The Congress Kingdom of Poland was theoretically granted considerable political autonomy by the liberalconstitution. However, its rulers, theRussian emperors, generally disregarded any restrictions on their power. It was, therefore, little more than apuppet state in apersonal union with the Russian Empire.[8][9] The autonomy was severely curtailed following uprisings in1830–31 and1863, as the country became governed byviceroys, and later divided intogovernorates (provinces).[8][9] Thus, from the start, Polish autonomy remained little more than fiction.[10]
The capital was located inWarsaw, which towards the beginning of the 20th century became the Russian Empire's third-largest city afterSt. Petersburg andMoscow. The moderately multicultural population of Congress Poland was estimated at 9,402,253 inhabitants in 1897. It was mostly composed of Poles,Polish Jews, ethnicGermans,Ukrainians,Lithuanians, and a small Russian minority. The predominant religion wasRoman Catholicism and the official language used within the state wasPolish until the failed January Uprising (1863) whenRussian became co-official as a consequence.Yiddish and German were widely spoken by their native speakers.
Although the official name of the state was theKingdom of Poland (Polish:Królestwo Polskie;Russian:Царство Польское), in order to distinguish it from otherKingdoms of Poland, it is often referred to as "Congress Poland".[11]
The Congress Kingdom of Poland was created out of theDuchy of Warsaw, a French client state, at theCongress of Vienna in 1815 when thegreat powers reorganized Europe following theNapoleonic wars. The kingdom was created from parts of the Polish territory that had beenpartitioned betweenAustria andPrussia which had been transformed into theDuchy of Warsaw byNapoleon Bonaparte in 1807. After Napoleon's defeat, the fate of the Duchy of Warsaw was dependent on Russia. Prussia insisted on the duchy being eliminated. TsarAlexander I intended to annex the duchy and parts of Lithuanian lands which were historically in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Both Austria and theUnited Kingdom, however, disapproved strongly of the idea, Austria issuing a memorandum on returning to the 1795 resolutions with support from the United Kingdom underGeorge IV, Prime MinisterRobert Jenkinson and the British delegate to the Congress,Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh.
Following the Congress, Russia gained a larger share of Poland (with Warsaw) and, after crushing aninsurrection in 1831, the Congress Kingdom's autonomy was abolished. Poles faced confiscation of property, deportation, forced military service, and the closure of their own universities.[12][13] The Congress was important enough in the creation of the state to cause the new country to be informally named for it.[14][15] The kingdom lost its status as asovereign state in 1831 and the administrative divisions were reorganized. It was sufficiently distinct that its name remained in official Russian use, although in the later years of Russian rule it was replaced[16] with the "Vistula Land" (Russian: Привислинский Край). Following the defeat of theNovember Uprising its separate institutions and administrative arrangements were abolished as part of increasedRussification to be more closely integrated with the Russian Empire. However, even after this formalized annexation, the territory retained some degree of distinctiveness and continued to be referred to informally as Congress Poland until the Russian rule there ended as a result of the advance by the armies of theCentral Powers in 1915 duringWorld War I.
The kingdom was 128,500 km2 in area and originally had a population of approximately 3.3 million. The new state would be one of the smallest Polish states ever, smaller than the preceding Duchy of Warsaw and much smaller than thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth which had a population of over 10 million and an area of 1 million km2.[15] Its population reached 6.1 million by 1870 and 10 million by 1900. The majority of ethnicPoles within the Russian Empire lived in the Congress Kingdom, although some areas outside its borders were also inhabited by strong Polish and Roman Catholic minorities.
The Kingdom of Poland largely re-emerged as a result of the efforts ofAdam Jerzy Czartoryski,[17] a Pole who aimed to resurrect the Polish state in alliance withRussia. The Kingdom of Poland was one of the few contemporaryconstitutional monarchies in Europe, with the emperor of Russia serving as the self-proclaimedking of Poland.
Theoretically, the Polish Kingdom in its 1815 form was a semi-autonomous state inpersonal union with Russia through the rule of the Russian emperor. The state possessed theConstitution of the Kingdom of Poland, one of the most liberal in 19th-century Europe,[17] aSejm (parliament) responsible to the king capable of voting laws,an independent army,currency,budget,penal code and acustoms boundary separating it from the rest of Russian lands. Poland also had democratic traditions (Golden Liberty) and thePolish nobility deeply valued personal freedom.[citation needed] In reality, the kings had absolute power and the formal title ofAutocrat, and wanted no restrictions on their rule. All opposition to the emperor of Russia was suppressed and the law was disregarded at will by Russian officials.[18] Though the absolute rule demanded by Russia was difficult to establish due to Poland's liberal traditions and institutions, the independence of the kingdom lasted only 15 years; initiallyAlexander I used the title King of Poland and was obligated to observe the provisions of the constitution. However, in time the situation changed and he granted the viceroy,Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, almost dictatorial powers.[14] Very soon afterCongress of Vienna resolutions were signed, Russia ceased to respect them. In 1819, Alexander I abolished freedom of the press and introduced preventivecensorship. Resistance to Russian control began in the 1820s.[10] Russian secret police commanded byNikolay Nikolayevich Novosiltsev started the persecution of Polish secret organizations and in 1821 the King ordered the abolition ofFreemasonry, which represented Poland's patriotic traditions.[10] Beginning in 1825, the sessions of the Sejm were held in secret.
