, and having a legislative body, Poland simultaneously got access to the Russian, and through Russia, to the Asian market for its goods. In order to reduce anti-Russian sentiments among the Polish nobility and the bourgeoisie, customs privileges were established for Polish goods. Many products of the Polish industry were subject to a customs duty of 3%, while Russian ones at 15%, despite the fact that "Russian manufacturers yelled against such an order." 1 A.A. Kornilov Russian course history of the XIX century. M., 1993.S. 171..

The economic development of Poland, the growing influence of the national bourgeoisie intensified the desire for full political independence and the restoration of the Polish sovereign state within the borders that existed before its first partition in 1772. In 1830, an uprising began in Poland, the main force of which was the army of the Kingdom of Poland. The Polish Sejm announced the deprivation of the Russian emperor of the Polish crown, thereby breaking the union between Poland and the Russian Empire.

After the suppression of the uprising by Russian troops, Emperor Nicholas I issued an Organic Status in 1832, which abolished the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815 and liquidated the Sejm, the Polish army. The Kingdom of Poland - this "internal abroad", as it was called in the Russian Empire, was liquidated. Instead, the Warsaw General Government was formed. Field Marshal I.F. Paskevich, who received the title of Prince of Warsaw.

Of the state institutions provided for by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, only the Polish State Council continued to operate, which became a kind of information and advisory institution under the State Council of the Russian Empire. But in 1841, during the preparation of the new "Regulations on the State Council of the Russian Empire," it was abolished. Since 1857, the Warsaw governorship began to be divided administratively not into voivodships, as before, but into provinces. Certain privileges for the local nobility and tax incentives for industry were preserved, which contributed to the further socio-economic development of the former Kingdom of Poland, incorporated into the Russian Empire.

So, in the first half of the XIX century. the territory of the Russian Empire increased by almost 20%. This was due not so much to economic goals as. for example, in the case of the British Empire, but politico-military tasks, the desire to ensure the security of their borders. The policy of the Russian administration in the annexed territories proceeded from their military-strategic importance and was aimed at their socio-economic development, and not at using the resources of new territories for the development of the central provinces of Russia 2 See: B. Ananin, E. Pravilova, The Imperial Factor in the Russian Economy // Russian Empire in a Comparative Perspective. M., 2004.S. 236-237..

In the conditions of the destruction of the Ottoman and Persian empires, some of the peoples they conquered voluntarily became part of the Russian Empire.

The management of the annexed, conquered peoples, their legal status in the empire was built taking into account their socio-economic, legal, religious and other characteristics and was varied, although it had a tendency to unify, extend to them the principles of administrative management and the laws of the Russian Empire.

During the three partitions of the Commonwealth, this once powerful and strong state ceased to exist. Poland was divided between Russia, Austria and Prussia.

According to the results of the sections, half of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth turned out to be part of the Russian Empire: modern Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus and the western part of Latvia (the eastern part already belonged to the Russian sovereigns)

History of Polish lands within the Russian Empire

As of 1914, the lands received as a result of the three sections of the Commonwealth were divided into several provinces:

• Vilenskaya;
• Vitebsk;
• Volynskaya;
• Grodno;
• Kovenskaya;
• Courland;
• Minsk;
• Mogilevskaya;
• Podolskaya.

Since the Rzeczpospolita was a multinational state, in different parts of which their own rules were adopted, the Russian rulers tried to act in accordance with the situation. For example, an active policy of Russification was pursued on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus, while in Lithuania most of the local foundations and traditions were preserved.

Russian emperors, dealing with the organization of the internal affairs of the former Rzeczpospolita, took into account the previous experience of the political administration of this country. The main reasons for the crisis at the end of the 18th century were gentry anarchy and the weakness of the central government. Therefore, it was decided to establish a rigid centralized management system on the newly acquired land. Such a policy did not meet with support either from the gentry, who were dissatisfied with the fact that they had been deprived of their former liberties, or from the peasants, who felt the strengthening of serfdom.

Many Poles wanted to find support from France, which at the end of the XVIII - early XIX century began to pose a threat to Austria, Prussia and Russia. So, Polish legions began to appear in the French army. However, Napoleon Bonaparte did not live up to the expectations of the Polish patriots. He used the legions for his own purposes, sending them on the most difficult and difficult missions.

Then the eyes of the Poles turned to St. Petersburg. By that time, Alexander I had become the new Russian emperor, promising liberal reforms to his subjects. He appointed his close friend, an ethnic Pole, Adam Jerzy Czartoryski to the post of foreign minister. Czartoryski proposed to the emperor a project for the revival of the Polish-Lithuanian state, which was to become an ally and support of Russia. The plan was approved, but after the disaster at Austerlitz, Czartoryski fell out of favor and was stripped of his high office. Disappointed Poles again took a pro-French position.

In the course of the conquests, Napoleon subdued those Polish territories that were part of Austria and Prussia. On these lands, the Duchy of Warsaw was formed - a satellite of Napoleonic France. On the territory of the Duchy, the Napoleonic Code was in force, which endowed the local population with a number of civil rights and freedoms.

The defeat of Napoleon and the creation in 1815 of the Kingdom of Poland, headed by the Russian monarch, was taken by the Poles as a new blow. However, thanks to the Constitution of 1815, given to the Poles by Alexander I, the attitude of the local population towards St. Petersburg became more favorable. The constitution allowed Poles to form their own government and revived the Polish Sejm. However, the euphoria subsided after the governor of the Kingdom of Poland, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, who was distinguished by cruelty towards his subjects, took over. The result of his reign was the Polish uprising of 1830, which ended in failure, massive repression and the elimination of the Polish constitution. At the time of the uprising, Nicholas I, the "knight of autocracy" who fought revolutions throughout Europe, was on the Russian throne.

