Why the project to create the Russian-Polish empire failed
M.M. Antokolsky. "Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible". 1875 g.
During the time of Ivan the Terrible in Poland, a project arose to create a union of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Kingdom. The prospect looked tempting. The Polish-Russian alliance could occupy a dominant position in Europe already at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. Knock out the Swedes from the Baltic States, defeat the predatory Crimean horde, recapture the Northern Black Sea region with the Crimea, thereby taking strong positions in the Baltic and Black Seas. Then launch an offensive in the Balkans.
Polish project of the enslavement of Russia
Lithuania and Poland in the XIV century captured the vast Western Russian regions - Galicia-Volyn, Kiev, Chernigov-Seversk, White, Smolensk Rus and other lands.
Lithuanian Rus was a Russian state with a Russian state language, a Russian elite and a state-forming Russian population.
In 1385 the Union of Krev was adopted. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagiello became the Polish king, and promised to annex a number of Russian-Lithuanian regions to Poland, convert the top of the Grand Duchy to Catholicism first, and then the people.
The process of creating a unified state begins.
In 1567, the Union of Lublin was adopted, the confederal Rzeczpospolita was created. The vast territories of Rus were transferred to Poland: Podlasie, Volyn, Podolia and Kiev region.
The Polish Catholic elite did not begin to create a project of the Polish-Lithuanian-Russian state, in which all religious communities and peoples would flourish. On the contrary, in indigenous Poland they decided to use the West Russian lands as colonies. Destroy the Russian-Lithuanian statehood, convert to Catholicism and polonize the Lithuanian and Russian nobility, and then the people.
At the same time, the overwhelming majority of Russians turned into dumb, powerless slaves-slaves. Indians of Eastern Europe. Poland planned to expand its "colonies" in the East. Take Pskov, Novgorod, Smolensk, Tver, and possibly Moscow.
Thus, the Vatican and Poland created a project for the enslavement of Eastern Russia (Western Russian lands were already occupied).
He was a copy of Western European civilization based on slavery and social parasitism. The Polish gentlemen-pans were supposed to convert Russians to Catholicism (for a start, union was also good), destroy and polonize the Russian nobility. The Russian people turned into the Indians of Eastern Europe and would provide wealth, luxurious existence and military power for Poland.
The prince is not a girl to give a dowry for him
The rise of Moscow, which claimed dominion over all Russian lands, caused a permanent conflict with the Polish-Lithuanian state.
The Russian state tried to solve the Polish problem, that is, to complete the unification of Russia and the Russian people. Therefore, in Moscow, the possibility of adopting a personal union with the aim of reuniting with Lithuanian Rus was studied.
Since the monarchs of Poland and Lithuania (Jagiellons) at that time were elective, the possibility of uniting all of Eastern Europe under the rule of the Moscow sovereign by his election to the throne of the Jagiellons opened up. So, already in 1506, after the death of Alexander Jagiellonchik, the Russian sovereign Vasily III proposed his candidacy for the Lithuanian table (but not the Polish one).
In the 1560s, a new perspective appeared for the Russian sovereign to occupy the table of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Its ruler Sigismund II was childless.
At first, the Russian plans extended only to the Lithuanian throne.
But in 1569 the situation changed. Now, instead of two different states with one ruler from the Jagiellonian dynasty, a federation was created - the Commonwealth. The Moscow tsar could also become the king of Poland.
At the same time, in the Commonwealth, many supported this idea. In this case, Protestants and Orthodox Christians could receive equal rights with Catholics. Lithuanians and Russians of Lithuania could have enlisted the support of Moscow to resist the pressure of the Poles. Small nobles wanted to curb the arbitrariness of large feudal lords, lords and magnates with the help of the Russian tsar. Rzeczpospolita with the help of the Russians could take dominant positions in Europe.
The creation of a triple federation (Slavic empire) opened up interesting military-political, economic and cultural prospects. This political alliance could achieve dominance in the Baltic (pushing back the Swedes), in the Northern Black Sea region (by defeating the Crimea and Porto), in the Danube.
After the death of Sigismund II in 1572, a struggle for power began in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The throne was claimed by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian and his son Ernest, the Swedish king Johan or his son Sigismund.
