1 section of poland year. Three divisions of the Commonwealth in the 18th century. Territorial acquisitions of Prussia, Austria and Russia

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

What were the real reasons for her division?

What is stated on this topic in publicly available information sources.

Prelude to section

From 1669 to 1673 Mikhail Vishnevsky was the ruler. The researchers conclude that he was an unprincipled person, since he played along with the Habsburgs and simply gave Podolia to the Turks. Jan III Sobieski, who was his nephew and ruled from 1674 to 1696, waged war on Ottoman Empire which was successful. He also liberated Vienna from the Turks in 1683. But, based on the agreement, which was called "Eternal Peace", Jan had to cede some lands to Russia, in exchange for these lands he received a promise that Russia would help them in the fight against the Crimean Tatars, as well as the Turks. After Jan III Sobieski passed away, the state was ruled by foreigners for seventy years.

The third section of the Commonwealth was the last of the three sections of the Commonwealth, as a result of which it ceased to exist.

The defeat of the Kosciuszko uprising in 1794, directed against the divisions of the country, was the reason for the final liquidation of the Polish-Lithuanian state.

On October 24, 1795, the states participating in the partition determined their new borders. Simultaneously with this condition, a secret agreement was signed in St. Petersburg between Austria and Russia, clearly hostile to Prussia - on military assistance in case Prussia attacked any of the allied states.

As a result of the Third Partition, Russia received land to the east of the Bug and the Nemirov-Grodno line, with a total area of ​​120 thousand km² and a population of 1.2 million people. Prussia acquired territories inhabited by ethnic Poles west of pp. Pilica, Vistula, Bug and Neman, together with Warsaw (renamed South Prussia), as well as lands in Western Lithuania (Zemaitija), with a total area of ​​​​55 thousand km² and a population of 1 million people. Krakow and part of Lesser Poland between Pilica, Vistula and Bug, part of Podlasie and Mazovia, with a total area of ​​47 thousand km², and a population of 1.2 million people, passed under the rule of Austria.

King Stanislav August Poniatowski, who was taken to Grodno, resigned on November 25, 1795. The states that participated in the sections of the Commonwealth concluded in 1797 "Petersburg Convention", which included decrees on matters of Polish debts and the Polish king, as well as an obligation that the monarchs of the contracting parties would never use the name "Kingdom of Poland" in their titles.

Russian empire received the lands of Western Belarus, part of Lithuania, Western Volhynia and part of the Kholmsky land with a population of about 1 million 200 thousand people.

In Prussia, three provinces were created from the former Polish lands: West Prussia, South Prussia and New East Prussia. German became the official language, Prussian zemstvo law and the German school were introduced, the lands of the “royalty” and spiritual estates were taken to the treasury.

The lands that came under the rule of the Austrian crown were called Galicia and Lodomeria, they were divided into 12 districts. The German school and Austrian law were also introduced here.

As a result of the three sections of the Commonwealth, the Russian lands of White Russia (except for the part with the city of Bialystok, which ceded to Prussia) and Little Russia (except for Galicia, which ceded to Austria) with the Russian indigenous population, passed to Russia, and the indigenous Polish lands, we want to draw attention to this , inhabited by ethnic Poles, were divided between Prussia and Austria. And for some reason, Russia is considered the main enemy of the Poles. Why?

WHAT DOES MODERN POLISH HISTORIOGRAPHY, THE PRESS AND AUTHORITIES DO NOT SAY?

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

Let's start with the fact that the mere desire of three powerful neighbors for the divisions of Poland was completely insufficient.

Unlike Austria, Russia and Prussia, in the Commonwealth there were neither prerequisites for the imperial development of the state, nor a strong regular army, no consistent foreign policy . Therefore, it was the internal factor of the collapse of the state that was of paramount importance. And this is true in relation to the collapse of any state, regardless of the external factors affecting it: if there is an internal weakness, it can be broken; if there is no weakness, it cannot be.

The well-known Polish historian Jerzy Skowronek (in 1993-1996 - the chief director of the state archives of Poland) noted:

“The partitions and fall of Poland were a tragic refutation of one of the“ brilliant ”principles of the foreign policy of the gentry of the Commonwealth. He said that it was the impotence of the state that was the basis and condition for unlimited democracy and the freedom of each of its citizens, which at the same time served as a guarantee of its existence ... In fact, it turned out the other way around: it was the impotence of the Polish state pushed its neighbors to liquidate Poland».

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

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

Jerzy Skowronek logically emphasized:

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

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

Part of the Prussian lands with Königsberg, formed on the basis of the possessions of the Teutonic Order, until the middle of the 17th century was in vassal dependence on Poland. Russian Field Marshal I.F. Paskevich reasonably argued that:

"Prussia is a concession from Poland to the Elector of Brandenburg."

But even later, in conditions of separation East Prussia from the rest of the territories centered in Berlin, the full existence of Prussia without the seizure of Polish lands was impossible.

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

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

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

Prussia in the early 1790s, as Jerzy Skowronek wrote,
“she showed particular cynicism: luring the Poles with the prospect of an allegedly possible union, she pushed the Commonwealth to a quick formal exit from Russia’s tutelage (even accompanied by anti-Russian gestures) and to the beginning of rather radical reforms, and then left it to its own devices, agreeing on a second partition ".

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

SOME CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE REASONS FOR THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE COMMON

The Commonwealth is a state that was formed in 1569 by the unification of Lithuania and Poland. The Poles played the main role in this union, so historians often call the Commonwealth Poland. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Commonwealth experienced a process of disintegration into two states. This was the result Northern war between the Russian Empire and Sweden. Thanks to the victory of Peter I, Poland survived, but became heavily dependent on its neighbors. In addition, since 1709, monarchs from Saxony were on the throne in the Commonwealth, which testified to the country's dependence on the German states, the main of which were Prussia and Austria. Therefore, Russia's participation in the Partitions of the Commonwealth must be studied on the basis of ties with Austria and Prussia, which claimed this territory. These 3 countries for many years openly and secretly influenced the state.

