One of the most powerful states in Europe in the middle of the second millennium - Poland - by the 18th century turned into a country torn apart by internal contradictions, into an arena of disputes between neighboring states - Russia, Prussia, Austria. The divisions of the Commonwe alth have become a natural process in the development of this country.
The main cause of the crisis in which the Polish state was, was the enmity of the largest Polish magnates, each of which, on the one hand, sought political leadership by any means, and on the other, sought support in neighboring states, thereby opening its own country for 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, in whose work Russia, France, Prussia and Austria interfered throughout the 18th century. Secondly, one of the main principles of the work of the same Sejm was the “liberum veto”, when a decision must be made by absolutely everyone present. One "no" vote was enough to ignite the discussion with renewed vigor.
For Russia, the Polish issue has long been one of the most important in its foreign policy. Its essence was not only to strengthen its influence in this European country, but also to protect the rights of the Orthodox population, who lived in the territories of modern Ukraine and the B altic states.
It was the question of the position of the Orthodox population that became the reason that caused the first partition of Poland. The government of Catherine II agreed with King Stanislav Poniatowski to equalize the rights of the Orthodox and Catholic populations, but part of the large gentry opposed this and raised an uprising. Russia, Prussia and Austria were forced to send troops to the territory of the Commonwe alth, which eventually gave the Prussian king Frederick II the opportunity to talk about the division of part of the Polish lands. Sections of the Commonwe alth have become an inevitable reality.
As a result of the first partition of Poland in 1772, the territories of eastern Belarus and parts of modern Latvia were ceded to Russia, Prussia received the Polish coast of the North Sea, and Austria received Galicia.
However, the sections of the Commonwe alth did not end there. Part of the Polish gentry was well aware that in order to save their state, political reforms were needed. It was for this purpose that the Constitution of Poland was adopted in 1791, according to which the royal power ceased to be elective, and the principle of "liberum veto" was canceled. Suchtransformations were met with distrust in Europe, where the Great French Revolution reached its climax. Russia and Prussia again sent troops into the Polish borders and initiated a new division of the once mighty state.
In accordance with the second partition of the Commonwe alth in 1793, Russia regained right-bank Ukraine and Central Belarus, and Prussia received Gdansk, which she so coveted, which she immediately renamed Danzig.
Such actions of European states led to the beginning of the national liberation movement in Poland, headed by T. Kosciuszko. However, this uprising was brutally suppressed by Russian troops led by A. Suvorov himself. The third division of the Commonwe alth in 1795 led to the fact that this state ceased to exist: its central part, together with Warsaw, went to Prussia, Courland, Lithuania and Western Belarus - to Russia, and Southern Poland with Krakow - to Austria.
The divisions of the Commonwe alth in relation to Russia completed the process of reunification of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples and gave impetus to their further cultural development.
