Soviet-Polish War Research Articles

Pulp and Paper Industry at the Start of the First Five-Year Plan: Plans and Practices

In Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union, formed in 1922, the pulp and paper industry was poorly developed. Following the First World War, the Civil War and the Soviet-Polish War, the loss of the western regions, where more than a third of paper products were produced, was also a negative factor. Despite the presence of large forest areas, there were not enough resources for their development, and there was no machine-building base. As a result, the Soviet state imported significant volumes of semi-finished products, paper and cardboard. The article analyzes the plans of the Supreme Economic Council of the USSR for the development of the pulp and paper industry in the second half of the 1920s, the design and progress of construction of enterprises. It was revealed that the main economic body sought to gradually reduce the import of wood pulp, pulp, paper and other necessary materials through the expansion and construction of production facilities. Trusts and regional economic bodies played a major role in the location of enterprises. For them, new construction provided an opportunity to attract capital investment and create industrial centers. It is concluded that large-scale plans for the development of the pulp and paper industry in the Soviet Union in the second half of the 1920s. were poorly developed from a financial and personnel point of view, were based on the weak level of development of the industry and reflected the optimistic ideas of economists and business executives about the potential of the new economic policy. On the contrary, the competition for projects of pulp and paper enterprises in 1928 reflected the transition from decentralized to centralized design of facilities and demonstrated the priorities of the Soviet government regarding the location of new production facilities.

Военный корреспондент и переводчик К. Лютов (И. Бабель). Новый комментарий к конармейскому дневнику писателя

For the first time, the documents of the 6th Cavalry Division of the First Cavalry Army, recently identified in the Russian State Military Archive, which are associated with the participants of the American military air squadron named after T. T. Kościuszko,, who fought in 1920, during the Soviet-Polish war, on the side of the Polish army, are published and introduced into scientific circulation. It is about Babel’s conversation with captured pilot M.C. Cooper, who introduced himself as Frank Mosher, and about the questionnaire compiled by the writer, as well as about Babel’s translation into Russian of a letter to New York, Colonel B.F. Castle, from squadron commander C.E. Fauntleroy. Both documents are Babel’s texts and are certified by his handwritten signature as K. Lyutov (his military pseudonym). These documents not only serve as a commentary on Babel’s diary note of July 14, 1920, they largely clarify the content of this note and, in addition, add significant details to the biography of Cooper during the Polish campaign. Cooper became later a famous film director, producer and screenwriter who shot the cult film “King Kong” in 1933.

‘We swear to fight for the inviolability of the borders of our motherland’: disabled veterans and social welfare in interwar Lviv

ABSTRACT The newborn Second Polish Republic inherited a complex imperial legacy and a large minority population. The series of borderland conflicts and the Soviet–Polish War that followed the Great War added additional layers to the heterogeneity of the veteran population. Throughout the interwar era, the eastern borderlands became a source of interethnic, religious and political tension, and turned into a battleground of contested Polish and Ukrainian memory discourses. The article focuses on welfare policy as an instrument of state-building in the eastern Polish borderlands. The process of defining war disability took place alongside the process of nation-building. The question of the legal definition of ‘Polish disabled veteran’ turned into a discussion about who was a part of the national body. The article examines how the interconnections between the categories of war disability and ethnic and new social minorities forged new identities in interwar eastern Poland.

The Soviet-Polish War and Its Legacy: Lenin's Defeat and the Rise of Stalinism by Peter Whitewood (review)

The Soviet-Polish War and Its Legacy: Lenin's Defeat and the Rise of Stalinism by Peter Whitewood (review)

Realization of the Soviet-Lithuanian Peace Treaty in 1920 in the Сontext of the Soviet-Polish War

This article is devoted to the implementation of the Soviet-Lithuanian peace treaty concluded on July 12, 1920 in Moscow. The paper considers the military-political and economic contradictions that arose after the conclusion of an agreement between the RSFSR and the Republic of Lithuania, as well as their impact on the Soviet-Polish war and the development of Soviet-Lithuanian relations.