One of the reasons why Russia agreed to the partitions of Poland was the potential alliance of Turkey and Austria against the Russian Empire. Eventually, Catherine accepted the offer of Austria for the partitions of the Commonwealth in exchange for the rejection of the alliance with Turkey. In fact, Austria and Prussia forced Catherine II to go to the division of the Commonwealth. Moreover, if Russia had not agreed to the conditions of Poland's western neighbors, they would have begun the partition on their own, and this created a great threat in Eastern Europe.

The reason for the beginning of the divisions of Poland was also a religious issue: Russia demanded that Poland grant rights and privileges to the Orthodox population. In Poland itself, supporters and opponents of the implementation of Russia's demands have formed. The country actually began Civil War. It was at this time that the monarchs of three neighboring countries gathered in Vienna and made a secret decision to start partitioning the Commonwealth.

Thus, one of the problems of the Commonwealth, which led to the decline and further disappearance, was the system of political structure. The fact is that the main state body of Poland, the Sejm, consisted of the gentry - large landowners, who even chose the king. Each gentry had the right to veto: if he did not agree with the decision of the state body, then the decision was canceled. This could lead to the fact that the state organism could stop for several months, and in conditions of war or military aggression from neighbors, this could have tragic consequences.

However, the structure of society was crowd-“elitist” both in the Russian Empire and in the included territories, for which reason the subjective vector of goals of the current control center of the bloc (the tsarist government) did not correspond to the objective vector of goals (the mission of the Russian civilization http://inance. ru/2017/08/missiya-russkoy-civilizacii/), this was the reason for the management errors, and the subsequent collapse of the management of the Russian Empire.

The Russian authorities were concerned about the integration of new lands into the state in accordance with their subjective vector of goals. An administrative reform was carried out: the lands were divided into 5 provinces, which, in turn, were united into two governor-generals: Belarusian (Vitebsk, Mogilev) and Lithuanian (Vilna, Grodno and Minsk provinces).

An attempt was made to integrate the population of new territories into the empire without conflict. The entire population took an oath. The gentry, who did not want to do this, had the right to sell their property and go abroad within three months. The rest received the rights and privileges that the Russian nobility had and passed under the jurisdiction Russian state. Their privileged status was guaranteed by the “Charter to the nobility”, issued by Catherine II in 1785. At the same time, some of the privileges enjoyed by the gentry in the Commonwealth were abolished: the privileges that undermined the foundations of centralized state(the right to choose a monarch, to gather for district sejmiks, to choose judges, to keep their own troops and fortresses).

On the Belarusian lands, it was gradually introduced Russian legislation. The local gentry and merchants were allowed to choose their deputies to develop a new national code, in 1777 district and provincial noble assemblies were created, and leaders of the nobility were selected.

The privately owned cities were bought out by the authorities, the inhabitants were equated in rights with the rest of the population of the Russian Empire, the Magdeburg Law was abolished, and jurists were also abolished. The cities were ruled by city Dumas: it was an elected body of city self-government, created on the basis of estate representation. The Russian tax system also extended to the Belarusian lands: all state fees were replaced by a poll tax and a zemstvo tax. Due to extreme poverty, Belarusian peasants were exempted from taxes for two years, in the next 10 years they were levied in half, and then they began to be levied in full, recruitment kits were introduced.

At first, the Russian authorities took into account the peculiarities of the socio-economic and social life in the region and did not switch to an open Russification policy, so the national policy of the authorities was moderate, office work, printing, and children were taught in Polish, as before.

Religion was also at first very reserved. AT late XVIII century, 38% of Catholics, 39% of Uniates, 10% of Jews, 6.5% of Orthodox and representatives of other faiths lived on Belarusian lands. All confessions were allowed, but Orthodoxy became the state religion. The local Orthodox Church came under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod, which was the supreme governing body in the Russian Orthodox Church. Catholicism was widespread in Belarus, while the activities of the Jesuit order, which was banned by the Pope in 1773, unfolded. With the permission of the Russian authorities, the Jesuits were engaged in missionary activities, charity, opened pharmacies, colleges, libraries. The order was expelled after the war in 1812 due to the cooperation of the Catholic clergy with the French occupation administration.

The social structure of the Belarusian provinces had a class character.

Estates:

Privileged - nobility, clergy, merchants and honorary citizens (well-known scientists, artists, children of nobles and clergy who have received education).
The taxable estates included peasants (private, state and free) and philistines.
In the first half of the 19th century, a legally formed category of the population was formed in Belarus - raznochintsy (not a taxable, but not a privileged group of the population, as a rule, these are educated people who were engaged in mental work - lower officials, gymnasium teachers, representatives of science, literature and art).

The class policy on the territory of Belarus was aimed at strengthening the position of Russia and was carried out through the introduction of Russian land ownership. Even Catherine II, the main part of state lands, together with peasants (over 180 thousand people), was distributed to Russian nobles and officials. With regard to the Belarusian nobility, the Russian authorities pursued a very moderate policy, hoping to strengthen the loyalty of the gentry towards the throne. True, this did not apply to the petty nobility, in respect of which the so-called "analysis of the gentry" was carried out, which consisted in checking the availability and validity of documents confirming noble origin. The gentry who did not pass the test were transferred to taxable estates.

In general, the policy of the Russian authorities at the end of the 18th - the first third of the 19th century was moderate. However, after the war of 1812, when many gentry and townspeople welcomed Napoleon as a liberator, the disclosure of secret student societies and the gentry uprising of 1830-31, Polish influence began to be squeezed out and a policy of Russification was carried out.

