Uprising of 1831, November uprising(Polish Powstanie listopadowe listen)) - a national liberation uprising against the power of the Russian Empire on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, Lithuania, part of Belarus and Right Bank Ukraine. Occurred simultaneously with the so-called “cholera riots” in central Russia.
Poland under Russian rule
After the Napoleonic Wars, by decision of the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Poland (Polish) was created. Królestwo Polskie) - a state that was in a personal union with Russia. The state was a constitutional monarchy, governed by a two-year Sejm and a tsar (king), who was represented in Warsaw by a viceroy. The last position was taken by Kosciuszko's comrade General Zajonczek, then the commander-in-chief of the Polish army was the king's brother Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, after the death of Zayonchek (1826) also became the governor. Alexander I gave Poland a liberal constitution, but on the other hand, he himself began to violate it when the Poles, exercising their rights, began to resist his measures. Thus, the second Sejm in the city rejected the bill that abolished jury trials (introduced in Poland by Napoleon); To this, Alexander declared that he, as the author of the constitution, has the right to be its sole interpreter. In 1819, preliminary censorship was introduced, which Poland had never known before. Convocation of the Third Sejm for a long time was delayed: elected in 1822, it was convened only at the beginning of 1825. After the Kalisz Voivodeship elected the oppositionist Vincent Nemojewski, the elections there were canceled and new ones were called; when Kalisz again elected Nemoevsky, he was deprived of the right to elect at all, and Nemoevsky, who had come to take his place in the Sejm, was arrested at the Warsaw outpost. The Tsar's decree abolished the publicity of Sejm meetings (except for the first). In such a situation, the Third Sejm unquestioningly accepted all the laws submitted to it by the king. The subsequent appointment to the post of Russian governor, the tsar's brother, alarmed the Poles, who feared a tightening of the regime.
On the other hand, violations of the constitution were not the only or even main reason discontent of the Poles, especially since the Poles in the remaining regions of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, that is, Lithuania and Rus' (the so-called “eight voivodeships”) did not have any constitutional rights and guarantees. Violations of the constitution were imposed on patriotic feelings that protested against foreign power over Poland in general; in addition, the so-called “Congress Poland”, or “congress”, occupied only most historical lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Poles, for their part, continued to perceive their homeland within the borders of 1772 (before the partitions) and dreamed of its restoration.
Patriotic movement
By February 1831, the strength of the Russian army had increased to 125.5 thousand. Hoping to end the war immediately by inflicting a decisive blow on the enemy, Dibich did not pay due attention to providing the troops with food, especially to the reliable arrangement of the transportation unit, and this soon resulted in major difficulties for the Russians.
On February 5-6 (January 24-25, old style), the main forces of the Russian army (I, VI Infantry and III Reserve Cavalry Corps) entered the Kingdom of Poland in several columns, heading into the space between the Bug and the Narev. Kreutz's 5th Reserve Cavalry Corps was supposed to occupy the Lublin Voivodeship, cross the Vistula, stop the armaments that had begun there and divert the enemy's attention. The movement of some of our columns to Augustowa and Lomza forced the Poles to advance two divisions to Pułtusk and Serock, which was quite consistent with Diebitsch’s views - to cut up the enemy army and defeat it piece by piece. The unexpected thaw changed the state of affairs. The movement of the Russian army (on February 8 along the Chizhevo-Zambrov-Lomza line) in the accepted direction was considered impossible, since it would have to be drawn into the wooded-swampy strip between the Bug and the Narev. As a result, Dibich crossed the Bug at Nur (February 11) and moved to the Brest Highway, against the right wing of the Poles. Since with this change the extreme right column, book. Shakhovsky, moving towards Lomza from Augustow, was too far away from the main forces, then she was given complete freedom of action. On February 14, the battle of Stoczek took place, where General Geismar and a brigade of horse-riding heroes were defeated by Dvernitsky’s detachment. This first battle of the war, which turned out to be successful for the Poles, greatly raised their spirit. The Polish army took a position at Grochow, covering the approaches to Warsaw. On February 19, the first battle began - the Battle of Grochow. The first Russian attacks were repulsed by the Poles, but on February 25 the Poles, who by that time had lost their commander (Khlopitsky was wounded), abandoned their position and retreated to Warsaw. The Poles suffered serious losses, but they themselves inflicted them on the Russians (they lost 10,000 people against 8,000 Russians, according to other sources, 12,000 against 9,400).
