The Socio-Political Movement in the Provinces of the South-Western Region of the Russian Empire after the Suppression of the Polish Uprising of 1830-1831

Abstract

Based on a wide range of sources including unpublished archival materials, the article examines the socio-political situation that developed in the provinces of the Southwestern Region of the Russian Empire in the first few years after the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1830 – 1831. The authors analyze the features of the social movement in this region and characterize the actions of the imperial authorities in relation to it. The predominance of the Polish national trend in the social movement is noted, its origins and preconditions are traced. Special attention is paid to the forms of manifestation of opposition sentiments by the inhabitants of the region, which in the period under study were mainly in the character of open manifestations of discontent and demonstrative disrespect for the state power. This was a distinctive feature of the social movement in the region, in comparison with the rest of the territory of the Russian Empire. The authors emphasize the complexity of the situation for the central authorities, who, within the framework of the south-western frontier, were forced to respond to extraordinary and rather large-scale anti-government “challenges” from privileged social strata (gentry and Catholic clergy) and, countering the “rebellious spirit”, to carry out a complex policy of maneuvering between different groups of the population in the region. The conclusion is made about the inconsistency of the policy of the imperial authorities in the provinces of the Southwestern Region, due to a very complex combination of socio-political, religious and ethnic factors that emerged after the suppression of the Polish uprising.