Sections of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and their historical significance

One of the most powerful states of Europe in the middle of the second millennium - Poland - by the XVIII century turned into a country torn by internal contradictions, into an arena of disputes between neighboring states - Russia, Prussia, Austria. Sections of the Commonwealth became a natural development process of this country.

The main cause of the crisis in which the Polish state resided was the enmity of the biggest Polish tycoons, each of which, on the one hand, sought any ways to political leadership, and on the other, sought support in neighboring states, thereby opening up its country to foreign influence.

It is worth noting that, despite the fact that Poland was a monarchy, the royal power was rather weak. Firstly, the King of Poland was elected at the Sejm, whose work throughout the eighteenth century was intervened by Russia, France, and Prussia with Austria. Secondly, one of the main principles of the work of the same Diet was the "Liberal Veto", when the decision should be taken by absolutely everyone present. One vote "against" was enough for the discussion to flare up with renewed vigor.

For Russia, the Polish issue for a long time was one of the most important in its foreign policy. Its essence consisted not only in strengthening its influence in this European country, but also in protecting the rights of the Orthodox population that lived on the territories of modern Ukraine and the Baltic states.

It was the question of the position of the Orthodox population that became the reason that the first partition of Poland triggered. The government of Catherine II agreed with King Stanislaw Poniatowski about equalizing the rights of the Orthodox and Catholic population, but a part of the large gentry opposed this and raised the insurrection. Russia, Prussia and Austria were forced to bring troops into the territory of the Commonwealth, which eventually gave Prussian King Friedrich II the opportunity to talk about the partition of part of the Polish lands. Sections of the Commonwealth became an inevitable reality.

As a result of the first partition of Poland in 1772, the territories of eastern Byelorussia and parts of modern Latvia moved to Russia, Prussia received the Polish coast of the northern sea, and Austria - Galicia.

However, the sections of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth did not end there. Part of the Polish gentry knew very well that in order to save their state, political reforms were needed. It was with this goal in 1791 that the Constitution of Poland was adopted, according to which the royal power ceased to be elected, and the principle of the "Liberal Veto" was abolished. Such transformations were met with mistrust in Europe, where the Great French Revolution reached its apogee. Russia and Prussia again introduced troops to the Polish borders and initiated a new section of the once powerful state.

In accordance with the second section of the Commonwealth of 1793, Russia regained its right-bank Ukraine and Central Belarus, and Prussia received Gdansk, so desired by it, which it immediately renamed Danzig.

Such actions of European states led to the beginning in Poland of the national liberation movement headed by T. Kostyushko. However, this uprising was brutally suppressed by Russian troops, led by A. Suvorov himself. The third section of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of 1795 led to the fact that this state ceased to exist: its central part, along with Warsaw, moved to Prussia, Courland, Lithuania and Western Belorussia to Russia, and Southern Poland to Krakow to Austria.

The sections of the Commonwealth with reference to Russia completed the reunification of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples and gave impetus to their further cultural development.