After his death and the coming to power of the liberal-minded Alexander II, Poles again began to believe in the revival of their national independence. During the reign of Alexander II in the Kingdom of Poland, an upsurge really began, primarily in the economy. However, the reform of 1861 caused unrest not only in Poland, but throughout Russia. The confusion and conservatism of the reform caused the peasants and radical students to protest. Repressions against Polish youth became the reason for another popular uprising already in 1863. The uprising, although it ended in a series of concessions in relation to the Polish peasantry, on the whole meant the defeat of the rebels. Alexander II did not respond too harshly to the Polish uprising, but during the reign of his successor - Alexander III- in the Kingdom of Poland, a tough policy of Russification began. The slightest attempts to preserve national identity began to be suppressed, an attack on the Catholic Church began.

However, the conservative reaction did not mean economic decline. On the contrary, in the 1890s the Kingdom of Poland, together with all of Russia, experienced an economic upsurge and a demographic boom. At the same time, workers' uprisings broke out across Europe against the factory owners and the unjust labor legislation... In Poland, these riots were also in the nature of a national liberation struggle. At the same time, Polish revolutionaries worked closely with Russian neo-people and socialists.

Great hopes for the revival of Polish autonomy were pinned on Nicholas II. However, the new emperor chose to adhere to the conservative course of his father. In 1897, at the dawn of Russian parliamentarianism, the National Democratic Party of Poland emerged, which later took part in meetings of the Russian Duma.

The Russian-Japanese war of 1905 aroused extreme discontent among the Polish public. The First Russian Revolution that followed these events was actively supported by the Poles. Due to the indecision of the Russian emperor, the situation became more and more tense, many Poles switched to armed actions under the leadership of the future founder of the Polish army, Jozef Pilsudski.

Before the outbreak of the First World War, Pilsudski announced that the Poles should side with the Triple Alliance and help Germany and Austria-Hungary to crush the Russian Empire in every possible way. In 1915, the troops of the Triple Alliance occupied the territory of the Kingdom of Poland and founded here a formally independent state, in fact, completely dependent on German politics. The provisional government later tried to return Poland to the bosom of the Russian Empire, but in the spring of 1918 the Bolsheviks signed the Brest Peace Treaty, according to which the RSFSR recognized the independence of the former Kingdom of Poland. A few months later, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR recognized the terms of three treaties on the division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth more invalid.

National ascent

First, the disappearance of independent Poland caused a series of civil strife and conflicts among the local population. Representatives of different social groups blamed each other for the disaster. There was a loss of ideals and national values. For a while, passivity and frustration reigned in the country. However, after just one decade, discord began to fade into the past. The national tragedy ceased to be the cause of controversy and became the impetus for the rallying of Poles. Throughout the 19th century, Polish public opinion, one way or another, revolved around the concept of "nation". Most of the authors saw the reason for the fall of the Commonwealth in its backwardness from other European powers and the absence of the necessary social transformations.

An important role in the formation and rallying of the Polish nation was played by:

• participation of Poles in Napoleonic Wars Oh;
• the experience of self-government in 1815-1830;
• participation in the Russian populist movement;
• Catholic faith, which remained for the Poles all this time an indicator of national self-identification.

Like Finland, the Kingdom of Poland within the Russian Empire was actually 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 atypical public education: the king was elected by the Diet and gradually he lost the levers of government. The gentry, that is, the nobility, possessed considerable power. However, the work of the Diet was also paralyzed, since any decision could only be taken unanimously. During the XVII-XVIII centuries. Rzeczpospolita was gradually turning into an object of European politics, and significantly stronger neighbors, Sweden and Muscovy, claimed on its territory. Despite the awareness of the many problems and bleak prospects by the Polish society, no decisive steps were taken to remedy the situation. The king became a figurehead, and the gentry did not want to part with their privileges even in the face of the threat of the state losing its independence.

TO late XVIII For centuries, Prussia, Austria and Russia were most interested in Polish territories. However, Empress Catherine II strove to preserve independent Poland, since this allowed her to single-handedly control this state through her protégés. 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 partition.

In 1772, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth imposed a treaty 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 section took place. Russia became the owner of the central regions of Belarus and Right-Bank Ukraine. Only a quarter of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth retained its independence. After an unsuccessful year in 1795, Prussia, Austria and Russia divided the remnants of the country among themselves.

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

Establishment 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 gain the loyalty of the local population and thereby secure the western borders. Another reason stemmed from the declarations of the Vienna Congress, 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.

An important role in the process of creating autonomy was played by the liberal-minded Russian emperor Alexander I. He sincerely believed that this would help organize 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. It followed from them that the Polish lands were assigned to Russia forever.

During the Napoleonic wars, the lands divided between the three states were redistributed. So, in addition to the former territories, it was annexed to Russia. Such a significant territorial increment, of course, corresponded to 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 provoked sharp opposition from England and Austria. In particular, representatives of these states, referring to the gentry anarchy in last years the existence of the Commonwealth, argued that the Poles had not reached the necessary level of development to get a constitution. They offered to limit themselves to the introduction of local self-government, but Alexander resolutely rejected such a proposal.

Preparation of the Polish Constitution

After the final annexation of the Kingdom of Poland to Russia, a special body dealing with the development of the constitution was not created. The first draft of the document was prepared by the closest advisers of the emperor, including Prince Adam of Czartoriz, a Pole by birth. But Alexander was not satisfied with the document. Firstly, it was excessively large, and secondly, it was imbued with an oligarchic spirit. Czartorizhsky agreed with the emperor's remarks and began to develop a new project.

