The Petrograd sky was cloudy with rain.
Stolypin's idea of separating Kholmshchyna nevertheless became a reality, albeit only after the death of the outstanding prime minister, when the real threat of a world war was already hanging over the Old World. Soon the Balkans, this powder magazine of Europe, were rocked by two bloody wars in a row.
The claims of small European peoples for independence became more and more distinct, and only the lazy did not speak about the impending collapse of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, Poland continued to live with anticipation and put up with another loss of territories that had once been part of the power "from sea to sea" - "moc od morza do morza".
Farewell to Kholmshchyna
The bill of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire "On the separation of the eastern parts of the Lublin and Sedletsk provinces from the provinces of the Kingdom of Poland with the formation of a special Kholm province" was submitted for consideration to the commission for sending legislative proposals to the 4th session of the III State Duma. The commission examined in detail the historical, religious and ethnographic material concerning the Kholmsh region. The size of the Orthodox population in the eastern districts of the Lublin and Sedletsk provinces in 1906-1907 was determined according to various sources from 278 to 299 thousand. According to official information, after the manifesto of April 17, 1906, 168 thousand people converted to Catholicism, while the number of "persistent" in 1902 was determined at only 91 thousand.
The commission noted: "… the rest converted to Catholicism" due to a misunderstanding "(1). The number of the Russian-speaking population of the region was estimated at the time of discussion at 450 thousand. This number did not include about 100 thousand Orthodox Christians speaking Polish, and were included about the same Thus, according to these data, in the 11 eastern districts attributed to the Kholmshchyna, the Little Russian population was the majority. Taking into account these data, the discussion did not drag on. the allocation of Kholmshchina "is absolutely necessary, since otherwise the Russian population of this region will be threatened in a short time with complete polonization."
In the general meeting of the Duma, the bill on the separation of the Kholmshchyna was considered at the 5th session on November 25, 1911. It was presented by the nationalist D. N. Chikhachev, who concluded his lengthy speech, is very impressive. The venerable figures of the former bureaucratic system, which had passed into eternity, left us a heavy legacy in the field of Polish-Russian relations, an inheritance, especially a difficult legacy in the field of resolving the Kholm issue; the question, as a question of national, nationwide significance, as a question of the well-known intra-appraisal demarcation of Russians and Poles within the limits of a single Russian empire.
Unfortunately, the idea of a consistent and systematic national policy was alien to many of them; Other behind-the-scenes influences, often anti-Russian, were too strong, the influence of the chancellery, all kinds of advisers of higher and lower ranks was too strong, and only representative institutions can serve as a guarantee of a consistent and systematic national policy in our outskirts, and in particular Kholmsk Russia (2).
Explaining Interior Minister Makarov noted protests against the separation of Kholmshchyna by Poles abroad who had launched a campaign against "a new partition of Poland" and in response opposed attempts to view Polish lands as more than part of the Russian Empire.
The Poles were represented by not the poorest landowner Lubomir Dymsha, a well-known and rather popular lawyer, who recalled that the Kholmsk project had been rejected eight times and relies on false statistics. Against the accusation of the threat of polonization of the region, he naturally put forward arguments about the real threat of complete Russification by administrative measures. The end of the speech, of course, was extremely pretentious: “By adopting this bill, you will show the right to force. Yes, you are strong, you can treat this part of the Kingdom of Poland as at the moment, from your point of view, this circumstance will require. But the force of law - the truth, and justice will remain on our side. (Applause from the left.) (3).
In response, Bishop Eulogius remarked about the statistics that, for all its imperfection, it was checked and processed three times at the request of the Polish Colo, and there is no reason to consider this statistics biased. When asked about the purpose of separating Kholmskaya Rus from the composition of "Poland alien to her," the priest answered "directly and briefly": this is necessary to save the Russian nationality dying there (4).
The discussion dragged on, Bishop Evlogiy and Chikhachev spoke several more times, there were new problems with individual articles, but in the end the Kholmsk region was singled out. Summing up, we note that the bill, introduced to the Third State Duma on May 19, 1909, was approved by the Duma on the report of the editorial commission only three years later - on May 4, 1912. After being submitted to the Commission for the Direction of Legislative Proposals, it was discussed there until November 1909.
For two years, from November 17, 1909 to November 20, 1911, it was discussed in a special "Kholmsk" subcommittee. The report of the commission was presented to the general meeting of the Duma on May 7, 1911; its discussion in the Russian parliament took 17 sessions. In the end, the deputies made a number of changes to the bill, and, first of all, subordinated the Kholm province directly to the Minister of Internal Affairs, at the same time expanding the boundaries of the province to the West.
Kholmsk province was not subject to legalization in force in the western region to restrict the growth of Polish and Jewish private land ownership. In order to promote Russian land tenure, the Duma found it necessary to extend to the Kholmsk region the rules on exemption from the payment of duties in acts upon the transfer of estates from Polish landowners to Russians. Benefits and privileges extended to Catholics only of the Russian nationality. Nicholas II approved the law on June 23, 1912.