Also, even two pro-Russian parties were formed, one nominated Ivan the Terrible, the other - his son. Fedor was a profitable candidate for the Lithuanian tycoons. Due to his poor health and character, he did not at all fit for independent government. He did not have the mind and will of his father, he was gentle, kind and pious, he was not interested in state affairs (a monk, not a future sovereign). It suited the Panamas.
The Poles immediately began to put forward proposals unacceptable to Moscow. To avoid the "infection" with a tendency to despotism from his father and older brother, Fedor was offered to be transported to Poland. There he would have been properly educated by Polish nobles and Jesuits. Also, Moscow was supposed to transfer Polotsk, Pskov, Novgorod and Smolensk to the Polish-Lithuanian state so that Fedor could take the Polish table.
Fyodor, even during the life of Ivan Vasilyevich, was supposed to take the Moscow throne. And half of the kingdom was transferred to him by will. After the death of Ivan the Terrible, this half was part of the Commonwealth. And Fedor would have received the second half as flax of the Polish-Lithuanian state. After the suppression of the male line of Tsarevich Ivan (and this was easily provided by the "knights of the cloak and dagger" - the Jesuits, the first global special service), these lands would also become part of the Commonwealth.
Thus, the Poles suggested that Moscow itself begin the dismemberment and abolition of the Russian state. And the Russian lands would become the fiefdoms of the Polish lords, the basis of the enrichment of the Polish feudal lords. As a result, Russia was simply abolished, becoming a colony of the Polish state.
Ivan the Terrible, one of the wisest and most educated people of the era, understood this perfectly. The Polish plan was rejected. Grozny put forward his proposals. Answered that
The prince is not a girl to give a dowry for him.
There are many lands for the king in Poland and Lithuania. It should not be crowned by a Catholic bishop, but by a Russian metropolitan. If Fedor is elected, then the crown should not become elective, but only hereditary. And if the clan is interrupted, then the Polish-Lithuanian state joins Russia.
But the king considered this option weak, and soon abandoned it.
He knew that Fedor would be made a toy for tycoons. Therefore, he proposed to elect him, but on the terms of hereditary power. At the same time, it is best to accept the table of only Lithuania, and to concede to the emperor, corrupted by the "gentry democracy".
Also, Grozny was ready to cede the entire Rzeczpospolita to the emperor, but Russia received part of Livonia and Kiev. Then it was possible to conclude a military alliance between Russia and the Commonwealth against the Crimean Khanate and Turkey.
Ivan the Terrible did not get involved in Polish "democracy". The Polish "mess" spun the interests of Sweden, France, Rome, the Jesuit Order, the Holy Roman Empire and Turkey.
Promises, money and furs poured in generously. Wine flowed like a river. Henry of Valois was elected king. However, upon learning of the death of his brother Charles, the French king, Heinrich fled Poland.
As a result, Poland was led by the Transylvanian prince Stefan Batory. He led one of the "crusades" of the West against Russia.
In the course of the hardest war, Russia withstood.
Slavic Empire of Sigismund III
The next time the topic of union was raised after the death of Stephen Batory (December 1586).
The Swedish prince Sigismund Vasa (future King Sigismund III), raised by the Jesuits in the spirit of militant Catholicism, claimed the throne.
For Moscow, there was a threat of the emergence of the Polish-Swedish union.
In the Commonwealth itself, Sigismund had many opponents. The pro-Russian party was headed by the sub-chancellor (then chancellor) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Lev Sapega and the powerful Radziwill family. The Radziwills wanted to restore the independence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the help of Russia.
Boris Godunov, who was the actual ruler of Russia (Tsar Fyodor the Blessed was weak in health and mind), decided to nominate Fyodor.
However, this time they could not agree.
Fedor, having taken the Polish table, had to accept Catholicism and agree to the union of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. This was unacceptable.
In 1587 Sigismund was elected king.
He set as his main goals the fight against
"Enemies of the Faith of Christ"
- the Orthodox Russian Kingdom and Protestant Sweden.
In Rzeczpospolita itself, he planned to crush Orthodoxy and Protestantism. Sigismund Vasa planned to start a war with Russia, to continue the work of Stefan Batory.