From the side of the population, the Polonized gentry did not have support, and it was reoriented and divided into pro-Belarusian and pro-Lithuanian parts. Part of the gentry turns to Belarusian spoken language and proceeds to its literary processing. Appeal to Belarusian vernacular and customs is accompanied by a gradual, albeit rather painful, rejection of the names "Lithuania" and "Litvins", which are assigned to ethnic Lithuania. At the same time, the appeal to the “Litvinian” heritage remains a structural element of this version of the Belarusian national ideology: the polytonym “Litvins” is “privatized” as an ancient ethnonym of Belarusians, official language The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which contemporaries called Russian, is declared "Old Belarusian" (respectively, the "new" Belarusian language becomes its direct successor), and the city of Vilna is seen as the only candidate for the role of the capital of the future Belarusian state. It was from that time that disputes began between ethnic Lithuanians and Belarusian “Litvins” about who “owned” medieval Lithuania.

Thus, the political and ideological monopoly of the Polonized “Litvinian” aristocracy in the region was undermined. Polono-Litvinism is competed with Western Russianism, as well as the Belarusian and Lithuanian movements, which, claiming ownership of the heritage of historical Lithuania, laid the foundation for the division of the region between the ethnic groups inhabiting it.

That is, in general, we see the process of more or less peaceful entry of Belarusian lands into Russia, taking into account local specifics, until the war of 1812, when a vector of goals among the gentry was identified, aimed at destroying the bloc, and not at increasing the stability of governance and solving problems society. For what reason, the policy has become more stringent in relation to the "elite" sections of society. With regard to the common people, since the advent of serfdom in Russia, it has always been tough.

MEANWHILE…

Throughout the 19th century, powerful pressure was exerted on Russia, the purpose of which was to force it to accept, as a good providence of God, the biblical project of buying up the world on the basis of a monopoly on usury, the ideological basis of which is the Old Testament. Even the Decembrists participated in this process. Our Orthodoxy was based on the New Testament and the Psalter, and not on the Old Testament. But the activities of the Bible Society and Masonic lodges, aimed at changing the ideological position of part of the clergy and intelligentsia, bore fruit, and another holy book appeared in Russia - the Old Testament, under the same cover as the New Testament. The Holy Synod, for the most part, did not understand the essence of what was happening and even approved the Jew Khvolson and Rabbi Levinson as translators, and the secular authorities that came after Nicholas I not only did not interfere with this process, but themselves contributed to the acceleration of events. The clergy argued about what is the standard for the translation of the Old Testament. Some believed that it was the Hebrew Bible, others that it was the Septuagint, and some preferred the Church Slavonic version. But by that time it was no longer of fundamental importance: all versions were corrected, including the New Testament. The struggle for the standard of translation was provoked to divert attention from the main goal of the owners of the biblical project, which is to accept the Orthodox country as scripture The Old Testament, into which was inserted the ideological basis for the enslavement not only of Russia, but of the entire planet through a usurious noose.

What's with the Jews?

Under Catherine II, the bulk of the Jews ended up in Russia as a result of the division of Poland, which was a surprise for her, and no one understood how to behave in relation to this mass. But it was Catherine II who laid the foundation for the Jewish Pale of Settlement by decree of December 23, 1791 (January 3, 1792), which formally was the final reaction of the imperial government to the letter of the Vitebsk Jewish merchant Tsalka Faibishovich; the decree allowed Jews to permanently reside in Belarus and Novorossia, then a region recently annexed to Russia, and forbade entry into the merchant class, in particular, in Moscow (which was demanded by local merchants who feared competition).

Heinrich Sliozberg, a researcher of Jewish history in Russia, noted that Catherine's decree of 1791 was evidence of the following:

"that they did not consider it necessary to make an exception for the Jews: a restriction in the right of movement and free choice of residence existed for everyone, to a large extent even for the nobles."

With the third partition of Poland, the provinces of Vilna and Grodno, where a significant number of Jews lived, became part of the line. Alexander “established a special committee to discuss the issue of improving the life of the Jews in Russia. The final legal formalization of the Pale of Settlement was reported by the “Regulations on the Organization of the Jews” of 1804, which listed those provinces and territories where Jews were allowed to settle and trade.

The “Regulations” strictly ordered all Jews to enroll in one of the “states”: farmers, manufacturers, artisans, merchants, and philistinism. This was a mistake, because the division into these classes did not meet the task of protecting Russia from the biblical project and neutralizing its activists and bearers. The "Regulations" of 1804 were partly based on Senator Gavrila Derzhavin's "Opinion" on the causes of food shortages in Belarus, and to a large extent - on Polish bills of the 18th century. Educational measures are in the foreground in this "Regulations": Jews are given access to Russian educational institutions and the spread of the Russian language among them is encouraged.

Nicholas I also did not realize this and did his best to make the Jews normal residents of Russia, thinking that they would become Christians, serve in the army and perform all civil duties. But all in vain: the lack of understanding of global politics even by such an outstanding Russian figure had sad consequences for the country and its people as a whole.

Here is what Andrei Dykyy writes about this time:

"AT early XIX centuries, when Russia received more than a million Jewish subjects, Jews who did not know the Russian language, did not have any large capital, were alien to general European culture and did not want to join it - to exert any influence on the policy of the state and could not, and did not wanted. But in less than a century, everything has changed. Large capitals were accumulated in Jewish hands; cadres of Jews who have fully mastered the Russian language and graduated from higher and secondary schools have been created; with the help of accumulated capital, Jews penetrated into all branches of economic and cultural life countries. To this we must add the fact that in Europe, starting from half of XIX century, Jewish capital sometimes acquired decisive importance not only for internal, but also for foreign policy in many states. And Russia was in dire need of foreign investment for the development of its industry. From the Rothschilds, French, English, Austrian; The German Mendelssohns depended a lot on solving certain financial issues in the policy of these states towards Russia. The largest and most influential newspapers and publishing houses in Europe, the telegraph agencies (which made "political weather") were either purely Jewish or heavily influenced by Jews. The issue of loans or trade agreements was often put in direct dependence on the policy of the Russian government in the "Jewish question". Five and a half million Jews - Russian subjects took an active part in the economic life not only in the "Pale of Settlement", but throughout Russia and, despite all the restrictions that existed, achieved enviable success. At the beginning 19th century When they became subjects of Russia, all Jews were exclusively merchants, various tenants, brokers, intermediaries and owners of drinking establishments (taverns, taverns). Neither the big bourgeoisie, nor people from secular education were not among them. There were also no people of agricultural labor (personal, physical) or landowners-landlords. In just one century, the picture has changed dramatically. On the eve of the Revolution of 1917, almost all the most important and largest branches of trade and industry of the "Pale of Settlement", and to a large extent throughout Russia, were either completely in Jewish hands, or with a significant, and sometimes dominant influence of Jewish capital in them.