Alexander I's successor,Nicholas I was crowned King of Poland on 24 May 1829 in Warsaw, but he declined to swear to abide by the Constitution and continued to limit the independence of the Polish kingdom. Nicholas' rule promoted the idea of Official Nationality, consisting of Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality. In relation to Poles, those ideas meant assimilation: turning them into loyal subjects through gradual religious and cultural conversion.[10] The principle of Orthodoxy was the result of the special role it played in the Russian Empire, as the Church was in fact becoming a department of state,[10] and other religions discriminated against; for instance, papal bulls could not be read in the largely Catholic kingdom of Poland without agreement from the Russian government.
The rule of Nicholas also meant the end of political traditions in Poland; democratic institutions were removed, an appointed—rather than elected—centralized administration was put in place, and efforts were made to change the relations between the state and the individual. All of this led to discontent and resistance among the Polish population.[10] In January 1831, the Sejm deposed Nicholas I asKing of Poland in response to his repeated curtailing of its constitutional rights. Nicholas reacted by sending Russian troops into Poland, resulting in theNovember Uprising.[19]
Following an 11-month military campaign, the Kingdom of Poland lost its semi-independent status and was integrated much more closely with the Russian Empire. This was formalized through the issuing of theOrganic Statute of the Kingdom of Poland by the Emperor in 1832, which abolished the constitution, army and legislative assembly. Over the next 30 years, a series of measures bound Congress Poland ever more closely to Russia. In 1863 theJanuary Uprising broke out but lasted only two years before being crushed. As a direct result, any remaining separate status of the kingdom was removed and the political entity was directly incorporated into the Russian Empire. The unofficial namePrivislinsky Krai (Russian:Привислинский Край), i.e., 'Vistula Land', replaced 'Kingdom of Poland' as the area's official name and the area became anamestnichestvo under the control of anamiestnik until 1875, when it became aGuberniya.[dubious –discuss]
In theory, Congress Poland possessed one of the most liberal governments of the time inEurope,[17] but in practice, the area was apuppet state of the Russian Empire. The liberal provisions of the constitution, and the scope of the autonomy, were often disregarded by the Russian officials.[15][17][18]
Polish remained an official language until the mid-1860s when it was replaced by Russian.[1] This resulted in bilingual street signs and documents, however, the full implementation ofCyrillic script into the Polish language failed.
The office of "namiestnik" was introduced in Poland by the1815 constitution of Congress Poland. The viceroy was chosen by the king from among the noble citizens of the Russian Empire or the Kingdom of Poland. The viceroy supervised the entirepublic administration and, in the monarch's absence, chaired theCouncil of State, as well as theAdministrative Council. He couldveto the councils' decisions; other than that, his decisions had to becountersigned by the appropriategovernment minister. The viceroy exercised broad powers and could nominate candidates for most senior government posts (ministers,senators, judges of the High Tribunal, councilors of state,referendaries,bishops, andarchbishops). He had no competence in the realms of finances and foreign policy; his military competence varied.
The office of "namiestnik" or viceroy was never abolished; however, the last "namiestnik" wasFriedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg, who served from 1863 to his death in 1874. No "namiestnik" was named to replace him;[20] however, the role of "namestnik"—viceroy of the former kingdom passed to thegovernor-general ofWarsaw[21]—or, to be more specific, of theWarsaw Military District (Polish:Warszawski Okręg Wojskowy,Russian:Варшавский Военный Округ).
The governor-general answered directly to the emperor and exercised much broader powers than had the "namiestnik". In particular, he controlled all the military forces in the region and oversaw the judicial systems (he could imposedeath sentences without trial). He could also issue "declarations with the force of law," which could alter existing laws.
TheAdministrative Council (Polish:Rada Administracyjna) was a part of theCouncil of State of the kingdom. Introduced by theConstitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, it was composed of five ministers, special nominees of the king and the viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland. The council executed the king's will and ruled in the cases outside the minister's competence and prepared projects for the Council of State.
