Poland Before The Uprising
After the Partitions of Poland, Poland ceased to exist as an independent political entity at the end of 1795. However, the Napoleonic Wars and Polish participation in the wars against Russia and Austria resulted in the creation of a rump Duchy of Warsaw in 1807. The Congress of Vienna brought the existence of that state to an end in 1815, and essentially solidified the long-term division of Poland among Russia, Prussia and the Habsburg Empire. The Austrian Empire annexed some of its territories in the South, Prussia took control over the semi-autonomous Grand Duchy of Poznań in the West, and Russia assumed hegemony over the semi-autonomous so-called Congress Kingdom.
Initially, the Russian-formed Congress Kingdom enjoyed a relatively large amount of internal autonomy and was only indirectly subject to imperial control, having its own constitution of the Kingdom of Poland. United with Russia through a personal union with the Tsar as King of Poland, the province could elect its own parliament (the Sejm) and government. The kingdom had its own courts, army and treasury. Over time, however, the freedoms granted to the Kingdom were gradually taken back and the constitution was progressively ignored by the Russian authorities. Alexander I of Russia never formally crowned himself as King of Poland. Instead, in 1815, he appointed Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich as de facto viceroy, disregarding the constitution.
Soon after the Congress of Vienna resolutions were signed, Russia ceased to respect them. In 1819 Alexander I abandoned liberty of the press in Congress Kingdom and introduced censorship. Russian secret police commanded by Nikolay Nikolayevich Novosiltsev started infiltration and persecution of Polish clandestine organizations, and in 1821 the Tsar ordered the abolition of freemasonry. As a result, after 1825 sessions of Polish Sejm were conducted in secret. Nicholas I of Russia formally crowned himself as King of Poland on 24 May 1829 in Warsaw.
Despite numerous protests by various Polish politicians who actively supported the "personal union", Grand Duke Constantine had no intention of respecting the Polish constitution, one of the most progressive in Europe at that time. He abolished Polish social and patriotic organizations, the liberal opposition of the Kaliszanie faction, and replaced Poles with Russians in important administrative positions. Although married to a Pole (Joanna Grudzińska), he was commonly considered as an enemy of the Polish nation. Also, his command over the Polish Army led to serious conflicts within the officer corps. These frictions led to various conspiracies throughout the country, most notably within the army.
Read more about this topic: November Uprising
Famous quotes containing the words poland and/or uprising:
“It is often said that Poland is a country where there is anti-semitism and no Jews, which is pathology in its purest state.”
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