This is how social processes develop if they have a purposefully built ideological basis.

One can appreciate the long-range aim of those who pushed Russia to swallow part of Poland:

The involvement of Russia ensured the disloyalty of the Polish population, which served as the basis for promoting Nazi views in Poland already in the 20th century;
The policy of the tsarist government, which did not take into account the peculiarities of the development of block-type civilizations, being moderate and copying the principles of the development of a conglomerate, planted time bombs in Polish society, which card was played by Hitler, in fact, a policy similar to a conglomerate was partially carried out;
The involvement of Russia to some extent legitimized the predatory actions of Austria and Prussia towards the Poles;
The Pale of Settlement appeared, creating the potential for Jewish expansion into central Russia, which took place already at the beginning of the 20th century, after restrictions were lifted. But that is another story and a topic for another article.

AFTERWORD

We see the mutual nesting of processes from the global to the local level. The Russian civilization, which was an alternative to the Western one, was largely uncontrollable for the owners of the Western concept, for which reason it was decided to introduce biblical management tools on its territory - Old Testament and its carriers, which was carried out by the hands of the authorities, who did not fully understand what she had gotten herself into. The potential for catastrophe has not yet been eliminated, and the biblical concept of governance is still in effect on the territory of Belarus, Poland and Russia.

Belarus is, like Russia, a battlefield between Russian civilization and Western civilization. Undoubtedly, the main criterion for development - the level of education - after joining the Russian Empire increased, but it continued to be insufficient, so Belarus was at the level of the inhabitants of the empire itself, who were under the yoke of serfdom and the absence of a universal education system.

Today Belarus and Russia have sufficient potential to switch to their own management concept. After overcoming illiteracy in the USSR, the potential was laid for the subsequent acquisition of real sovereignty - authority to manage according to its own concept of development, and not according to the concept of "divide and rule" with pseudo-sovereignty, in which the development potential is successfully channeled in the interests of the biblical concept of management.

Thus, Belarus and Russia today need to improve managerial literacy. At this stage, the process is going on within the framework of self-government (self-education) with the subsequent prospect of entering the state level.

Day of the final victory over Russia

On October 29, 1611, the Commonwealth experienced one of the loudest triumphs in its history. To the sound of bells, with a large crowd of people, the hetman of the Polish crown Stanislav Zolkiewski carried the overthrown Russian Tsar Vasily Shuisky and other Russian captives around Warsaw in an open for public viewing cart and, after a triumphant entry into the Royal Castle, placed them before King Sigismund III, deputies and senators.

In the Senate Hall of the Royal Castle, Vasily Shuisky, with his head uncovered, bowed to the ground, palm right hand touched the ground and then kissed it. Then he took an oath, submitted to the greatness of the Commonwealth, pleaded defeated and promised that Russia would never attack Poland again. Only after this oath did King Sigismund allow him to kiss his hand, which was another manifestation of the superiority of the Polish ruler.

In the first half of the 17th century, the Commonwealth, which arose in 1569 as a result of the unification of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, reached the peak of its power.

The state occupied a vast territory, which included part of the Baltic, Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian lands, including Kyiv, Minsk and Smolensk, part of the German lands. Prussia, together with Koenigsberg, was dependent on the Commonwealth.

Right liberum veto

The Commonwealth claimed the status of a power that establishes order in Europe. These huge ambitions were combined with internal instability caused by the original state structure.

Supreme power, severely limited by the nobility, belonged to a lifelong elected monarch, who bore the single title of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Russia and Samogitia. Legislative and also partly judicial power was in the hands of the Seimas, which consisted of two chambers: the Senate and the Embassy hut. The Senate included the highest state dignitaries and the Catholic clergy, the Ambassador's hut consisted of deputies, called ambassadors. Elections of deputies took place at povet sejmiks, which were meetings of the local gentry specially convened before the beginning of the work of the Sejm.

Restrictions royalty on the part of the Seimas were supplemented by restrictions on the work of the Seimas itself, connected with the rule of liberum veto. According to this rule, any member of the Seimas could stop the discussion of any issue and the work of the Seimas in general by opposing it.

The principle, originally designed to ensure the political equality of all regions of the Commonwealth, over time turned into a brake on any political and economic changes.

In the first decades of the existence of the Commonwealth, according to historians, its state structure was quite progressive and contributed to the development of the country.

Over time, however, continuous conflicts among various groups of the gentry led the country to slide into anarchy.

Retired favorite as king

And at this time, the neighbors, who only yesterday were inferior to the Commonwealth, were rapidly moving forward in their development. The Poles responded to this with a proud, but strange, from the point of view of an outside observer, saying: "Poland is strong in discord."

By the middle of the 18th century, the endless struggle of the Polish elite groups among themselves led to the fact that neighboring countries began to actively interfere in these processes. Supporting certain parties of the nobility, foreigners influenced the policy of the Commonwealth.

In 1764, Stanislav II Poniatowski, a former favorite of Catherine II, ascended the Polish throne. Despite the fact that Russia was directly involved in his coming to power, the new king tried to pursue an independent policy. The reforms he initiated were aimed at reorganizing government institutions in order to strengthen the system of government in the country. In particular, the king sought to abolish the liberum veto rule.