Many prominent Polish public figures... Through their efforts, a new constitutional draft consisting of 162 articles was drawn up. The emperor personally got acquainted with him and made amendments concerning the expansion of his powers. Only then was the French text of the constitution signed. On June 20, 1815, it was promulgated, and from the next year it came 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 of the state structure of the newly formed autonomy. Briefly, they can be summarized as follows:

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

This organization of articles, their share of the total body of the text of the constitution (the most detailed articles have been developed concerning the executive branch) are fully consistent with the Constitutional Charter adopted in France a year earlier.

Legislature

According to the constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, the bicameral Diet became the highest legislative body, which also included the Polish tsar (that is, the Russian emperor). The Diet 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 house, were appointed by the king 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 a total of 128 deputies sat in the chamber. The size of the Senate should not have exceeded half of this number. Elections to the House of Ambassadors were two-stage, and there was a moderate property qualification for voters.

Equality was established between the two chambers: the king could send a bill to any 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 Diet did not have the legislative initiative. Voting on the bill was open, no text changes were allowed, this was the prerogative of the State Council. At the same time, the tsar had the right of absolute veto.

Executive power

The head of this branch was the king. His powers were extremely broad. 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 tsar had the right to pardon and dissolve the House of Ambassadors with the appointment of new elections.

Thus, the tsar was a 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 be in Poland all the time, the post of governor was introduced, who was appointed by the king. 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 draft laws, approve ministerial reports, and report constitutional violations.

To solve current issues, a government was created, which consisted of five ministries. Their areas of expertise were as follows:

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

Background of the Polish uprising of 1830

Under Alexander I, the Kingdom of Poland within the Russian Empire was one of the most dynamically developing regions. Economic growth was observed in all areas of the national economy, due to which the budget deficit was overcome. An increase in the standard of living is also evidenced by the growth of the population: by 1825, 4.5 million people lived on the territory of the autonomy.

However, crisis moments were also accumulating. First of all, the Polish national elite counted on the incorporation of the lands acquired by Russia in the course of three partitions into the Kingdom of Poland. The position of the emperor Alexander allowed to count on this, but, faced with serious opposition, the emperor abandoned this idea.

Another source of Polish discontent was the figure of the governor - the brother of the emperor, Constantine. Although he tried in every possible way to please his charges, his openly despotic methods of management met with dull resistance. Among the officers, cases of suicide became more frequent, and the intelligentsia united in underground circles, which were 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 movements and was hostile to the constitution. Despite his personal attitude, he nevertheless took the oath and intended to preserve the methods of government that had developed since the incorporation of the Kingdom of Poland into the Russian Empire. But the Poles decided to strive for independence. In 1828, the "Military Union" was formed, within which plans for an armed uprising were developed.

The uprising and its aftermath

The July 1830 revolution in France pushed the Poles into action. Putting forward the slogan of the restoration of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth within the borders before the first partition, the Polish army opposed the Russian units. The governor was overthrown and narrowly escaped reprisals. It is significant that Konstantin Pavlovich was informed about fermentation in the army units, but he was in no hurry to take drastic measures, fearing less Polish nationalists than the emperor. Nicholas himself, by decision of the rebels, was deposed as the Polish tsar.

Despite fierce resistance, the Polish army was utterly defeated on May 26, 1831. Soon, only Warsaw remained under the control of the rebels, which was held 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 abolish the constitution and bring the system of government in line with the general imperial one. The Diet and the State Council were abolished, 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. The leading positions were replaced by Russian officials, and a number of Polish departments (for example, railways or the Warsaw educational district) became directly subordinate to the central government bodies.

The established authoritarian regime caused a massive emigration of the Polish intelligentsia. From abroad, they tried to rouse the Polish people, especially the peasantry, to revolt by distributing proclamations and appeals. However, the contradictions between the gentry and the peasantry that have survived since the times of the Commonwealth were so strong that none of these attempts were crowned with success. In addition, the Nikolaev administration, in opposition to nationalism, put forward conservatism and clericalism. The influence of the Catholic Church nullified all attempts by emigration to convince the people of the need to fight for independence.

In 1863, the Poles nevertheless launched a new uprising, which the Russian army again succeeded in suppressing. Another attempt to free himself from Russian rule showed that the integration course of Nicholas I was not crowned with success. Mutual mistrust and hostility was established between the two peoples. The situation was not facilitated by the forced Russification: the history of Russia was taught in educational institutions, and the training itself was conducted in Russian.

It should be noted that in the educated circles of almost all Western states, the divisions of the Commonwealth were considered 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 with each other. Many Russian public figures were aware of this, but it was dangerous to express such thoughts aloud. However, the stubborn striving of the Poles for independence did the trick. At the final stage of the First World War, the American President, in his 14 points on a peace settlement, separately brought up the Polish question. In his opinion, the restoration of Poland within its historical borders was a matter of principle. However, the vagueness of the term "historical borders" sparked a fierce debate: should those that formed by 1772 be considered as such, or the borders of the medieval Polish kingdom? Dissatisfaction with the decisions of the Versailles and Washington conferences led to a war between the RSFSR and Poland, which ended in victory for the latter. But international contradictions were not limited to this. A number of Polish regions were claimed by Czechoslovakia and Germany. This, as well as other controversial decisions of the peace conferences after the First World War, led to a new major war in Europe, the first victim of which was independent Poland.