There were only two years left before the war.
Proclamation of the Grand Duke
The Sarajevo assassination brought confusion to many souls, but it also gave the main weapon into the hands of the tsarist propaganda - national and half-forgotten Pan-Slavist slogans. Contemporaries admit that the ideological preparation for the war was frankly weak (5), especially among the rank and file. However, the officer corps, up to the highest, was not too burdened with knowledge about the goals and objectives of the war. What can we say then about the population of the border regions, mostly non-Russian.
At the very top, in St. Petersburg, a kind of balance reigned - on the one hand, the military party and the apologists of the impudent imperial policy based literally on nothing, ready to seize both the straits, and Galicia, and the German part of Poland, on the other, adherents of traditional Russian values, for whom a few million more foreigners in Russia are just an extra burden. The "Appeal to the Poles" signed by the supreme commander turned out to be most welcome at the moment of national unity, when both groups of politicians who supported the military action of tsarism were looking for support for their position. Moreover, it turned out that the moment was chosen very well - the Russian regiments had just entered the lands inhabited mainly by Poles.
Although in fact, the manifesto was born almost by accident - contemporaries claim that Nicholas II gave the go-ahead for the preparation of the document under the momentary impression of the invasion of Russian Poland by Pilsudski's legions. "Legionnaires" took up the "re-creation of Poland" on August 6, crossing the borders of the Russian Empire. They even had a plan for an anti-Russian uprising, but to begin with, the matter was limited to only timid attempts to form new authorities. However, the Austrian command soon suspended them due to the passivity of the population.
A certain act was urgently required, characterizing the new approach of St. Petersburg to relations with Poland. In the cabinet of ministers, the text of the manifesto was drawn up in a few hours. Document according to the instructions of S. D. Sazonov was written by the vice-director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prince Grigory Trubetskoy.
But on whose behalf should the manifesto be issued? In order to give it a completely official character and, if something happens, move away from him, it was necessary to do this not on behalf of the Tsar and not even on behalf of the government. The problem was solved quite simply. The 58-year-old uncle of the emperor, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, who had just assumed the post of supreme commander-in-chief, a military man to the core, known for his sympathy for the Slav brothers, is the most suitable candidate for signing the appeal. The Grand Duke has 40 years of military service behind him, a brilliant track record, starting with participation in the Turkish company in 1877-78, and enormous authority among the troops. Since 1909, the "formidable" uncle, the former commander of Nicholas II in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment, headed the Romanov family council, his name gave the "Appeal" the appropriate impressiveness and at the same time a certain distance from official circles.
Nicholas II could not adequately address the Poles of Austria and Prussia as his future subjects, and the Grand Duke, on the contrary, would not have exceeded his role as the Russian commander-in-chief by turning to the Slavs whom he was going to liberate. And then what the hell is not kidding? It is possible to ascend to the new Galician, or even the Polish throne. The father of the commander-in-chief, Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr., for example, with good reason had hoped to take the Bulgarian throne 40 years earlier.
Through the Chief of Staff of the Supreme General N. N. Yanushkevich, the text of the appeal was coordinated with the Grand Duke and on August 14 was allowed for publication. The chairman of the Polish group of the State Council, Count Sigismund Wielopolski, personally translated the "Proclamation" into Polish.
On the morning of August 16, 1914, the manifesto was made public. The text of the "Appeal" makes a strong impression, despite the fact that the word "autonomy" does not even sound in it, and the revival is outlined "under the scepter of the Russian tsar." Poland is united in its faith, language and self-government! What else do they need?
The propaganda effect of the "Proclamation" exceeded all expectations. Both within the empire and beyond its borders. Sergei Melgunov recalled: "Everyone somehow lost consciousness … Everywhere you see the universal delight from the announcement of the commander-in-chief regarding Poland." Pavel Milyukov did not hide the fact that for a long time he could not recover from the power of the impression that the manifesto made on him. Russkie vedomosti praised the state-legal union of all Polish lands with Russia, promised in the appeal of the Russian commander-in-chief.
However, the same Sergei Melgunov wrote in his diary only three weeks later: “In connection with the great-princely appeal, it is curious to note Milyukov's article in Rech … A naive person, apparently, is our historian! At such moments he hears "the course of history", "feels the beating of her heart." One might think that the Russian government never sowed enmity between nationalities”(7).
Notes:
1. State Duma of the 3rd convocation. Review of the activities of commissions and departments. Session IV. SPb., 1911. p. 211-244.
2. State Duma of the 3rd convocation. Verbatim records. Session 5. Part I. p.2591-2608.
3. Ibid, pp. 2620-2650.
4. Ibid., Pp. 2650-2702.
5. A. Brusilov. My memoirs, M. 1946, pp. 69-72.
6. Yu. Klyuchnikov and A. Sabanin. Contemporary international politics in treaties, notes and declarations. M. 1926, part II, pp. 17-18.
7. S. Melgunov. On the Way to a Palace Coup, Paris, 1931, p. 14, Memoirs and Diaries. M., 2003, p. 244.