Administrative divisions of Congress Poland in 1907
The administrative divisions of the kingdom changed several times over its history, and various smaller reforms were also carried out which either changed the smaller administrative units or merged/split various subdivisions.
Immediately after its creation in 1815, the Kingdom of Poland was divided intodepartments,a relic from the times of the French-dominatedDuchy of Warsaw.
On 16 January 1816 the administrative division was reformed, with the departments being replaced with more traditionally Polishvoivodeships (of which there were eight),obwóds andpowiats. On 7 March 1837, in the aftermath of theNovember Uprising earlier that decade, the administrative division was reformed again, bringing Congress Poland closer to the structure of theRussian Empire, with the introduction ofguberniyas (governorate, Polish spellinggubernia). In 1842 thepowiats were renamedokręgs, and theobwóds were renamed powiats. In 1844 several governorates were merged with others, and some others were renamed; five governorates remained.
In 1867, following the failure of theJanuary Uprising, further reforms were instituted which were designed to bring the administrative structure of Poland closer to that of the Russian Empire. It divided larger governorates into smaller ones, introduced thegmina (a new lower-level entity), and restructured the existing five governorates into 10. The 1912 reform created a new governorate –Kholm Governorate – from parts of theSedlets andLublin Governorates. It was made part of theSouthwestern Krai of theRussian Empire.[22]
An advertisement ofcameras made by a Polish companyFOS (1905). Cameras,objectives andstereoscopes were exclusively made in Congress Poland.An early photograph ofManufaktura inŁódź. The city was considered to be one of the largest textile industry centres in Europe and was nicknamedPolishManchester.
Despite the fact that the economic situation varied at times, Congress Poland was one of the largest economies in the world.[23] In the mid 1800s the region became heavilyindustrialized,[24] however, agriculture still maintained a major role in the economy.[25] In addition, the export ofwheat,rye and other crops was significant in stabilizing the financial output.[25] An important trade partner of Congress Poland wasGreat Britain, which imported goods in large amounts.
Since agriculture was equivalent to 70% of the national income, the most important economic transformations included the establishment of mines and the textile industry; the development of these sectors brought more profit and higher tax revenues. The beginnings were difficult due to floods and an intense diplomatic relationship withPrussia. It was not until 1822 when PrinceFrancis Xavier Drucki-Lubecki negotiated to open the Polish market to the world.[26] He also tried to introduce appropriate protective duties. A large and profitable investment was the construction of theAugustów Canal connectingNarew andNeman Rivers, which allowed to bypassDanzig (Gdańsk) and high Prussiantariffs.[27] Drucki-Lubecki also founded theBank Polski, for which he is mostly remembered.[26]
The first Polishsteam mill was built in 1828 inWarsaw-Solec; the first textile machine was installed in 1829.[24] Greater use of machines led to production in the form of workshops. The government was also encouraging foreign specialists, mostlyGermans, to upkeep larger establishments, or to undertake production.[24] By 1887, 550 of the 29,000 Prussian landowners in Poland were manufacturers.[28] The Germans were also relieved of the tax burden.[29] This allowed to create one of the largest European textile centres inŁódź and in surrounding towns likeOzorków andZduńska Wola.[30] These small and initially insignificant settlements later developed into large and multicultural cities, where Germans andJews were the majority in the population. With the abolition of border customs in 1851 and further economic growth, Polish cities were gaining wealth and importance.[citation needed] Most notably,Warsaw, being associated with the construction of railway lines and bridges, gained priority in the entire Russian market.
Although the economic and industrial progress occurred rapidly, most of the farms, calledfolwarks, chose to rely onserfs and paid workforce. Only a few experimented by obtaining proper machinery and plowing equipment fromEngland.[24] New crops were being cultivated likesugar beet, which marked the beginning of Polish sugar refineries. The use of iron cutters and plows was also favoured among the farmers. During theJanuary Uprising the occupying authorities sought to deprive peasant insurgents of their popularity amonglanded gentry.[24] Taxes were raised and the overall economic situation of commoners worsened. The noblemen and landowners were, on the other hand, provided with more privileges, rights and even financial support in the form ofbribery. The aim of this was to weaken their support for the rebellion against the Russian Empire.
Congress Poland was the largest supplier ofzinc in Europe.[citation needed] The development of the zinc industry took place at the beginning of the 19th century. It was mostly caused by the significant increase of demand for zinc mainly in industrialized countries ofWestern Europe.[31]
In 1899, Aleksander Ginsberg founded the companyFOS (Fabryka Przyrządów Optycznych-"Factory of Optical Equipment") in Warsaw. It was one of firms in the Russian Empire which crafted and producedcameras,telescopes,objectives andstereoscopes. Following the outbreak ofWorld War I the factory was moved toSt. Petersburg.
