Exactly 99 years ago, an event took place that essentially legitimized the process of the country's disintegration: the Provisional Government announced its agreement in principle to grant independence to Poland. Following this, Finland, Ukraine and other regions demanded independence. But why did people known as patriots and supporters of the unity of Russia take this step?
Within the framework of the cycle of materials that we have begun, dedicated to the coming centenary of the Russian Revolution and the controversial issues associated with it, one cannot bypass the one that became the first step towards the collapse of the country. On March 29, 1917, the Provisional Government, quite unexpectedly for many, came out with a statement about an "independent Polish state." The revolution at that time had not yet passed a month, the Provisional Government had existed for only 14 days. Why was it necessary to resolve the issue of the country's territorial integrity in such a hurry?
The statement on the Polish question is also puzzling due to the fact that it was made by the first composition of the Provisional Government, headed by Prince Lvov - an aristocrat, the most famous figure in the zemstvo movement, whose views were opposed to the tsarist government (due to numerous obstacles that were built by the work of the zemstvo movements), but they are deeply patriotic in relation to the country. A year earlier, in March 1916, speaking at a meeting of zemstvo delegates, Lvov spoke about the importance of "the great cause of victory and moral duty to the Motherland", was deeply upset by the opposition of the authorities to public initiatives, bitterly stated "the fact of the destruction of the country's internal unity" and declared: "The Fatherland is really in danger."
At the same time, the post of Foreign Minister was held by the leader of the Cadet Party, Pavel Milyukov, a constitutional monarchist by convictions, who declared that the opposition in Russia would be "opposition to His Majesty" (and not to His Majesty), a supporter of war to a victorious end, the expansion of Russia and the conquest of the Black Sea straits (for which he was nicknamed "Milyukov-Dardanelles").
And these people, having received power, decided to immediately part with Poland? This behavior requires explanations, and many find them in the continuity of the actions of the Provisional and Tsarist governments in relation to the Polish question.
In the fight for the heart of Poland
In December 1916, Nicholas II, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, turned to the army and navy with Order No. 870, in which he first mentioned "the creation of a free Poland" among the goals of continuing the war. Interestingly, neither earlier nor later did the emperor and royal dignitaries talk about this anymore. But the words voiced in the order are a historical fact, from which it is not difficult, if desired, to deduce a theory about a fundamental change in the tsarist position on the Polish question shortly before the revolution.
By issuing his order, Nicholas II, among other things, tried to refute rumors about a possible separate peace with Germany. He wrote: “The allies who have now grown stronger during the war … have the opportunity to begin peace negotiations at a time that they deem favorable for themselves. This time has not yet come. The enemy has not yet been driven out of the areas he has captured. The achievement by Russia of all the tasks created by the war: the possession of Constantinople and the Straits, as well as the creation of a free Poland from all three of its now scattered regions, has not yet been ensured. To conclude peace now would mean not to use the fruits of your untold labors, heroic Russian troops and navy."
Poland, we recall, was divided between Germany, Austria and the Russian Empire in 1815. As part of Russia, the Kingdom of Poland was created - an unstable region, with a growing national liberation and revolutionary movement. The major uprisings of 1830 and 1863 were suppressed by the troops. But with the outbreak of the First World War, an ideological war broke out between the Russian Empire and the Central Powers for the hearts of the Poles who found themselves on the line of contact.
On August 14, 1914, the Commander-in-Chief (at that time), Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, turned to the Poles, promising them the revival of Poland in its entirety. “Poles, the hour has come when the cherished dream of your fathers and grandfathers can come true,” he wrote. - A century and a half ago, the living body of Poland was torn to pieces, but her soul did not die. She lived in the hope that the hour would come for the resurrection of the Polish people, for her fraternal reconciliation with great Russia. The Russian troops are bringing you the good news of this reconciliation. Let the borders that cut the Polish people into pieces be erased. May he be reunited together under the scepter of the Russian Tsar. Poland will be reunited under the scepter, free in its faith, language, and self-government."
It should be noted that freedom of religion, as well as self-government, existed in the Kingdom of Poland and earlier. Therefore, the words about freedom should not be misleading - the Commander-in-Chief spoke about the return, following the war, to Poland of lands that had previously been part of Germany and Austria-Hungary. About reunification under the scepter of the Russian tsar.