“I Began to Understand Piłsudski, When I Reached His Age”. Memoirs of G.F. Matveev in the Form of Interview

Gennady Filippovich Matveev (born in 1943), Doctor of Historical Sciences, Honored Professor of Moscow University, Head of the Department of the History of the Southern and Western Slavs of Moscow State University, one of the leading domestic specialists in the modern history of Poland, tells about his life and professional activities at the request of the editors of the journal Slavic World in the Third Millennium. Born on the banks of the Volga, G.F. Matveev spent his childhood and youth in Western Ukraine. Since 1966, his whole life has been inextricably linked with the Moscow University, where he received a diploma in history, completed his postgraduate studies, defended his candidate’s and doctoral theses, and where he has been teaching for half a century and was head of the department for more than three decades. The students of G.F. Matveev completed and defended a large number of diplomas, master’s and candidate’s theses, they work in different cities of the country and abroad. As a historian, G.F. Matveev invariably relies on deep researches in archives, introduces a lot of new material into circulation, his innovative research on the history of the Soviet-Polish war of 1920 caused fruitful discussions both in Russia and in Poland, prompting other historians to further research. Gennady Filippovich is the author of the first fundamental biography in Russian of the key statesman of Poland of the 20th century Józef Piƚsudski. Not limited to the problems of Polish history, G.F. Matveev turned to comparative historical research on the material of various Slavic countries, in particular, on the ideology of peasant movements in the period between the two world wars. As an author and editor, he took part in the work on textbooks on the history of the southern and western Slavs. For more than half a century, G.F. Matveev maintains close ties with the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, he is a member of the editorial boards of historical journals, both Russian and Polish. G.F. Matveev talks about his post-war childhood, youth, impressions of his student years, about his work at the Moscow University, about his numerous trips to Poland and more than half a century of communication with Polish colleagues. He also shares his opinion on the current development and prospects of Polish studies in Russia, the possibilities for further dialogue between the two cultures.

Belarusian People’s Republic 1918: a failed statehood

This article analyses the events and trends that determined the fate of attempts to form the Belarusian state in the conditions of the finale of World War One. The author has based his research on the study of the German occupation policy and the process of implementing the Brest-Litovsk peace treaties. It demonstrates that the foundations for the negative factors that blocked the appearance of a united Belarus were laid long before the beginning of the Soviet-Polish war. The BPR leaders’ interaction with the occupational authorities was determined not only by different subjective factors, but also by the fundamental refusal to place Belarus on the political map of 1918. This moment is not properly reflected in modern historiography of the issue, especially the Belarusian one. The role of neighbouring states and various national forces in the reconfiguration of post-imperial spaces under the pressure of the German Empire, within the framework of the Brest system of international relations created in 1918, is examined. Within its framework the RSFSR was to receive the place of the most important counteragent, who sought to obtain the maximum influence on the basis of mutually beneficial deals with the military-political leadership of the Kaiserreich. Although the projects of German hegemony in Eastern Europe were thwarted by the defeat of the Central Powers, the period of the First German Occupation and the partition of Belarusian territories between Soviet Russia and its western neighbours became the geopolitical basis for the fate of the nations of Belarus throughout the interwar period.

British Diplomacy, Soviet-Polish War, and the Treaty of Riga: Searching for Stabilization in Eastern Europe

British diplomacy played an important role not only during the Soviet-Polish War of 1919-20 but also in the settlement of this armed con-ict, which ended with the signing of the Riga peace treaty on 18 March 1921. How effective was London? What political methods did the British government use to achieve the main strategic objective of stabilizing the Versailles order in Eastern Europe? And what were the short- and long-term consequences for Soviet Russia and Poland? The answers to these questions will be given in this article, based upon diplomatic correspondence as well as on diaries and memoirs penned by direct participants and contemporary observers.

France and the Treaty of Riga: The Problem of Guaranteeing the Eastern Border of Poland

Seen from Paris, the Treaty of Riga brought a welcome end to the Soviet-Polish war and completed the drawing of Europe’s new borders. However, there remained no guarantee of stability in Eastern Europe. From 1918, successive French governments supported a ‘strong Poland’ to further their strategic aims in Europe. But both French and Polish diplomatic archives reveal the crux of the problem: the Treaty of Riga could sow the seeds of future con-icts with Russia (still considered a European power). Moreover, the events of the early 1920s jeopardized the relationship between Poland and Lithuania. For these reasons France remained unwilling to guarantee the boundaries that issued from the Treaty of Riga and was similarly reluctant to support Warsaw’s regional plans.

Failing to Create Revolutionaries: Polish POWs in Soviet Captivity, 1920–21

This article examines the Bolshevik Party’s efforts to radicalize tens of thousands of Polish prisoners of war (POWs) held in makeshift prison camps across Soviet Russia in the aftermath of the Soviet-Polish War of 1919­−20. The end goal was to create a new cadre of Polish revolutionaries to agitate for revolutionary change on repatriation. These propaganda efforts were almost entirely undermined by a series of everyday problems from rudimentary camp living conditions and violence against prisoners to disease and ineffective leadership by Soviet institutions. This article will show, however, that as part of these efforts, the Bolsheviks committed to safeguarding POW welfare, mirroring international standards set by the Hague conventions, even if this was primarily designed to better cultivate revolutionaries and was rarely met in practice. In a comparative sense, therefore, the everyday lives of Polish POWs and their management by Soviet authorities did not markedly differ from the POW experience across Europe, where other governments likewise made claims about safeguarding welfare and often failed to deliver. Contrary to existing interpretations of early Soviet POW camps, which present these as unique stepping-stones to the future Stalinist GULAG, this article shows stronger continuities with past practices.