Diebitsch near Warsaw
The next day after the battle, the Poles occupied and armed the fortifications of Prague, which could only be attacked with the help of siege weapons - and Diebitsch did not have them. In place of Prince Radziwill, who had proven his inability, General Skrzyniecki was appointed commander-in-chief of the Polish army. Baron Kreutz crossed the Vistula at Pulawy and moved towards Warsaw, but was met by Dwernicki's detachment and forced to retreat across the Vistula, and then retreated to Lublin, which, due to a misunderstanding, was cleared by Russian troops. Diebitsch abandoned operations against Warsaw, ordered the troops to retreat and placed them in winter quarters in the villages: General Geismar settled in Wavre, Rosen in Dembe Wielk. Skrzhinetsky entered into negotiations with Diebitsch, which, however, remained unsuccessful. On the other hand, the Sejm decided to send troops to other parts of Poland to raise an uprising: Dwernicki's corps - to Podolia and Volhynia, Sierawski's corps - to the Lublin Voivodeship. On March 3, Dwernitsky (about 6.5 thousand people with 12 guns) crossed the Vistula at Pulawy, overthrew the small Russian detachments he encountered and headed through Krasnostaw to Wojslowice. Diebich, having received news of the movement of Dvernitsky, whose forces were greatly exaggerated in reports, sent the 3rd reserve cavalry corps and the Lithuanian Grenadier Brigade to Veprzh, and then further strengthened this detachment, entrusting Count Tol with command over it. Upon learning of his approach, Dwernicki took refuge in the Zamość fortress.
Polish counter-offensive
In early March, the Vistula cleared of ice, and Diebich began preparations for the crossing, the destination for which was Tyrchin. At the same time, Geismar remained in Wavre, Rosen in Dembe Wielka, to monitor the Poles. For his part, the chief of the Polish main staff, Prondzinski, developed a plan to defeat the Russian army piecemeal, until the units of Heinz and Rosen united with main army, and offered it to Skrzhinetsky. Skrzhinetsky, after spending two weeks thinking about it, accepted it. On the night of March 31, a 40,000-strong army of Poles secretly crossed the bridge connecting Warsaw with Prague, attacked Geismar at Wavre and dispersed in less than an hour, taking two banners, two cannons and 2,000 people prisoners. The Poles then headed towards Dembe Wielka, and attacked Rosen. His left flank was completely destroyed by a brilliant attack by the Polish cavalry, led by Skrzyniecki; the right one managed to retreat; Rosen himself was almost captured; On April 1, the Poles overtook him at Kalushin and took away two banners. The slowness of Skrozhenicki, whom Prondzinski vainly persuaded to immediately attack Diebitsch, led to the fact that Rosen managed to receive strong reinforcements. However, on April 10, at Eagan, Rosen was again defeated, losing 1,000 men out of action and 2,000 prisoners. In total, in this campaign the Russian army lost 16,000 people, 10 banners and 30 guns. Rosen retreated across the Kostrzyn River; The Poles stopped at Kalushin. The news of these events disrupted Diebitsch's campaign against Warsaw, forcing him to undertake a reverse movement. On April 11, he entered the city of Seltse and united with Rosen.
While regular battles were taking place near Warsaw, in Volyn in Podolia and Lithuania (with Belarus) guerrilla warfare. On the Russian side in Lithuania there was only one weak division (3,200 people) in Vilna; the garrisons in other cities were insignificant and consisted mainly of disabled teams. As a result, Diebitsch sent the necessary reinforcements to Lithuania. Meanwhile, Serawski's detachment, located on the left bank of the Upper Vistula, crossed to the right bank; Kreutz inflicted several defeats on him and forced him to retreat to Kazimierz. Dvernitsky, for his part, set out from Zamosc and managed to penetrate the borders of Volyn, but there he was met by the Russian detachment of Ridiger and, after battles at Boreml and the Lyulinsky tavern, was forced to leave for Austria, where his troops were disarmed.