In the summer of 1915, as a result of the Great retreat of the Russian troops, they left the territory of the Kingdom of Poland (or the Privy Vistula region, as it was semi-officially called - part of the Polish lands, together with Warsaw, which was given a hundred years earlier by the Congress of Vienna to the Russian Emperor Alexander I), which actually ended the century-long stay these lands under the rule of the Russian Empire. And 100 years ago, at the beginning of November 1916, the governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary, whose troops occupied these lands after the withdrawal of Russian troops from there, considered it good to proclaim an independent Polish kingdom there. What the following document was published at that time was devoted to:

"Proclamation of the Two Emperors" (of Germany and Austria-Hungary) Proclamation of the German Governor-General of Warsaw on behalf of the allied German and Austro-Hungarian emperors on the restoration of the independent Kingdom of Poland of November 4, 1916 (published in Warsaw on November 5)

“Inhabitants of the Warsaw General Government!

He was led. the German emperor and his leader. emperor of Austria and apostle. The king of Hungary, in the firm belief in the final victory of their weapons and guided by the desire to lead the Polish regions, wrested by their brave troops at the cost of heavy sacrifices from Russian rule, towards a happy future, agreed to form from these regions an independent state with a hereditary monarchy and a constitutional system. A more precise definition of the boundaries of the Kingdom of Poland will be done in the future. The new kingdom, in its connection with both allied powers, will find the guarantees it needs for the free development of its forces. Her own army will continue to live the glorious traditions of the Polish troops of the past and the memory of the brave Polish comrades-in-arms in the great modern warfare... Its organization, training and command will be established by mutual agreement.

The allied monarchs strongly hope that the wishes of the state and national development of the Kingdom of Poland will henceforth be fulfilled with due regard for general political relations in Europe and the well-being and security of their own lands and peoples.

The great powers, which are the western neighbors of the Kingdom of Poland, will be happy to see how a free, happy and joyful state of its own national life emerges and flourishes on their eastern border. "

The reaction of the Russian government:

“The German and Austro-Hungarian governments, taking advantage of the temporary occupation of a part of Russian territory by their troops, proclaimed the separation of the Polish regions from the Russian Empire and the formation of an independent state from them. At the same time, our enemies have the obvious goal of producing a recruitment in Russian Poland to replenish their armies.

The imperial government sees in this act of Germany and Austria-Hungary a new gross violation by our enemies of the basic principles of international law, which prohibit forcing the population of regions temporarily occupied by military force to raise arms against their own fatherland. It recognizes the said act as invalid.

On the essence of the Polish question, Russia has already twice said its word since the beginning of the war. Its intentions include the formation of an integral Poland from all Polish lands with the granting of it, at the end of the war, the right to freely build its national, cultural and economic life on the basis of autonomy, under the sovereign scepter of the Russian sovereigns and while maintaining a single statehood.

This decision of our august sovereign remains adamant. "

... and the Provisional Government of Prince Lvov:

The old state order in Russia, the source of your and our enslavement and disunity, has now been overthrown forever. Liberated Russia, represented by its provisional government, vested with full power, hastens to address you with fraternal greetings and invites you to a new life of freedom.

The old government gave you hypocritical promises that it could, but did not want to keep. The middle powers took advantage of her mistakes to occupy and devastate your land. For the sole purpose of fighting Russia and her allies, they gave you illusory state rights, and moreover not for the entire Polish people, but only for one part of Poland temporarily occupied by enemies. At this price, they wanted to buy the blood of a people who had never fought to preserve despotism. Even now the Polish army will not go to fight for the cause of oppression of freedom, for the separation of their homeland under the command of the age-old enemy.

Brothers Poles! The hour of great decisions is coming for you too. Free Russia invites you to join the ranks of fighters for the freedom of peoples. Having thrown off the yoke, the Russian people also recognize for the fraternal Polish people the full right to determine their own destiny by their own will. True to the agreements with the allies, true to the common plan with them to combat militant Germanism, the provisional government considers the creation of an independent Polish state, formed from all lands inhabited by the majority of the Polish people, a reliable guarantee of lasting peace in a future renewed Europe. United with Russia by a free military alliance, the Polish state will be a solid bulwark against the pressure of the middle powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) on the Slavs.

The liberated and united Polish people will themselves determine their political system, expressing their will through a constituent assembly convened in the capital of Poland and elected by universal suffrage. Russia believes that the peoples associated with Poland for centuries of living together will receive a firm guarantee of their civil and national existence.

The Russian constituent assembly will have to finally seal the fraternal alliance and give its consent to those changes in the state territory of Russia that are necessary for the formation of an independent Poland from all its now scattered parts.

Accept, brothers, Poles, the fraternal hand that free Russia is extending to you. Faithful keepers of the great traditions of the past, stand now to meet a new day in your history, the Sunday of Poland. Let the union of your feelings and hearts precede the future union of our states and let the old call of the glorious heralds of your liberation sound with renewed and irresistible force: forward to the struggle, shoulder to shoulder and hand to hand, for our and your freedom! "

PS It is noteworthy, however, that Poland celebrates its independence day not on November 5, when the act of the two emperors was proclaimed on the restoration of the independent Polish kingdom, but on November 11, the day of Germany's recognition of its defeat in World War I. war, the 1st Armistice of Compiegne). A day later, the governing body of this very kingdom - the Regency Council - transferred power to Józef Pilsudski, who was then oriented towards the victorious Entente.

The Kingdom of Poland (Polish: Królestwo Polskie) is a territory in Europe that was in union with the Russian Empire from 1815 to 1915.