Crown Chancellor Zamoyski's party also wished for war. Chancellor hatched a plan
"True connection"
Commonwealth and Russia. The idea of the development of the entire Slavic world (Pan-Slavism) under the auspices of the Polish-Lithuanian state. Poland was to become the core of the entire Slavic world, to rid the South Slavs from the Ottoman yoke, and the Eastern Slavs (Muscovites) from "barbarism."
The first step in the implementation of this global project was union with the Russian kingdom. The Russians had to be persuaded to an alliance either by peace or by military force.
After the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich (according to Zamoysky's plans), the Russian table was to be occupied by the Polish king. But at this time, relations between Poland and Turkey worsened, and Krakow had to postpone plans for a war with the Russians. Peaceful Polish-Russian negotiations resumed. In January 1591, a 12-year truce was signed.
The treaty noted that the two powers would negotiate
"About the big deal ... about the eternal union."
The question of the union of the two powers was raised again.
In the meantime, Poland was distracted by Swedish affairs. The Swedish king died (1592), the father of Sigismund. Sigismund came to Sweden and was crowned with the Swedish crown.
The Polish-Swedish union arose. But he could not rule two powers at once. He returned to Poland. And he appointed his uncle Karl, Duke of Södermanland, who was supported by the Protestant party, as regent of Sweden. Many Swedes were unhappy with Sigismund's policy, his attempt at the Counter-Reformation in Sweden.
The unsuccessful Russian-Swedish war of 1590-1595. also did not contribute to the popularity of Sigismund. In 1599, Sigismund was removed from the Swedish throne, and his uncle Charles was proclaimed king. Sigismund did not want to give up his rights to Sweden, which involved Poland in a long conflict with the Kingdom of Sweden. The main military theater between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden was Livonia (the Baltic States).
The Swedish-Polish confrontation played into the hands of Moscow.
The government of Boris Godunov planned to continue the war with the Swedes and return free access to the Baltic, lands in Livonia.
In this situation, Warsaw (the capital was moved from Krakow to Warsaw in 1596) decides to resume negotiations with Moscow on an alliance.
In 1600, Chancellor Lev Sapega was sent to Moscow. It was proposed to create a confederation with a single foreign policy: a joint struggle with the Turks and Tatars (in the south) and with the Swedes (in the north). Autonomy in domestic politics.
Warsaw proposed a consistent Polonization (Westernization) of Russia: the construction of churches in the Russian kingdom for Poles and Lithuanians (who will enter the Russian service), and Polish diplomats. Polish-Lithuanian feudal lords, who received lands in Russia, also received the right to build Catholic and Uniate religious structures in their estates. Catholic schools were allowed at churches, where Russians could also enter.
Russian noble youth could study in educational institutions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish gentry received equal rights with the Russian, it was given access to Russian lands. In the event of the death of the Russian tsar, the Polish king could be elevated to the Russian throne. And vice versa, if the Polish monarch died, the Russian tsar received the opportunity to be elected as the Polish king (that is, the Diet had to choose him).
It is clear that Boris Godunov rejected such impudent conditions.
"Presentation of the captive Tsar Vasily Shuisky to the Senate and Sigismund III in Warsaw", painting by Jan Matejko
Russian Troubles
When the Troubles began in Russia, caused by the struggle for power of Russian boyar families, Poland decided to use the favorable moment to establish Catholicism in Russia.
False Dmitry became an instrument of the Polish elite, the Jesuits and Rome. And he had to subordinate the Russian Church to the papal throne.
In exchange for Polish aid, the Russian impostor promised Poland half of the Smolensk land and part of the Seversk land. Conclude an eternal Russian-Polish alliance. Give permission for the construction of Polish churches and the entry of Jesuits into Russia. Help Sigismund in the war with the Swedes.
To make it easier to achieve its goals, Warsaw planned to support the turmoil in Russia. And shatter the country.
False Dmitry refused to be a Polish puppet.
He was a smart man and understood that such a policy would destroy him. He introduced freedom of conscience in the state. And he granted rights not only to Catholics, but also to Protestants of all persuasions. False Dmitry denied the Poles the right to start churches. Introduce the Roman clergy into the country, and especially the Jesuits.