Kathryn Ciancia. On Civilization’s Edge: A Polish Borderland in the Interwar World.

Kathryn Ciancia. <i>On Civilization’s Edge: A Polish Borderland in the Interwar World.</i>

Russian Women in Emigration in Poland during the 1920s – 1940s

The article examines the situation of Russian women-emigrants who found themselves on the territory of Poland in the 1920s – 1930s. Almost all categories of the population of the former Russian Empire were represented among the refugees in Poland. Among the ranks of the exiles there were also women who had to adapt to the difficult social conditions of their stay in the country. During the 1920s – 1930s, of the total number of emigrants (50-60 thousand people who stayed in the country) about 30 % were women and children. In 1919–1920, Poland was one of the centers of the anti-Bolshevik struggle. Therefore, the Russian emigrants gave their support to the Poles. For instance, Z. Gippius took part in the publication of the newspaper and the formation of Russian military units. After the end of the Soviet-Polish War, the soldiers and officers of these units were interned in camps. Among them were nurses, as well as women and children. The families of the internees were housed in common barracks, often women and children had to sleep on the floor. The Russian Red Cross Society, headed by L. I. Lyubimova, tried to provide the internees with food, clothing, medical care, and find work. By the mid-1920s, it became clear that the stay of exiles abroad could lasted for many years. Therefore, the main attention of the emigrant organizations were paid to cultural and educational activities. It was carried out through the Russian houses that appeared in Warsaw, Vilna and other cities. There women took an active part in the work of various circles, libraries, theater studios. In families, wives and mothers tried to maintain not only the home comfort, but also to educate children in the spirit of national traditions. So far as women in exile often had to support unemployed husbands or disabled people, they tried to find a job. But most of them could only hope for odd jobs in sewing workshops or trade.

“Comrade! What Have You Done for Western Front?”: Participation of Inhabitants of Siberia in Collecting Donations for Benefit of Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army (1920)

Using the example of Siberia, the implementation of collection activities in support of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army (RKKA) on the Western Front is examined in the article. Attention is drawn to the fact that the initiative to carry out such actions came from the country’s leadership and the party apparatus. The main stages of preparation and holding of the “Week of Help to the Western Front” both in cities and in the countryside of Siberia in the summer and autumn of 1920 are investigated in detail. The relevance of the study is due to both the appeal to the topic of the Soviet-Polish war as a whole, and the reconstruction of the general picture of the situation in Siberian society after the establishment of Soviet power. Based on the involvement of a wide range of sources, the main forms of collecting donations have been identified: deductions from wages; transfer of funds from the sale of tickets for performances and concerts, reception of things and products, etc. It is concluded that the conduct of fundraising campaigns for the needs of the Red Army in Siberia had a wide practice and took place in difficult economic conditions associated with the recently ended Civil War and food appropriation.

Два фильма о советско-польской войне: этюд забвения советского киномифа

В статье рассматривается «рождение», конструированиеи деконструкция художественного кинообраза советско-польской войны,концептуализируются различные интеллектуальные проекты советскогоизучения и осмысления военных действий в хронологических рамкахсобытий 1919-1921 годов. Анализируются два фильма «П.К.П.» и «Перваяконная». Рассматривается процесс трансформации и последующегосоциального забвения пропагандистского дискурса этого военногопротивостояния.

World War II in modern interpretations of Russian and Polish politicians

In the political circles of European countries attempts to reformat the history of World War II has been continuing. Poland is particularly active; there at the official level, as well as in the articles and in the speeches of politicians, political scientists and historians crude attacks against Russia for its commitment to objective assessments of the military past are allowed. Though, as the authors of this article mention, Russian politicians have not always been consistent in evaluation of Soviet-Polish relationships, hoping to reach a certain compromise. If there were any objections, they were mostly unconvincing. Obviously, as the article points, some statements and speeches are not without emotional colouring that is characteristic, when expressing mutual claims. However, the deliberate falsification of historical facts and evidence, from whatever side it occurs, does not meet the interests of the Polish and Russian peoples, in whose memory the heroes of the Red Army and the Polish Resistance have lived and will live. The authors point in the conclusions that it is hard to achieve mutual respect to key problems of World War II because of the overlay of the 18th – 19th centuries, connected with the “partitions of Poland”, the existence of the “Kingdom of Poland” as part of the Russian Empire, Soviet-Polish War of 1920. There can be only one way out, as many Russian and Polish scientists believe – to understand the complex twists and turns of Russo-Polish history, relying on the documents. Otherwise, the number of pseudoscientific, dishonest interpretations will grow.

