Russification of Poles during the Partitions
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The Russification of Poland ( pl, rusyfikacja na ziemiach polskich; russian: Русификация Польши, italics=no, translit=Rusifikacija Poljši) was an intense process, especially under
Partitioned Poland Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...
, when the Russian state aimed to denationalise
Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
via incremental enforcement of language, culture, the arts, the
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
religion and Russian practices. The most forceful Russification was enforced onto children, due to their poor knowledge of Polish culture and language.


History

The self-will of Grand Duke Konstantin and the infraction of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland, together with the rise of secret societies, led to the
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
(1830-1831). The intensification of
Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...
occurred after the aforesaid uprising failed, leading to the abolishment of the Constitution of 1815 (granting the Kingdom of Poland national autonomy). In 1832, with the implementation of the Organic Statute of the Kingdom of Poland, the Sejm was liquidated along with the Kingdom's armed forces, Russian institutions and law was implemented and any aide to the November Uprising had their landed property seized. Martial law was implemented in 1833. All decisions were given by Russian military chiefs, and
Namiestnik A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
Ivan Paskevich. The retained Council of State (until 1914) had a Russian majority. Gradually, most aspects of society were subject to central authority in St. Petersburg. The Vilnius University,
Krzemieniec Lyceum Krzemieniec Lyceum ( pl, Liceum Krzemienieckie; russian: Кременецкий лицей; uk, Крем'янецький ліцей); sometimes referred to as "the Volhynian Athens" and " Czacki's School") was a renowned Polish secondary school ...
and other Polish gymnasiums were liquidated. The Russian monetary system was implemented in 1841, followed by the Russian code of law in 1847. The next move forward was to subordinate the Kingdom of Poland to the Russian
Namiestnik A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
, Ivan Paskevich. In 1837, Polish voivodeships, forming the administrative division of the Kingdom, were renamed to governates, reflecting the
Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...
model. The next exacerbation of
Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...
came after the failed
January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
(1863-1864): the implementation of an interminable, the Russification of administrative and educational institutions, the liquidation of the
Uniate Church The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...
in January 1874, Russian soldiers killed at least ten Uniates in
Drelów Drelów is a village in Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Drelów. It lies approximately south-west of Biała Podlaska and north of the regional cap ...
and thirteen in Pratulin. Poles underwent expulsions and were expropriated. Initially, Polish town names were Russified. In 1869, the Warsaw Main School was closed down, and in its location, the Russian language Imperial University was opened. The years 1869-1885 saw the systematic removal of the Polish language from the education system, the end result, in 1885, was its placement as a second, uncompulsory school language. Only religion was taught in Polish.
Dmitry Ilovaysky Dmitry Ivanovich Ilovaysky (; February 11/23, 1832, Ranenburg - February 15, 1920) was an anti-Normanist conservative Russian historian who penned a number of standard history textbooks. Ilovaysky graduated from the Moscow University in 1854 and ...
's history text books were enforced in school history classes, falsifying history and as such continually implemented Russification. Additionally, the
Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...
was introduced into folk schools. Conclusively, speaking the Polish language was banned in institutions of education. There was also an attempt to introduce the Cyrillic alphabet into Polish. The
budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...
of the Kingdom of Poland was amalgamated into that of the Russian Empire. In 1874, the position of Namiestnik was replaced by Governate-General. The Governate-General would head the Warsaw Military District that encompassed all of Congress Poland. The symbolic figure behind the Russification was Governate-General of the Warsaw Military District, Alexander Apukthin, who inter alia introduced the education of skilled informers and the double-crossing of students, which became fundamental to the policing in schools. In 1869, Russian became the sole legal language for courts and the administration. In 1875, the then Polish court procedure was abolished in favour of its Russian counterpart. Until World War I, the Kingdom of Poland was beset by "extraordinary rights", by which the Governate-General had the authority to bring any civil individual to trial at a military court, or send them into the Russian Far East if they are deemed a "political suspect". In 1885, the
Bank of Poland The Bank of Poland (Bank Polski) is the name of two former banks in Poland, each of which acted as a central bank. The first institution was founded by Prince Francis Xavier Drucki-Lubecki in 1828 in the Kingdom of Congress Poland. The second was ...
was replaced by a cantor of the Russian State Bank. More radical
Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...
occurred in parts of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, that after the
Partitions Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...
were not incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland and instead directly into the Russian Empire. The Vilnius University and
Krzemieniec Lyceum Krzemieniec Lyceum ( pl, Liceum Krzemienieckie; russian: Кременецкий лицей; uk, Крем'янецький ліцей); sometimes referred to as "the Volhynian Athens" and " Czacki's School") was a renowned Polish secondary school ...
were closed down, as a retribution for the participation of the students in the
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
. Between 1832 and 1834, by royal prerogative of
Tsar Nicholas I , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...
, several thousand Polish families were expelled to Siberia from Wołyn and
Podole Podole may refer to: *Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europ ...
. When in 1839 the
Uniate Church The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...
was liquidated, its followers and priests were forced to convert to Eastern Orthodoxy. The Roman Catholic Church saw further restrictions, with its landed wealth seized, after proclaiming support for the
January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
. Property was similarly seized from the participants of the
January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
, with land proprietors having an additional tax levied onto their property. It was prohibited for Poles to buy land. Polish theatres, periodicals, schools and societies were liquidated. The aforesaid methods of Russification were also enforced on other non-Russian populations, with the type of severity dependent on the locality.


References

{{Russification 19th century in the Russian Empire Anti-Polish sentiment in Europe Second Polish Republic Russification Genocides in Europe