The reform efforts of Stanislav II ran counter to Russian policy, and in St. Petersburg they decided to take countermeasures.

In 1767, through the pro-Russian Polish nobility and the Russian ambassador in Warsaw, Prince Nikolai Repnin, Catherine II initiated the adoption of the constitution of the Commonwealth, which eliminated the results of the reforms of Stanislav II Poniatowski. The Sejm, which was controlled by Repnin, recognized freedom of religion and worship in Orthodox and Protestant churches. Orthodox and Protestants were given access to all the positions of the Commonwealth, which caused indignation among the Catholic hierarchs of Poland.

The leaders of the disaffected were arrested and exiled to Russia.

Conflict of interest

Pro-Russian politicians in Poland did not act to the detriment of their own country. Just from the west of the Commonwealth, the rapidly growing Prussia threatened to annex the northwestern regions of the country. Under these conditions, protection from Russia was the only option to counter Prussian expansion.

In 1768, the anti-Russian forces in the Commonwealth, primarily Catholics, united in the Bar Confederation, which started a war against the Polish king and Russia. The Confederates counted on the support of Turkey, which was at war with Russia, as well as France. However, the Turks themselves were defeated by the Russian troops, France did not want to be drawn into the conflict, as a result of which the confrontation that stretched for four years ended in the defeat of the Confederates.

The success of Russia in the fight against the Turks and at the same time with the Polish confederates alerted Prussia, which did not want Russia to strengthen. Having teamed up with another geopolitical rival of the Russian Empire, Austria, the King of Prussia, Frederick II the Great, put forward a plan to divide part of the territories of Poland between the three states.

This plan was unprofitable for Russia, but under the circumstances, Petersburg, in case of refusal, risked losing more.

big jackpot

On February 6, 1772, a secret agreement was concluded in St. Petersburg between Prussia and Russia. On February 19, 1772, the tripartite convention on the division of Poland was signed in Vienna. The parties to the agreement received equal territories and pledged to observe the immutability of laws in the remaining independent part of the Commonwealth.

In early August 1772, Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops entered the territory of the Commonwealth and occupied the regions in accordance with the agreement. This event went down in history under the name "The first section of the Commonwealth."

Under the terms of the agreement, Russia took possession of part of the Baltic (Livonia, Duchy of Zadvinsk), which had previously been under the rule of Poland, and Belarus up to the Dvina, Druti and Dnieper, including the regions of Vitebsk, Polotsk and Mstislavl. Territories with an area of ​​92 thousand square kilometers with a population of 1 million 300 thousand people passed under the authority of the Russian crown.

Prussia received Ermland (Warmia) and Royal Prussia (later becoming a new province called West Prussia) up to the river Notech, the territory of the Duchy of Pomerania without the city of Gdansk (Danzig), the district and voivodship of Pomeranian, Malborskoe (Marienburg) and Chelminskie (Kulm) without the city of Thorn (Torun), as well as some areas in Greater Poland. Prussian acquisitions amounted to 36 thousand square kilometers and 580 thousand inhabitants.

Austria acquired Zator and Auschwitz, part of Lesser Poland, including the southern part of the Krakow and Sandomierz voivodeships, as well as parts of the Bielski voivodeship and all of Galicia without the city of Krakow. In total, Austrian acquisitions amounted to 83,000 square kilometers and 2,600,000 people.

The Patriots challenge

Under pressure from the three powers, Stanislav II Poniatowski and the Sejm were forced to accept the new reality and approve it by law.

After the first partition, King Stanislaw II Poniatowski returned to the idea of ​​reforms, believing that only they would save the country from final collapse. Education, industry, agriculture, and the army underwent reforms.

The internal strife of the gentry, however, made the situation explosive. The so-called "patriotic" party, relying on the support of Prussia, advocated an immediate severance of relations with Russia and the refusal to fulfill agreements previously concluded with it.

In 1790, the "patriots", who gained the upper hand in the Sejm, achieved the conclusion of an agreement with Prussia, according to which the countries pledged to help each other in case of war. The secret part of the agreement stipulated that the Commonwealth would transfer the cities of Gdansk and Torun to Prussia for support.

On May 3, 1791, the “patriots” party achieved the adoption of a constitution, according to which Poland again received the right to carry out internal reforms without the sanction of Russia. At the same time, the main provisions adopted in 1767 by the so-called "Repnin's Diet" were canceled. In addition, the size of the army of the Commonwealth increased from 30 to 100 thousand people.

Russia considered what was happening a threat to its interests. The pro-Russian forces in Poland were united in the Targowice Confederation, which opposed the "patriots". An armed conflict broke out, known as the Russo-Polish War of 1792.

There are horns and legs left ...

The hostilities, which began in May, ended at the end of July with the complete victory of the Targovitsa Confederation, backed by Russia. King Stanislav Poniatowski also announced his accession to the confederates, after which the leaders of the "patriots" were forced to go abroad.

On January 23, 1793, Russia and Prussia signed a convention on the Second Partition of Poland. The Seim, convened in Grodno, which was controlled by supporters of the Targovitsa confederation, approved this convention.

Russia received Belarusian lands up to the line Dinaburg - Pinsk - Zbruch, the eastern part of Polissya, Ukrainian regions Podolia and Volhynia. The territories inhabited by ethnic Poles passed under the rule of Prussia: Danzig, Torun, Greater Poland, Kuyavia and Mazovia, with the exception of the Masovian Voivodeship.

The losses of the Commonwealth from the second partition amounted to over 300 thousand square kilometers and two million people. In general, according to the results of the two sections, the state was reduced by two-thirds, and this despite the fact that Austria did not take part in the second section.

The incredible effect of sanctions: the Russian Federation under the restrictions managed to collapse the price of meat in the world, leaving the United States out of work - experts

Common sense suggested that the course that Stanislav II Poniatowski tried to pursue, aimed at reforming the state and gradually strengthening it, was the only true one in the situation in which the Commonwealth found itself.