The part of Poland included in the Russian Empire did not have a single name. Until the 1860s, the legislation often used the name "Kingdom of Poland", rarely - "Poland". In the 1860s, these names began to be replaced by the phrases "Kingdom of Poland province" and "Privislenskie province". On March 5, 1870, by order of Alexander II, it was foreseen to call Russian Poland “the provinces of the Kingdom of Poland”, however, in a number of articles of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, the name “Kingdom of Poland” was preserved. Since 1887, the most widely used are the phrases "provinces of the Vistula region", "the Vistula provinces" and "the Vistula region", and in January 1897 Nicholas II ordered that the use of the names "Kingdom of Poland" and "province of the Kingdom of Poland" was limited cases of emergency, although these names have not been removed from the Code of Laws.
The Poles ironically called the Kingdom of Poland "congress" (Polish Kongresówka, from Królestwo Kongresowe).
The Kingdom of Poland occupied the central part of Poland: Warsaw, Lodz, Kalisz, Czestochowa, Lublin, Suwalki. The area is 127 thousand km².

The reign of Alexander I

Pursuing the retreating troops of Napoleon, the Russian army occupied at the end of February 1813 almost the entire Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Krakow, Thorn, Czestochowa, Zamosc and Modlin surrendered somewhat later. Thus, the state created by Napoleon found itself in fact in the hands of Russia, but its fate still depended on the mutual relations of the powers. This state was going through hard times. Requisitions for the needs of the occupying army of 380,000 people exhausted him. Emperor Alexander I established a temporary supreme council to manage the affairs of the duchy, headed by the governor-general V.S.Lansky. The command of the army was entrusted to Field Marshal Barclay de Tolly. Concentrated Polish affairs in the hands of Count Arakcheev, which sufficiently determines the general nature of management.
Despite the promised amnesty and against the wishes of the Governor-General, citizens were arrested and expelled only on the basis of a denunciation. At the beginning of 1814, Polish society was revived by the hope of improving his lot. The emperor made it easier to stay, cut taxes, and allowed the formation of a corps from Polish soldiers under the command of General Dombrowski. The organization of the troops was led by the Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. Later, the emperor formed a civil committee that proposed replacing Napoleon's code with a new Polish code, giving the peasants land and improving finances.
Meanwhile, at the Congress of Vienna, which was remaking the map of Europe in a new way, the duchy gave rise to strife that almost turned into a new war. Alexander I wanted to annex to his empire the entire Duchy of Warsaw and even other lands that were once part of the Commonwealth. Austria saw this as a danger to itself. On January 3, 1815, a secret alliance was concluded between Austria, England and France to oppose Russia and Prussia, which had become closer to each other. The Russian emperor made a compromise: he abandoned Krakow in favor of Austria, and from Thorn and Poznan in favor of Prussia. Most of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was annexed "for ever" to the Russian Empire under the name of the Kingdom of Poland (May 3, 1815), which received a constitutional order. The Polish constitution was promulgated on June 20. At the same time, the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Poland were sworn into allegiance to the Russian sovereign.
The constitution came into force in 1816. The emperor appointed General Zayonchek as Viceroy, who was very helpful to the Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. Count Novosiltsev became the imperial commissar.
Warsaw University was founded in 1816, higher schools: military, polytechnic, forestry, mining, institute of folk teachers, the number of secondary and primary schools has been increased. Two centers outside the Kingdom of Poland had a strong influence on intellectual life: the University of Vilnius and the Kremenets Lyceum. Studied at Vilna University greatest poet Poland Adam Mickiewicz, the historian Lelevel taught there. The Enlightenment developed despite the barriers.

Education Minister Stanislav Potocki, who ridiculed obscurantism in the allegorical story "Journey to Temnograd" (Polish: Podróż do Ciemnogrodu), was forced to resign. Strict supervision was instituted over educational institutions, books and periodicals were severely censored.
In 1817, state peasants were freed from many medieval duties. In 1820 corvee began to be replaced by rent.
At first, complete harmony existed between the emperor and the Kingdom of Poland created by him due to the liberal moods of the sovereign. With the intensification of reactionary currents, the aforementioned harmony was upset. In the country itself, some were ready to come to terms with what they had, while others dreamed of restoring the Polish state within its former boundaries. On March 5 (17), 1818, the emperor opened the Diet in Warsaw with a significant speech:
“The old organization of the country has allowed me to introduce the one that I have granted you, giving effect to the liberal institutions. These latter have always been the subject of my concerns, and I hope to spread, with God's help, their beneficial influence on all the countries that have been given to me by providence to govern. "
The Seimas adopted all government bills except for the abolition of civil marriage, introduced in Poland by the Napoleonic Code. The Emperor was pleased, which he expressed in his concluding speech, arousing hopes in the Poles for the realization of their patriotic dreams:
“Poles, I remain with my previous intentions; you are familiar with them. "
The emperor hinted at his desire to extend the effect of the constitution of the Kingdom of Poland to the Russian-Lithuanian regions.

When, according to the constitution, the second Diet was convened in 1820, the emperor opened it again, but in his speech there were already warnings about the dangers of liberalism. Under the influence of the opposition, the Sejm rejected the government bill on the grounds that it abolished the publicity of the proceedings, canceled the jury trial and violated the principle "no one will be arrested without a court decision."
The opposition angered Alexander, which he expressed in his concluding speech, noting that the Poles themselves were interfering with the restoration of their homeland. The emperor even wanted to abolish the constitution, but limited himself to threats. Contrary to the constitution, which established the convocation of Diet every two years, the third Diet was convened only in 1825. Previously, an additional article to the constitution was published, which abolished the publicity of sessions of the Diet, and the leader of the opposition Vikenty Nemoyevsky was arrested. To control the activities of the Diet, special officials were appointed who were obliged to attend the meetings. The Diet accepted the projects proposed by the government. The emperor expressed his satisfaction.
Simultaneously with the legal opposition, there was also a secret, revolutionary one. A secret organization, the National Patriotic Association, arose. In May 1822, the main leaders of the "Partnership" were arrested and severely punished. Nevertheless, the "Partnership" continued its activities and even entered into relations with the Decembrists. The latter's attempt to make a coup in Russia also revealed the activity of Polish revolutionaries. According to the constitution, they were tried by a seimas court, limited to mild punishments. Emperor Nicholas I expressed his displeasure at the verdict.