In the late 1890s and early 1900s, Russia experienced a coal crisis marked by coal shortages and high prices. This was attributed to the dramatic increase of industrial output and a still nascent coal mining industry.[32] In 1900, because of coal shortages in the Warsaw industrial region, the Minister of Finance approved theduty-free import of 125,000,000poods of coal.[33]
^Sources agree that after the fall of theJanuary Uprising in 1864, the autonomy of Congress Poland was drastically reduced. They disagree however on whether the Kingdom of Poland, colloquially known as Congress Poland, as a state, was officially replaced byVistula Land (Privislinsky Krai), a province of the Russian Empire, as many sources still use the term Congress Poland for the post-1864 period. The sources are also unclear as to when Congress Poland (or Vistula land) officially ended; some argue that it ended when the German and Austro-Hungarian occupying authorities assumed control of the area duringWorld War I; others, that it ended with the creation of theKingdom of Poland in 1917; finally, some argue that it ended only with the creation of the independentRepublic of Poland in 1918. Examples:[4][5][6][7]
^* Ludność Polski w XX Wieku = The Population of Poland in the 20th Century / Andrzej Gawryszewski. Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Geografii i Przestrzennego Zagospodorowania im. Stanisława Leszczyckiego, 2005 (Monografie; 5), p 539,[1]**(in Polish)Mimo wprowadzenia oficjalnej nazwy Kraj Przywiślański terminy Królestwo Polskie, Królestwo Kongresowe lub w skrócie Kongresówka były nadal używane, zarówno w języku potocznym jak i w niektórych publikacjach.
Despite the official name Kraj Przywiślański terms such as, Kingdom of Poland, Congress Poland, or in short Kongresówka were still in use, both in everyday language and in some publications.
(in Polish)po upadku powstania zlikwidowano ostatnie elementy autonomii Królestwa Pol. (łącznie z nazwą), przekształcając je w "Kraj Przywiślański";
after the fall of the uprising last elements of autonomy of the Kingdom of Poland (including the name) were abolished, transforming it into the "Vistula land;"
(in Polish)Królestwo Polskie po powstaniu styczniowym: Nazwę Królestwa Polskiego zastąpiła, w urzędowej terminologii, nazwa Kraj Przywiślański. Jednakże w artykule jest także:Po rewolucji 1905-1907 w Królestwie Polskim... iW latach 1914-1916 Królestwo Polskie stało się....
Kingdom of Poland after the January Uprising: the name Kingdom of Poland was replaced, in official documents, by the name of Vistula land. However the same article also states:After the revolution 1905-1907 in the Kingdom of Poland andIn the years 1914-1916 the Kingdom of Poland became....
(in Polish)1915–18 pod okupacją niem. i austro-węgierską; K.P. przestało istnieć po powstaniu II RP (XI 1918).
[Congress Poland was] under German and Austro-Hungarian occupation from 1915 to 1918; it was finally abolished after the creation of the Second Polish Republic in November 1918
^abcdefAgnieszka Barbara Nance,Nation without a State: Imagining Poland in the Nineteenth Century, dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,The University of Texas at Austin, pp. 169-88
^W. Caban, ‘The Nineteenth-Century Ideas of Polish Roads to Independence’, Yearbook of the Institute of East-Central Europe, 2018, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 105-127.
^Henderson, WO (1964).Castlereagh et l'Europe, w: Le Congrès de Vienne et l'Europe. Paris: Bruxelles. p. 60.
Davies, Norman.God's Playground: A History of Poland. Vol. 2:1795 to the Present (Oxford University Press, 1982) pp. 306–33
Getka-Kenig, Mikolaj. "The Genesis of the Aristocracy in Congress Poland,"Acta Poloniae Historica (2009), Issue 100, pp. 79–112;ISSN0001-6829. Covers the transition from feudalism to capitalism; the adjustment of the aristocracy's power and privilege from a legal basis to one of only social significance; the political changes instigated by the jurisdictional partitions and reorganizations of the state.
Leslie, R. F. "Politics and economics in Congress Poland,"Past and Present (1955), 8#1, pp. 43–63JSTOR649777
Mykhed, Oksana (2014). "Not by Force Alone: Public Health and the Establishment of Russian Rule in the Russo-Polish Borderland, 1762–85".Borderlands in World History, 1700–1914. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 123–142.ISBN978-1-137-32058-2.
Zamoyski, Adam. Poland: a history. New York: Hippocrene Books, 2012
.svg)
.svg)