Kosciuszko uprising

But if Poland was strong in contention, then the gentry always had problems with common sense.

In 1794, a "patriotic" party led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko launched an uprising. The Russian Empire was designated as the main enemy, but at the same time the rebels hoped to return to the Commonwealth all the territories lost during the previous partitions, and this already hit the interests of Prussia and Austria.

As a result, the "patriots" opposed three states at once, relying on their own prowess and hoping for the help of revolutionary France.

But France at that time was not up to the Commonwealth, and therefore the Kosciuszko uprising ended in complete defeat.

But if the leader of the uprising himself, having been captured, was soon pardoned and released, then for his country the result was the disappearance from the world map.

Having decided that the “Polish question” was ripe for a final and irrevocable solution, on October 24, 1795, Russia, Prussia and Austria concluded an agreement on the liquidation of the Polish-Lithuanian state.

The king is fired, the country is liquidated

Under the terms of the Third Partition of Poland, Russia received Belarusian and Ukrainian lands east of the Bug and the Nemirov-Grodno line with a total area of ​​120,000 square kilometers and a population of 1.2 million people. Prussia acquired territories inhabited by ethnic Poles west of the Pilica, Vistula, Bug and Neman rivers, together with Warsaw, as well as lands in Western Lithuania, with a total area of ​​55 thousand square kilometers and a population of 1 million people. Krakow and part of Lesser Poland between Pilica, Vistula and Bug, part of Podlasie and Mazovia, with a total area of ​​47 thousand square kilometers and a population of 1.2 million people, came under Austrian rule.

On November 25, 1795, King Stanislav II Poniatowski signed documents on resignation in Grodno and went to live out his life in St. Petersburg.

In 1807, Napoleon attempted to recreate the Polish state in the form of the Duchy of Warsaw, created from the territories ceded to Prussia and Austria during the Second and Third Partitions. The duchy existed until the defeat of Napoleon, after which, based on the decisions of the Congress of Vienna, its territory was also divided - Greater Poland went to Prussia, Krakow received the status of a free city, and the rest of the Duchy of Warsaw was included in Russia under the name of the Kingdom of Poland.

Independent Poland disappeared from the world map for more than a century, until 1918.

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

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

The state, weakened due to internal turmoil, could no longer offer serious resistance to more powerful neighbors.
The idea of ​​partitioning Poland appeared in international politics as early as the beginning of the 18th century in Prussia and Austria. Thus, during the years of the Northern War (1700-1721), the Prussian kings three times offered Peter I the division of Poland, seeking concessions in their favor of the Baltic coast, but each time they were refused.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Additional

Occurred at the end of the 18th century. However, the state was not independent already in the middle of the century. Let us consider further how the sections of the Commonwealth were held. The table of results will be presented at the end of the article.

Prerequisites

What circumstances contributed to the fact that the partitions of the Commonwealth began? Let's take a quick look at how events unfolded. Direct influence on the choice of Polish kings in the middle of the 18th century. rendered Russian Emperors. In particular, this is confirmed by the election of the last ruler - Stanislav Augustus. He was a favorite of Catherine the Great. During the reign of Vladislav 4, liberum veto began to be applied. This parliamentary procedure was based on the ideas of the Sejm about the equality of the gentry. In this legislature, unanimous consent was necessary for any decision to be made. If any deputy had the opinion that the act was contrary to the instructions that he received during the election from the entire gentry, then this fact was enough to cancel the decision. Thus, the whole process of adopting resolutions was hampered. Liberum veto allowed the use of direct pressure, influence and bribery of deputies by foreign diplomats. The latter, in turn, actively used the opportunity.

"Cardinal Rights"

Before the partitions of the Commonwealth began, the state remained neutral during the Seven Years' War. At the same time, it favored the union of the three countries. Sympathizing with them, the Commonwealth allowed the Russian army to pass to the border with Prussia through its territories. To this, Frederick II took retaliatory measures. In particular, in order to undermine the economy of the "neutral" state, he ordered the release of a large amount of counterfeit money in Poland. Catherine 2 in 1767 through pro-Russian nobles, as well as domestic ambassador Nikolai Repnin initiated the adoption of "Cardinal Rights". They liquidated the results of the progressive reforms of 1764. As a result, a meeting of the Sejm was organized, which, in fact, worked under the control and on the conditions dictated by Repnin. In addition, the prince ordered the arrest and exile to Kaluga of a number of activists who protested against his policies. Among them, in particular, were Vaclav Rzhevusky and Yu. A. Zalusky. "Cardinal rights" fixed all the practices that were abolished during the reforms. This also applied to the liberum veto. The participation of Russia in the divisions of the Commonwealth was predetermined by all these events. The latter was forced to accept the support of the Empire. Thus, she would be protected from the increasing pressure of Prussia, who, in turn, wanted to annex her northwestern territories. The Commonwealth would be able to maintain access to the Baltic Sea in Courland and the northwestern regions of Lithuania.

"Dissident Question"

In 1768, under pressure from Repnin, the rights of non-Catholics and Catholics were equalized. Of course, this caused a storm of indignation among the latter. In addition, the very fact of interference in the internal politics of the Commonwealth caused an extremely negative reaction. This provoked the war. In it, the Bar Confederation opposed the Russian army, forces loyal to the king, and the Orthodox population of Ukraine. Russia at that time participated in the war with Turkey. The Confederates, taking advantage of this, asked for help from her and France. However, Turkey was defeated. France's help was not as significant as expected. As a result, Krechetnikov's Russian troops and the royal army under Branitsky defeated the Confederate forces. Partitions of the Commonwealth became possible and due to the position of Austria - its longtime ally.