Economically and culturally, the Kingdom of Poland in 1815-1830 developed noticeably. The exhaustion of forces disappeared thanks to a long peace and a number of remarkable figures - the finance ministers Matushevich and Prince Drutsky-Lyubetsky and the famous writer Stashits, who was in charge of industrial affairs. Progress was noted in all areas of economic life: in agriculture, industry and trade. The energetic Minister of Finance Lyubetsky put the finances in order with a series of measures, sometimes drastic, sometimes repressive. The deficit disappeared, a reserve of several tens of millions of zlotys was accumulated in the treasury, officials and the army began to receive their salaries on time. The country's population has grown to 4.5 million.
At the same time, members of secret societies spread democratic ideas. In literature, there were loud voices against serfdom, which harmed both the economy and public morality.

The reign of Nicholas I and the Polish uprising of 1830-31

In 1829, Nicholas I was solemnly crowned king of Poland in Warsaw and sealed his commitment to fulfill the constitution by oath, but left the petition filed to abolish the additional article to the constitution unanswered. The Diet was convened only in 1830. The project to abolish civil marriage was again rejected almost unanimously, despite the clear will of the emperor. The opposition submitted a number of petitions to the government: to ease the restrictions on censorship, to abolish an additional article, and to release the opposition leader from arrest. This course of action of the Diet greatly angered the sovereign.
Kingdom of Poland in 1831
In the years 1830-1831, an uprising took place, which made profound changes. A significant number of politically active Poles were expelled from the Kingdom of Poland and resettled in the provinces of the Russian Empire. Extensive power, together with the title of Prince of Warsaw and the post of governor, was handed over to Count Paskevich. To help him, an interim government was established, which consisted of four departments: justice, finance, internal affairs and police, education and confessions. The powers of the provisional government ceased with the promulgation of the Organic Statute (February 26, 1832), which abolished the crowning of emperors by Polish kings, a special Polish army and the Diet, and declared the Kingdom of Poland an organic part of the Russian Empire. The retained administrative council presented to the sovereign candidates for clerical and civil positions. The Council of State drew up the budget and dealt with the wrangling between the administrative and judicial authorities, and prosecuted officials for malfeasance. Three commissions were established - for the management of: 1) internal affairs and affairs of education; 2) by the court; 3) finance. Instead of the Sejm, the establishment of an assembly of provincial officials with an advisory voice was projected. Legislative power belonged to the sovereign Emperor.

The organic statute has not been enforced. The assembly of provincial officials, as well as the nobility and commune assemblies, remained only in the draft. The Council of State was abolished (1841). Voivodeships were transformed into provinces (1837). The Russian language was introduced into the office work of the administrative council and the vicegerent's office, with permission to use French for those who did not speak Russian. The confiscated estates were granted to the Russians; the highest government positions in the region were replaced by Russians. In 1832, the Polish currency, the zloty, was replaced by the Russian ruble, and the Russian imperial system of measures was introduced to replace the metric currency. Also this year, the Alexander Citadel was laid in Warsaw. The emperor came to inspect these fortresses, but he visited Warsaw only in 1835. He did not allow deputations from the townsfolk to express loyal feelings, noting that he wanted to protect them from lies by this:
“I need deeds, not words. If you persist in your dreams of national separateness, independence for Poland, and the like, you will incur the greatest misfortune. I've set up a citadel here. I tell you that at the slightest excitement, I will order to shoot at the city, turn Warsaw into ruins and, of course, will not rebuild it. "

The Warsaw Scientific Society was abolished, its library and museums were transferred to St. Petersburg. Warsaw and Vilna universities and the Kremenets Lyceum were closed. Instead of the university, it was allowed to open additional courses in pedagogy and jurisprudence at the gymnasium (1840), but soon they were also closed. Teaching in secondary schools was conducted in Russian. The government also paid attention to the education of female youth as future mothers on whom the upbringing of future generations depends. For this purpose, the Alexandria Institute was established in Warsaw. Tuition fees in gymnasiums were increased and it was forbidden to accept children of non-noble or non-official origin.