He hid his conversion to Catholicism. He also refused to transfer the promised lands to Poland. False Dmitry was not a parsley and Russian boyar families. By this he signed his own death warrant.
Polish magnates supported False Dmitry II, who in the first period of his activity was under the complete control of the Poles.
In 1609, Sigismund III began an open war against Russia. In 1610, Polish ambassadors arrived at the Tushino camp, which controlled a large part of Russia. Tushintsy recognized the Polish prince Vladislav as their king. But while maintaining the inviolability of the state and class structure and Orthodoxy.
"Seven Boyarshina" - the Moscow boyar government that overthrew Tsar Vasily Shuisky, also swore allegiance to the Polish prince. Moscow put forward its own conditions: Vladislav had to accept Orthodoxy. And to rule in accordance with the Boyar Duma and the Zemsky Sobor. As a result, Moscow was sworn in to the Polish prince.
Here the Polish king overestimated his successes.
I decided it was a complete victory. His troops are in Moscow. And you can dictate your terms. A military dictatorship is being established in the Russian capital. And Sigismund decided to sit on the Russian throne himself.
Russia responded with a national liberation movement.
Moscow was liberated. In 1613, Mikhail Romanov was elected to the throne. But the Troubles continued, as did the war with Poland. The Poles did not recognize the legality of Mikhail's election.
Vladislav was considered the legitimate king. And Vladislav, as the Russian tsar, undertook to transfer Smolensk and the Seversk land of the Commonwealth. And to conclude an indissoluble alliance between Russia and Poland.
Vladislav's campaign to Moscow in 1617–1618. failed.
According to the Deulinsky truce concluded in December 1618, Vladislav did not recognize Mikhail as the legitimate king. The Poles claimed the Russian throne until the end of the Smolensk War of 1632-1634.
Why Moscow did not go to rapprochement with the Commonwealth
This proposal was from "another world" and in the interests of that world.
Russia and Poland represented different civilizations.
The Russian kingdom is an Orthodox, Russian civilization. "Third Rome", inheriting from Byzantium, and at the same time "Great Scythia" and "Horde", the direct heir to the tradition of the ancient northern civilization.
Poland is an instrument of the Western, Catholic world, which tried to suppress and enslave the Russian, Slavic world, to become the "king of the mountain" on the planet. Russia was viewed by the Western world as "India" - a rich land to be plundered and colonized. The Russian faith (the unity of the ancient Russian faith, paganism and Christianity) and culture were striving with all their might to "smooth out" and destroy.
The Polish proposals were aimed at the gradual assimilation, Catholicization, Polonization and Westernization of Russia. The emergence of Catholic churches in Moscow, the implantation of the idea of union with the papal throne, with the gradual subordination of the eastern branch of Christianity to Rome. The training of the boyar sons by the Jesuits. Mixed marriages, with the transition to Latinism. Further - a Catholic on the Russian throne. And the recognition of the supremacy of the papal throne.
Therefore, Polish attempts to create a unified state (with the consistent Westernization of Russia) were rejected.
However, their plan was eventually implemented.
The Russian Empire will return the West Russian lands - the Partitions of the Commonwealth under Catherine the Great. Moreover, after the wars with Napoleon, Russia will annex part of the ethnic Polish lands. Will create the Kingdom of Poland. There will be an opportunity to restore the Slavic world through consistent Russification, elimination of the instruments of influence of the West in the person of Catholicism and the Polish gentry lost to the Slavs.
Following the results of the First World War, Russia could expand the Kingdom of Poland by returning the Slavic lands from Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, the revolution ruined these plans.
A new attempt to restore the unity of the Slavic world and the brotherhood of Russians and Poles (the western glades, relatives of the eastern glades - the Kievans) was made already under Stalin.
Russians and Poles together finished off the Third Reich, took Berlin. Thanks to Stalin, Poland received the western border along the Oder and Neisse, part of West Prussia, Silesia, East Pomerania, Danzig and Szczecin.
Poland became an important member of the Warsaw Pact and the socialist camp.
As a result, Stalin neutralized the millennial weapon West directed against the Russian world.
Unfortunately, after 1991 Poland was returned to the camp of Russia's opponents. And again aimed at the Russian world.
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