Confederate War

In 1768 the Turks declared war on Russia. The Bar Confederation has been waiting for this moment for a long time. The imperial forces were limited in their capabilities and could not be sent to the Commonwealth. The Confederates hoped for help from Austria, France and Turkey. Stanisław August first sent large troops against the rebels. But he soon ceased hostilities against the Confederates. The policy of Stanislav August regarding Russia changed in accordance with the news from the battlefield. France provided financial aid and sent officers to the Confederates. Austria, in turn, provided asylum to their leaders. Thus, states hostile to Russia in various ways encouraged the Confederates to commit active actions. The war itself took place in the form of small clashes between the tsarist troops and the fragile, rather quickly formed and disintegrated Confederate detachments at the same speed. Despite the fact that the former were relatively few in number, the latter did not manage to achieve any significant success. According to sources, discipline was completely absent in the troops of the gentry. Detachments were outrageous no less than the tsarist troops, who ruled in Poland. The Confederates acted as if they were fighting a war in a foreign country. Detachments devastated territories, robbed and terrorized the population. This alienated residents from the Confederates. The leaders of the detachments wandering across the country from Velsk to Pryashov, then to Cieszyn, hoped that the Russian troops would be defeated by the Turks, and then Austria would go to war with Russia. However, this calculation turned out to be in vain. The victories of the Russian troops in 1770 near Chesma, Cahul and Larga showed that there was no hope for Turkey's success. From that moment, the divisions of the Commonwealth began.

First discussions

From the foregoing, it becomes clear that the reasons for the division of the Commonwealth consisted in the growing tension between the countries bordering it. Using the connectedness of the Russian authorities, Frederick 2 advertised in various ways the rapprochement between Austria and Prussia. It was he who first raised the issue of dividing the territory of the Commonwealth. The tsarist government did not want to abandon plans for the political subjugation of the latter. In this regard, the Friedrich 2 project was rejected. Prussia, however, continued to insist on the proposal, putting strong pressure on the tsarist government together with Austria. In particular, various kinds of obstacles were created to the peaceful settlement of the Russian-Turkish conflict. In addition, there was a danger of Austria joining the Turks. Thus, Prussia, acting as an ally of Russia, turned out to be very unreliable. During hostilities with the Turks, various contradictions that existed between tsarism and the "Russian" party formed in the Polish government were revealed. All this ultimately determined Russia's participation in the divisions of the Commonwealth.

Practical negotiations

During the discussion, Austria and Prussia, even before signing any agreements, took an active part in the divisions of the Commonwealth. In particular, in 1770 Prussian troops entered Poland and Pomerania. It was officially announced that in this way the penetration of the epidemic from the country was prevented. In 1769, Austria, which supported the Confederates, occupied Spizh, the Transcarpathian Polish possessions. Then she established a "cordon sanitaire" along the northern slope of the Carpathians. Thus, Austria occupied almost the entire Sandets district. In 1770, the Austrians called this area "returned land".

Agreement

In Vienna, in 1772, on February 19, a convention was signed, which marked the first division of the Commonwealth. Shortly before that, on February 6, an agreement was signed in St. Petersburg. Its parties were Russia and Prussia. Already at the beginning of August of the same year, Austrian, Prussian and Russian troops entered Poland at the same time. There they occupied those areas that were determined by them by agreement. The Partition Manifesto was published on August 5, 1772. However, the Confederate forces, whose executive body was forced to leave Austria after it acceded to the agreement, did not lay down their arms. All the fortresses where the military units were located held out for a long time. For example, the defense of Tynec, which continued until 1773, the defense of Częstochowa under the command of Kazimierz Pulaski, is known. On April 28, 1773, Russian troops led by Suvorov invaded Krakow. England and France, on whom the Confederates hoped, maintained a neutral position. They expressed their opinion after the partition had taken place.

The document was ratified in 1722, on September 22. According to the Convention, part of the Baltic states (Zadvinsk Duchy and Livonia) departed from Russia, which were previously in the power of the Commonwealth. Also, the tsarist government received part of the regions of modern Belarus to the Dnieper Druti and Dvina, including the regions of Mstislavl, Polotsk and Vitebsk. In general, Russia received about 92 thousand square meters. kilometers, where 1,300,000 people lived. Ermland and Royal (later Western) Prussia went to Prussia up to the river. Notec, districts of the Duchy of Pomerania with the exception of Gdansk, the voivodeship and the district of Pomerania, Marienburg (Malborskoye) and Kulm Helminsky) without Torun. She also received some territories in Greater Poland. In general, Prussia got about 36 thousand square meters. kilometers with a population of 580,000 people. Austria received Auschwitz and Zator, some territories of Lesser Poland, which included the southern parts of the Sandomierz and Krakow voivodeships, areas of the Bielsk voivodeship and Galicia without Krakow. Profitable mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia went to her. Austria, in general, received about 83,000 sq. m. km with 2,600,000 people.

Innovations

Frederick 2 was inspired by how the division of the Commonwealth went. The century ended for him with successful acquisitions. He invited a large number of Catholic teachers in schools, among whom were the Jesuits. Along with this, Frederick 2 ordered that all Prussian crown princes learn Polish language. It should be noted that Catherine and the Austrian Chancellor Kaunitz were also pleased with their territorial acquisitions. After the parties to the agreement occupied the areas that were due to them under the agreement, they demanded that the king ratify these actions. Under pressure from Russia, Austria and Prussia, Poniatowski needed to convene a Sejm in order to approve the act of partition and the "cardinal rights", which included the iberum veto and the selectivity of the throne. Among the innovations was the establishment of a "permanent council" chaired by the king. It consisted of 18 gentry (elected by the Sejm) and the same number of senators. The entire council was divided into five departments and was the executive body of the country. He received the right to lease the royal lands. Three candidates were provided for appointment by the council, of which one was to be chosen by the king. Continuing its activities until 1775, the Sejm conducted financial and administrative reforms, formed the Commission on national education, reduced and reorganized the army, reducing the number of soldiers to 30 thousand people, and also approved the salaries of officials and indirect taxes. Having occupied the northwestern regions of the Commonwealth, Prussia gained control over 80% of the country's foreign trade turnover. By imposing exorbitant customs duties, she hastened the fall of Poland.