In the summer of 1915, the Kingdom of Poland was under the occupation of the Central Powers. Soon Germany and Austria announced their intention to create on the Polish lands a "free", "independent" Kingdom of Poland. And they even began to recruit people for the "Polish Wehrmacht". The various wings of the Polish opposition, prioritizing true independence above all, nevertheless considered who was Russian and who was German as an important step towards it (reunification of lands). The ideological battle thus continued until the end of 1916. And the address of Nicholas II - "the creation of a free Poland from all three of its now scattered regions" - in this light reads completely differently. The emperor only repeated the formula previously voiced by the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich - the restoration of unity under the Russian scepter.
Thus, there is no need to speak of a change in the tsarist policy on the Polish question on the eve of the revolution.
If freedom, then universal
The revolutionaries thought absolutely differently. Today, when it is customary to blame the Bolsheviks with their all-embracing principle of self-determination of nations for the collapse of the state, it is useful to remember that the founder of the Southern Society of Decembrists Pavel Pestel wrote: Russia is acquiring a new life for itself. So, according to the rule of nationality, Russia should grant Poland an independent existence."
Herzen, in turn, asserted: “Poland, like Italy, like Hungary, has an inalienable, full right to a state existence, independent of Russia. Whether we want a free Poland to be torn away from a free Russia is another question. No, we do not want this, and if Poland does not want this union, we can grieve about it, we can disagree with it, but we cannot fail to give her will, without renouncing all our basic convictions."
Bakunin believed that by keeping Poland in subjection, the Russian people themselves remain subordinate, "for it is ugly, ridiculous, criminal, ridiculous and practically impossible at the same time to rise up in the name of freedom and oppress neighboring peoples."
The right of nations to self-determination in Russian revolutionary philosophy grew out of precisely these idealistic principles: it is impossible to fight for your freedom while continuing to oppress others. If freedom, then universal.
Subsequently, the right of nations to self-determination was included as fundamental in the political programs of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. The Octobrists took an intermediate position, advocating equal rights for all nations, but also for the integrity of the country. The Cadets remained adherents of a single and indivisible empire, but they were not spared by the discussion of self-determination and the Polish question. They considered it possible to grant Poland autonomy, but not independence.
A fundamental historical error
"We send our fraternal greetings to the Polish people and wish them success in the forthcoming struggle to establish a democratic republican system in independent Poland."
Why, then, was it the Provisional Government, which was far from socialist in its essence, suddenly started talking about an independent Poland? It should be borne in mind that the very fact of its appearance, it owes to a compromise between the de facto Petrograd Soviet, which took power after the revolution, and the Provisional Committee of the State Duma.
From the first days of the February Revolution, power was concentrated in the hands of the Petrograd Soviet of Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries. They solved the issues of the arrest of the tsarist officials, banks approached them, asking for permission to resume work, the members of the Council were in charge of the railway communication. The Menshevik Sukhanov, who was a member of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, recalled how a representative of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma in the rank of colonel, swearing loyalty to the revolution and fawning, at one of the meetings begged the members of the Executive Committee for permission for the Chairman of the State Duma Mikhail Rodzianko to go to the bottom, to Emperor Nicholas II. "The point was," wrote Sukhanov, "that Rodzianko, having received a telegram from the tsar with a request to leave, could not do this, since the railroad workers did not give him a train without the permission of the Executive Committee."
It is important to emphasize this: the leaders of the Petrograd Soviet were sincere Marxists, and the theory developed by Marx says that after the overthrow of tsarism (feudalism), the rule of the bourgeoisie (capitalism) must come. From their point of view, this meant that there was a historical mistake that needed to be corrected. On March 14 and 15, negotiations were held between the Petrograd Soviet and the Interim Committee of the State Duma on the transfer of power. They were complicated by the fact that the socialists, even though they were convinced of the need to surrender the reins of government, categorically did not trust the bourgeoisie. During the debates in the Executive Committee, the following words were heard: “We do not yet know the intentions of the leading groups of the bourgeoisie, the Progressive Bloc, the Duma committee, and no one can vouch for them. They have not yet publicly tied themselves in any way. If there is any force on the side of the tsar, which we also do not know, then the "revolutionary" State Duma, "taking the side of the people," will certainly take the side of the tsar against the revolution. There can be no doubt that the Duma and others are thirsty for this."