Fighting Soviet cavalry under the command of M. L. Murtazin on the southwestern front (Soviet-Polish war)

Fighting Soviet cavalry under the command of M. L. Murtazin on the southwestern front (Soviet-Polish war)

ОТРАЖЕНИЕ СОВЕТСКО-ПОЛЬСКОЙ ВОЙНЫ В КОНТЕКСТЕ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ПОЛЬСКОЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОСТИ В ТРУДАХ Ю. МАРХЛЕВСКОГО И Ю. ПИЛСУДСКОГО

The report considers two approaches in the interpretation of the events of the Soviet-Polish war of 1919–1921. These are the approaches of Pol- ish historians and public figures Józef Piłsudski and Julian Marchlewski. Their view of the war is particularly important and interesting because they were active participants of the events of the war and represented various positions of the new independent Poland. On the basis of comparative analysis of the biographies of Piłsudski and Marchlewski, their works and methodological approaches in understanding the historical process, the author traces the interconnection of those approaches with socio-political events, contemporaries of which were Polish researchers. The difficult situation in Poland, that was divided and lost its indepen- dence in the 18 th century, gave no peace to the Polish people. Regardless the origin, position in society and political views, many Poles sought independence and the revival of their state. On the world map, the independent state of Po- land appeared in 1918, however, its emergence coincided with a difficult period, saturated with socio-political events. Heavy consequences of the First World War, a series of revolutions – all this had a huge impact on the mindset of Poles. They sought for new landmarks and new meanings, which sometimes contradicted each other, leading to misunderstandings, civil strife and aggres- sive foreign policy.

Polish Camps for Red Army Prisoners of War in the 1919–1924s:&#x0D; Modern Russian-Polish Approaches

The article discusses modern Russian and Polish historiography, devoted to the organization, functioning and liquidation of Polish camps for the Red Army prisoners of war who were captured during the Soviet-Polish War of 1919–1920. The history of the camps for the Red Army prisoners of war Polish&#x0D; authors begin with the creation of German camps in Poland during World War I. After the repatriation the camps continued to contain interned members of anti-Soviet armed groups and members of their families. Without considering the&#x0D; methodology of establishing the total number of prisoners and deceased, the author raises the question of interpreting the causes of the Red Army prisoners of war massive loss in Polish captivity. The researchers’ opinions range from the objective impossibility of the Polish authorities to provide prisoners with proper conditions to a targeted policy of destroying the Red Army soldiers by famine, cold, and refusal of medical care.

Немцы бывшего Царства Польского в 1918–1920 годах

The article discusses the main aspects of the political history of the Germans in the former Kingdom of Poland in the first several years after the First World War. The political programs and views of the leaders of the German national movement are presented in detail. A general overview of the situation of Germans in Poland is given. The main occupations of the German national minority and their numbers are analyzed. The political alternatives facing German politicians in the country are considered, in particular, during the Soviet-Polish war of 1920—1921. It was characteristic of the political development of the Germans in the former Kingdom of Poland that their political associations were, in fact, broad political coalitions, "fronts". The leadership of the Republic of Poland pursued a policy of Polonization towards Germans and other national minorities. The Germans were subjected to political and economic pressure and repressions. The Polonization was pronounced in the West of Poland, i.e. in Poznań, Pomerania, and Upper Silesia. These were territories of the former German Empire, and local Germans extremely painfully perceived entering into structure of Poland. The Germans of the former Kingdom of Poland quickly adapted to the new status by accepting and recognizing Polish citizenship. They remained loyal subjects of the new state. Only after the Nazis came to power in Germany, the “Grossdeutsche”, Pro-Nazi sentiments, began to spread among the Germans of the former Kingdom of Poland. Ath the same time, these sentiments were less pronounced here than among the Germans in the former German ("Eastern") territories. The attempt to create a single "Young German" movement was unsuccessful. After World War II, most Germans in Poland were deported from the country.

Интернирование частей Рабоче-крестьянской Красной армии в Германии в 1920-1921 гг. как пример применения норм международного права

The article observes the circumstances of the internment of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army’s (RKKA) units in 1920-1921 in neutral Germany during the Soviet-Polish war. Events are explored in the context of the application of international law, in comparison with similar historical examples. The factors that influenced the choice between various disciplinary actions against the Red Army soldiers held in the camps, the change in their living conditions, as well as the organization of cultural leisure and employment are analyzed according to the results of study of complex of published and unpublished archival documents. It shows how the decisions adopted by the German government corresponded to the provisions of the Hague Convention relative to the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in case of War on Land of 18 October 1907.