Conflicts

After the signing of the first agreement, major reforms were carried out in Poland. Especially the transformations affected the sphere of education. Functioning in 1773-1794. the educational commission, using funds confiscated from the Jesuits, carried out reforms in the universities, which were subordinate to secondary schools. Thanks to the activities of the Permanent Council, the management of the military, agricultural, industrial and financial sectors has significantly improved. This, in turn, had a very beneficial effect on the development of the Polish economy. Along with this, a "patriotic party" was formed. It consisted of Adam Chertoryzhsky, Stanislav and Ignacy Pototsky, Malakhovsky and other figures. Their association was due to the desire to break off relations with Russia. Opposed "patriots" "hetman" and "royal" party. On the contrary, they were inclined towards an alliance with Russia. At the same time, the tsarist government entered the war with the Ottoman Empire. Taking advantage of the moment, Prussia initiated a diet to break off relations with Russia. It should be said that by 1790 Poland was in an extremely deplorable state. In this regard, she was forced to enter into a disastrous alliance with her enemy - Prussia.

Polish-Prussian treaty

The terms of this agreement were such that two more partitions of the Commonwealth that followed subsequently became inevitable. In the Constitution of 1791, the powers of the bourgeoisie were significantly expanded, the principle of separation of power was changed, and the main provisions adopted under Repnin were abolished. As a result, Poland again acquired the right to carry out internal reform without asking Russia's consent. The "four-year-old Sejm", which assumed executive power, increased the size of the army to one hundred thousand, disbanded permanent council, changed the "cardinal rights". So, a number of resolutions were adopted. For example, according to one of them, the landless gentry were excluded from the process of discussion and decision-making. The resolution "on the petty bourgeoisie" equalized the rights of the big bourgeoisie and the gentry.

The second section of the Commonwealth

The approval of the new Constitution led to the active intervention of the tsarist government. Russia feared that the Commonwealth would be restored within the borders of 1772. The "Hetman" party formed the Targowice Confederation. Enlisting the support of Austria, she opposed the Polish "patriots" who supported the Constitution. The Russian army under the command of Kakhovsky also took part in the hostilities. The Lithuanian troops of the Seimas were defeated. Polish army under the leadership of Zayonchka, Kostyushka and Poniatowski, after the defeat at Dubenka, Zelentsy and Polon, she retreated to the Bug. After the betrayal of the Allies, the supporters of the Constitution were forced to leave Poland. In July 1792 the king joined the Targowica confederation. Some time later, a new division of the Commonwealth took place. The year 1793 was marked by the signing of the Convention. It was approved at the Grodno Seim, convened by the residents of Targovichi. The second division of the Commonwealth took place in such a way that Prussia received areas in which ethnic Poles lived. In particular, these were Gdansk (Danzig), Greater Poland, Thorn, Mazovia, in addition to the Mazovian Voivodeship, as well as Kuyavia. Russia received about 250,000 sq. m. km with a population of almost 4 million people. The Belarusian lands to Dinaburg, Pinsk and Zbruch, the eastern part of Polissya, the regions of Volyn and Podolia were assigned to the tsarist government.

The third section of the Commonwealth

In 1794, the Kosciuszko uprising was suppressed. It was directed against the division of the country. This defeat was the reason for the final liquidation of the state and the revision of the borders that determined the previous sections of the Commonwealth. 1795 was the last turning point in the fate of Poland. The Austrian, Russian and Prussian governments defined new frontiers. Thus, the third section of the Commonwealth assumed that the tsarist government would receive the Belarusian (Lithuanian) and Ukrainian regions east of the Nemyriv-Grodno and Bug line, where about 1.2 million people lived. Their total area was 120 thousand square meters. kilometers. The areas that were inhabited by ethnic Poles went to Prussia. These were the territories to the west of the Neman, the Bug, the Vistula and Pilica with Warsaw, which were later called South Prussia. In addition, the country acquired areas in Western Lithuania, which totaled 55,000 square meters. km. The population of these areas was 1 million. Krakow and the regions of Lesser Poland between the Bug, Vistula and Pilica, as well as part of Mazovia and Podlasie, in which 1.2 million people lived, went to Austria. The area of ​​all territories was 47 thousand square meters. km. Thus, the third section of the Commonwealth ended.

Results

Stanislav August, who was taken to Grodno, resigned after. The countries that took part in the partitions signed the "Petersburg Convention" in 1797. It included decrees concerning issues of Polish debts and the king, an obligation that the monarchs signing the agreement would not use the name "Kingdom of Poland" in their titles. As a result of the divisions of the Commonwealth in Prussia, 3 provinces were formed: Western, Southern and New Eastern. As official language German was accepted. In addition, schools and zemstvo law were introduced. The spiritual estates and lands of the "royalty" were transferred to the treasury. The areas owned by Austria were named Lodomeria and Galicia. These lands are divided into 12 districts. Zemstvo law was also introduced in these areas and German schools. The three divisions of the Commonwealth allowed the Russian government to receive Ukrainian (except for the ethnic regions ceded to Austria), Belarusian (with the exception of the region with the city of Bialystok, which was acquired by Prussia) and Lithuanian lands. The areas inhabited by native Poles were divided between Austria and Prussia. The following is a brief presentation of the results that ended the sections of the Commonwealth.

Table

Finally

During the Napoleonic Wars, for some time the Polish state was restored in the form of the Duchy of Warsaw under the rule of the Saxon king. However, after the defeat of Bonaparte, the Austrian, Russian and Prussian governments again divided the Commonwealth. On the lands they conquered, they created autonomous regions. Thus, the Principality of Poznan was ceded to Prussia, the Kingdom of Poland to the Russian government, and the free city of Krakow was included in Austria. The dates of the division of the Commonwealth remained in history as one of the most tense moments in the life of the state.