Who has what rights to the Russian throne
Due to such sentiments, the transfer of power was due to the numerous restrictions imposed on the bourgeoisie. The Council saw its task as preserving the gains of the revolution, no matter what course the Provisional Government chose. He demanded: not to encroach on freedom of agitation, freedom of assembly, workers' organizations, labor relations. The most important principle of the transfer of power to the Provisional Government was declared "non-determination" in the matter of choosing the state structure of Russia before the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. This demand was based on the fear that, contrary to the republican aspirations of the Council, the Provisional Government would try to restore the monarchy. By that time, Miliukov had already spoken out in favor of the regency of Mikhail Romanov in one of his speeches.
But even formally transferring power to the Provisional Government, the Petrosovet could not move away from politics and overcome the existing distrust of the bourgeoisie. He began to informally "correct" the Provisional Government. And to put it bluntly - to rule behind his back. The real content of the historical error in question consisted in the very attempt of the really ruling Petrosoviet to transfer power to the bourgeoisie, not endowed with the confidence of the rebels. And the desire, in spite of everything, to control the actions of the new government, or rather, to push it towards the decisions necessary for the Petrosovet.
The bourgeoisie in the service of the socialists
So, without waiting for the actions of the Provisional Government in the field of reforming the army, on March 14, the Petrograd Soviet issued the famous Order No. 1, which completely democratized the army - from the election of commanders to the permission of card games at the front. All subsequent attempts by the military and naval minister Guchkov to achieve the cancellation of this order ended in nothing. The provisional government simply had to put up with it. Already on March 23, the Petrograd Soviet and the Petrograd Society of Manufacturers and Factory Owners concluded an agreement on the formation of factory committees and on the introduction of an 8-hour working day. Thus, workers' control was introduced over the head of the Provisional Government at enterprises. Finally, on March 28, Izvestia published the Manifesto of the Petrograd Soviet "To the Peoples of the World," indicating the attitude of the socialists to the ongoing war. In it, in particular, it was said: “Addressing all peoples, exterminated and ruined in a monstrous war, we declare that the time has come to begin a decisive struggle against the predatory aspirations of the governments of all countries; the time has come for the peoples to take the solution of the issue of war and peace into their own hands … Russian democracy declares that it will by all means oppose the aggressive policy of its ruling classes, and it calls on the peoples of Europe to joint decisive actions in favor of peace."
In parallel, Miliukov presented his vision of the goals of the war, in which he spoke of the annexation of Galicia and the acquisition of Constantinople, as well as the straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The conflict that immediately broke out between the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Government ended with the publication on April 9 of the Provisional Government's compromise statement on the goals of the war. It said: “Leaving the will of the people in close unity with our allies to finally resolve all issues related to the world war and its end, the Provisional Government considers it its right and duty to declare now that the goal of free Russia is not domination over other peoples, not taking away they have their national treasure, not the forcible seizure of foreign territories, but the establishment of a lasting peace based on the self-determination of peoples."
Therefore, it is not surprising that at the end of March Guchkov telegraphed General Alekseev to the front: “Time. the government does not have any real power, and its orders are carried out only to the extent that the Council of the Slave allows. and a soldier. deputies … We can say directly that Time. the government exists only as long as it is allowed by the Council of the slaves. and a soldier. deputies.
Brotherly greetings from the chaos of anarchy
In exactly the same way, the socialists "corrected" the Provisional Government with the Polish question. On March 27, the Petrosovet issued an appeal to the People of Poland. “The Petrograd Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies declares,” it said, “that Russia's democracy is based on the recognition of the national and political self-determination of peoples, and proclaims that Poland has the right to be completely independent in the state and international relations. We send our fraternal greetings to the Polish people and wish them success in the forthcoming struggle for the establishment of a democratic republican system in independent Poland."
Formally, this appeal did not have the slightest legal force, but in practice it put the Provisional Government in front of the need to react somehow. And since the conflict with the Petrograd Soviet meant the immediate overthrow of the Provisional Government by the same revolutionary soldiers of the Petrograd garrison, the latter was forced to support the basic theses of the appeal to the Poles. It only noted that it was counting on the creation of a "free military alliance" with Poland in the future and was postponing the final determination of the borders of Poland and Russia until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly.
The already official statement that “the Russian people, who have thrown off the yoke, recognize for the fraternal Polish people the full right to determine their own destiny by their own will” (that is, the recognition of the right of nations to self-determination at the highest level) launched the process of the empire's disintegration. In the summer of 1917, Finland declared its independence, Ukraine started talking about self-determination, and further disintegration proceeded at an accelerating pace.
Thus, the fateful decision of the Provisional Government directly followed from the struggle between different centers of power. This struggle was later called "dual power". But in reality we should talk about the chaos of anarchy that accompanied the revolution.