In 1833, the Warsaw Orthodox bishopric was established, and in 1840 it was transformed into an archbishopric. The Catholic clergy were subject to strict supervision: they were forbidden to gather local synods, organize jubilee festivals, and found sobriety societies. In 1839, the property of the Polish Catholic Church was secularized, the local Greek Catholic Church after the congress in Polotsk, it dissolves itself and officially becomes subordinate to the Moscow Orthodox Patriarchate. After the abolition of Warsaw University, a Roman Catholic Theological Academy was established in Warsaw, which was under the control of the Commission of Internal Affairs, which generally monitored the activities of the Catholic clergy. The government wanted to subordinate the spiritual affairs of the Catholic population in the Kingdom of Poland to the St. Petersburg Roman Catholic College, which was in charge of the spiritual affairs of Catholics in the rest of the empire, but due to the resistance of Rome, this refused. The country's mental life was in stagnation, sometimes disturbed only by revolutionary propaganda, the centers of which were concentrated among the Polish emigration, mainly in France.
In 1833, the French, German and Italian Carbonari decided to create revolutionary movements in their countries. Many Polish émigrés joined the Carbonari societies. It was decided to undertake a partisan raid into the Kingdom of Poland in order to raise an uprising here. Jozef Zalivsky became the head of the raid. The partisans hardly penetrated the Kingdom of Poland to call upon the common people to revolt, but simple people treated them indifferently. Pursued by the Cossacks, Zalivsky fled to Austria, was arrested there and imprisoned for 20 years in a fortress. Other partisans fell into the hands of Russian soldiers. Some were hanged, others were shot or sent to hard labor. The failure of the Zalivsky raid led the Polish democrats to the conviction that revolutionary propaganda was needed.
The new "Society of the Polish People" tried to cover all the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with its activities, sending envoys to Lithuania, Volhynia, Ukraine and the Kingdom of Poland. In May 1838, the chief emissary Konarski was arrested near Vilna, which led to other arrests. Even several high school students were sent to hard labor. These harsh measures did not dampen the enthusiasm of the Polish revolutionaries. They were headed by the "Democratic Society", which professed not only democratic ideas, but also socialist ones. Under his influence, priest Scegenny set up a secret society among the peasants in the south of the Kingdom of Poland with the aim of founding a Polish peasant republic; extradited to one of his own, he was arrested and sentenced to be hanged, but pardoned and exiled to hard labor. Many peasants - participants in the conspiracy had to follow him to Siberia (1844).
In 1846, the government decided that the country was already ready for an uprising. The movement that began in Galicia ended in the most deplorable way. Ukrainian peasants not only did not join the movement, but, prompted by Austrian officials, carried out a terrible massacre among the Polish nobles. In the Kingdom of Poland, the nobleman Pantaleon Potocki with a small detachment captured the town of Siedlec (in February 1846), but was soon captured and hanged. The rebels were sent to Siberia.

Russia, Prussia and Austria took action against the Poles. With the consent of Russia and Prussia, Austria occupied the Free City of Krakow with its troops. In addition, the Russian and Austrian governments paid attention to the situation of the peasants who were under the rule of the Polish nobles. In June 1846, it was forbidden to arbitrarily remove peasants from the land, reduce their allotments, and annex the wastelands left by the peasant to the estates. In November 1846, many of the peasants' duties were destroyed. At the same time, the government took measures aimed at closer integration of the Kingdom of Poland into the empire. In 1847, a new set of punishments was published for him, which was an almost literal translation of the Russian Code of punishments in 1845.
The revolution of 1848 greatly agitated the Poles: they raised uprisings in the principality of Poznań and in Galicia. Mickiewicz formed the Polish legion, which took part in the Italian revolutionary movement; Polish generals, officers and ordinary volunteers fought for the independence of Hungary. The secret society in the Kingdom of Poland abandoned its intentions after learning about the suppression of the revolution in Poznan. The conspiracy was exposed (1850), the conspirators were subjected to corporal punishment and exile to hard labor. The government of Louis Napoleon expelled the leaders of the Polish Democratic Society from Paris. They were forced to retire to London, and their influence on Poland almost completely ceased.
The Crimean War revived the hopes of the patriots again. Calls for an uprising in Poland were unsuccessful. It was decided to form Polish legions in the theater of operations to fight Russia. This plan was also supported by the conservative Polish emigration led by Prince Adam Czartoryski. Incidentally, Mitskevich went to Constantinople. The troubles of the Polish patriots ended in almost nothing. The Polish writer Mikhail Tchaikovsky, who adopted Mohammedanism (Sadyk Pasha), recruited, however, a detachment of the so-called Sultan Cossacks, but it consisted of Armenians, Bulgarians, Gypsies and Turks, and besides, he did not take part in hostilities, for the war ended ... A handful of Poles acted in the Caucasus against the Russian troops, helping the Circassians. Meanwhile, Emperor Nicholas I died, and about a year later - and the governor of the Kingdom of Poland, Prince Paskevich.

