The Polish Question Through the Eyes of Russian Liberal Constitutionalists on the Eve and During the January Uprising

Abstract

The article examines ideological positions of Russian liberal constitutionalists with regard to the Polish question in the 1860s. The author comes to the conclusion that mutual misunderstanding between Russian and Polish political writers stemmed from different perceptions of the Polish issue. While the Polish side supposed that it was necessary to restore “historic Poland” within the boundaries of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before its first partition in 1772, Russian liberals and radicals, to a certain extent, were ready to consider only the autonomy or independence of “ethnographic Poland” conceding the possibility of national referendum about the state affiliation of the disputed territories. The events in Russia and Poland determined changes in the views on acute problems of the Russian-Polish co-existence. The author exemplifies this statement by the evolution in political positions on the Polish question of a famous Russian émigré and constitutionalist P. V. Dolgorukov. When he edited the journal “Budushchnost” (“Future”) in 1860–1861, he advocated autonomy of “ethnographic Poland”, at the end of 1862 — the middle of 1863 he joined the supporters of independent “ethnographic Poland” and referendum on the state affiliation of contemporary Lithuania, Belorussia and Right-Bank Ukraine, and after the suppression of the Polish rebellion in 1863–1864, the émigré turned to his previous position. By this time, it had become evident that despite the disagreement between “the White” and “the Red” in the Polish national movement, politically active Poles were united in their understanding of one issue — “the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the sea to the sea”. However, this view was inadmissible for the Russian liberals and even revolutionaries, let alone conservatives. This maximalism delayed the return of Poland to the European political map not only as an independent state but also as a political autonomy modelled on Finland of the 19th century.