The reign of Alexander II and subsequent reigns

In May 1856, Emperor Alexander II arrived in Warsaw, greeted with great enthusiasm. In a speech delivered to the deputation of the inhabitants, the sovereign warned the Poles against dreams:
“Away from fantasy, gentlemen! (Point de reveries, messieurs!) Everything my father has done is well done. My reign will be a further continuation of his reign. "
Soon, however, the previous harsh regime was somewhat eased. The emperor gave permission to publish some of Mickiewicz's works. The censorship ended the persecution of works by Slovacki, Krasinski and Lelevel. Many political prisoners were released. Some emigrants returned. In June 1857, it was allowed to open the Medical and Surgical Academy in Warsaw, and in November - to establish the Agricultural Society, which became important centers of intellectual life.
The political mood of the Poles was strongly influenced by the unification of Italy and the liberal reforms in Austria. Young people who read Herzen and Bakunin believed that Russia was on the eve of the revolution. Moderates and radicals alike hoped for the help of Napoleon III, who wanted to see the idea of ​​nationality as the guiding international principle. The radicals began to organize demonstrations on every glorious occasion in Polish history.
The grandiose demonstration took place on November 29, 1860, on the anniversary of the November Uprising of 1830. On February 27, 1861, troops fired into the crowd and killed 5 people. The governor, Prince Gorchakov, agreed to satisfy the complaints, promised to remove Chief of Police Trepov, and allowed the establishment of a committee to govern Warsaw.
Kingdom of Poland in 1861
The government agreed to a series of reforms in the spirit of autonomy. By a decree on March 26, 1861, the state council was restored, provincial, district and city councils were formed, it was decided to open higher educational institutions and transform secondary schools. The appointed assistant to the governor, the Marquis Alexander Velepolsky, irritated the gentry with the closure of the Agricultural Society, which caused a grandiose manifestation (April 8, 1861), which resulted in about 200 killed. The revolutionary mood was growing, and Wielepolski began to energetically implement reforms: he abolished serfdom, replaced corvee with quitrent, equalized Jews in rights, increased the number of schools, improved the teaching system and established a university in Warsaw.
On May 30, 1861, the governor, Prince Gorchakov, died; his successors did not sympathize with the activities of the marquis. On the anniversary of the death of Tadeusz Kosciuszko (November 15), churches were filled with worshipers who sang patriotic hymns. Governor-General Gershtenzweig announced a state of siege and moved troops into the temples. Blood was spilled. The clergy considered it sacrilege and closed the churches.
Velepolski resigned. The sovereign accepted her, ordering him to remain a member of the State Council. The emperor appointed his brother, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, governor, giving him Velepolsky as an assistant in civil affairs, and Baron Ramsay as an assistant in military affairs. The Kingdom of Poland was given full autonomy.
The radicals, or "reds", did not stop, however, their activities, and moved from demonstrations to terror. Attempts were made on the life of the Grand Duke. Moderates, or "whites", did not sympathize with the "reds", but they were at odds with Velepolsky. He wanted to restore the constitution of 1815, while the "moderates" thought about uniting all the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth into one whole with the constitutional structure. The Whites set out to compose an address in the highest name, but Velepolsky opposed it. White leader Zamoyski was ordered to emigrate. This finally recoiled and "whites" from Velepolsky. A revolutionary explosion was approaching, which Velepolski decided to warn with a recruitment. The calculation turned out to be bad.
The uprising broke out in January 1863, which lasted until late autumn 1864 and ended with the execution of the most active participants and the massive expulsion of the rioters. In March 1863, Count Berg was appointed commander-in-chief, who, after the departure of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich on September 8, 1863 and the resignation of Velepolsky, became the governor. The head of the police was entrusted to the former chief of police, General Trepov. In early January 1864, a committee for the affairs of the Kingdom of Poland was established in St. Petersburg under the chairmanship of the sovereign himself.
By a decree on February 19 (March 2), 1864, Polish peasants received ownership of the arable land they cultivated. The landowners received compensation from the treasury with the so-called liquidation papers according to the assessment of the alienated lands. At the same time, an all-estates gmina was established.
The administration of affairs of the Catholic clergy was provided to the commission of internal affairs, the director of which was appointed Prince Cherkassky. All church property was confiscated and almost all monasteries were closed. According to the charter of 1865, the Catholic Church in the Kingdom of Poland was divided into seven dioceses - Plock, Lublin, Sandomierz, Keleck, Augustow, Kuyavian-Kalisz and Podlaska; in 1867 the Podlaska diocese was united with the Lublin diocese. The clergy began to receive salaries from the treasury. Since 1871 it has been subordinated to the Department of Foreign Confessions of the Ministry of the Interior. In 1875, the Union of Poland was abolished and a new (Kholm) Orthodox diocese was founded.
Kingdom of Poland in 1896
At the same time, reforms were carried out in the civil administration. In 1866, a charter on provincial and district administration was issued: ten provinces (instead of five) and 84 counties. In 1867 the State Council was abolished, in 1868 the Administrative Council and government commissions (for confessions and education, finance and internal affairs) were abolished. Cases were transferred to the appropriate all-imperial institutions in St. Petersburg. In the spirit of the complete merger of the Kingdom of Poland with the Russian Empire, transformations were made in the field of education. In 1872, the general imperial charter on gymnasiums of 1871 was extended to the Kingdom of Poland. An all-imperial judicial organization was also introduced, with an important exception: the region did not receive a jury trial. Since 1871, the publication of the "Diary of the Laws of Ts. Polsky" was suspended, because the general imperial rules for the promulgation of legislative decisions began to apply to the country. Mandatory use of the Russian language has been introduced in administration, legal proceedings and teaching. Attempts are being made to translate the Polish language into Cyrillic. After the death of Count Berg in 1874, Count Kotzebue received the post of regional chief and commander-in-chief of the troops of the Warsaw Military District, with the title of Governor-General; then the region was ruled by generals Albedinsky (1880-83), Gurko (1883-94), Count Shuvalov (1894-96), Prince Imeretinsky (1896-1900) and M. I. Chertkov (1900-05).

End of the Kingdom of Poland

In 1912, the Kholmsk province was separated from the provinces of the Kingdom of Poland, where a significant number of Ukrainians lived.
On August 14, 1914, Nicholas II promised, after winning the war, to unite the Kingdom of Poland with the Polish lands, which would be taken from Germany and Austria-Hungary, into an autonomous state within the Russian Empire.
The war created a situation in which Poles, Russian subjects, fought against Poles who served in the Austro-Hungarian and German armies. The pro-Russian National Democratic Party of Poland, led by Roman Dmowski, considered Germany the main enemy of Poland, its supporters considered it necessary to unite all Polish lands under Russian control with obtaining the status of autonomy within the Russian Empire. The anti-Russian supporters of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) believed that the path to Poland's independence lay through Russia's defeat in the war. Several years before the outbreak of the First World War, the leader of the PPS, Jozef Pilsudski, began military training of Polish youth in Austro-Hungarian Galicia. After the outbreak of war, he formed Polish legions as part of the Austro-Hungarian army.
During the offensive of the German and Austro-Hungarian armies in the spring and summer of 1915, the Kingdom of Poland is under German-Austrian occupation and, being divided between the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, ceases to exist.