Battle at Ostroleka
Having arranged the food supply and taking measures to protect the rear, Dibich again launched an offensive on April 24, but soon stopped to prepare for the implementation of a new plan of action indicated to him by Nicholas I. On May 9, Khrshanovsky’s detachment, moved to help Dvornitsky, was attacked near Lyubartov by Kreutz, but managed to retreat to Zamosc. At the same time, Diebitsch was informed that Skrzynetsky intended to attack the Russian left flank on May 12 and head for Sedlec. To forestall the enemy, Diebitsch himself moved forward and pushed the Poles back to Yanov, and the next day he learned that they had retreated to Prague itself. During the 4-week stay of the Russian army at Sedlec, under the influence of inaction and bad hygienic conditions Cholera quickly developed in its midst; in April there were already about 5 thousand patients. Meanwhile, Skrzhinetsky set as his goal to attack the guard, which, under the command of General Bistrom and Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, was located between the Bug and Narew, in the villages around Ostroleka. Its forces numbered 27 thousand people, and Skrzhinetsky sought to prevent its connection with Diebitsch. Having sent 8,000 to Siedlce with the aim of stopping and detaining Diebitsch, he himself, with 40 thousand, moved against the guard. The Grand Duke and Bistrom began a hasty retreat. In the interval between the guard and Dibich, Khlapovsky’s detachment was sent to provide assistance to the Lithuanian rebels. Skrzhinetsky did not dare to immediately attack the guard, but considered it necessary to first take possession of Ostroleka, occupied by Saken’s detachment, in order to provide himself with a retreat route. On May 18, he moved there with one division, but Saken had already managed to retreat to Lomza. Gelgud's division was sent to pursue him, which, having moved towards Myastkov, found itself almost in the rear of the guard. Since at the same time Lubensky occupied Nur, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich retreated to Bialystok on May 31 and settled down near the village. Zholtki, behind the Narev. The Poles' attempts to force crossings on this river were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Dibich for a long time did not believe the enemy’s offensive against the guard and was convinced of this only after receiving news of the occupation of Nur by a strong Polish detachment. On May 12, the Russian vanguard ousted Lubensky’s detachment from Nur, which retreated to Zambrov and united with the main forces of the Poles. Skrzhinetsky, having learned about the approach of Dibich, began to hastily retreat, pursued by Russian troops. On May 26, a hot battle ensued near Ostroleka; Polish army having 40,000 against 70,000 Russians, was defeated.
At a military council assembled by Skrzhinetsky, it was decided to retreat to Warsaw, and Gelgud was ordered to go to Lithuania to support the rebels there. On May 20, the Russian army was positioned between Pułtusk, Golymin and Makov. Kreutz's corps and the troops left on the Brest Highway were ordered to join it; Ridiger's troops entered the Lublin Voivodeship. Meanwhile, Nicholas I, irritated by the prolongation of the war, sent Count Orlov to Diebitsch with an offer to resign. “I’ll do it tomorrow,” Diebitsch said on June 9. The next day he fell ill with cholera and soon died. Count Toll assumed command of the army until the appointment of a new commander-in-chief.
Suppression of the movement in Lithuania and Volyn
Meanwhile, Gelgud’s detachment (up to 12 thousand) entered Lithuania, and its forces, after joining with Khlapovsky and the rebel detachments, almost doubled. Osten-Sacken retreated to Vilna, where the number of Russian troops upon the arrival of reinforcements also reached 24 thousand. On June 7, Gelgud attacked the Russian troops located near Vilna, but was defeated and, pursued by units of the Russian reserve army, had to leave for Prussian borders. Of all the Polish troops that invaded Lithuania, only Dembinski’s detachment (3,800 people) managed to return to Poland.
In Volyn, the uprising also suffered a complete failure and completely ceased after a large detachment (about 5.5 thousand), led by Kolyshko, was defeated by the troops of General Roth near Dashev, and then at the village of Majdanek. After the Battle of Ostroleka, the main Polish army gathered near Prague. After prolonged inaction, Skrzynetsky decided to operate simultaneously against Riediger in the Lublin Voivodeship and against Kreutz, who was still near Siedlce; but when, on June 5, Count Toll demonstrated the crossing of the Bug between Serock and Zegrz, Skrzynetsky recalled the detachments he had sent.
Paskevich's movement to Warsaw
On June 25, the new commander-in-chief, Count Paskevich, arrived at the main Russian army, whose forces at that time reached 50 thousand; In addition, a detachment of the general was expected to arrive on the Brest Highway. Muravyova (14 thousand). By this time, the Poles had gathered up to 40 thousand people near Warsaw. To strengthen the means of fighting the Russians, a general militia was declared; but this measure did not give the expected results. Paskevich chose Osek, near the Prussian border, as the crossing point across the Vistula. Although Skrzhinetsky knew about Paskevich’s movement, he limited himself to sending part of his troops after him, and even that he soon returned, deciding to move against the detachment left on the Brest Highway for a demonstration against Prague and Modlin. On July 1, the construction of bridges near Osek began, and between the 4th and 8th the Russian army actually crossed. Meanwhile, Skrzhinetsky, having failed to destroy Golovin’s detachment standing on the Brest highway, which had diverted significant forces to himself), returned to Warsaw and, yielding to public opinion, decided to march with all his forces to Sokhachev and give battle to the Russians there. Reconnaissance carried out on August 3 showed that the Russian army was already at Lowicz. Fearing that Paskevich would not reach Warsaw by direct movement to Bolimov, Skrzynetsky headed to this point on August 4 and occupied Neborow. On August 5, the Poles were pushed back across the river. Ravka. Both armies remained in this position until the middle of the month. During this time, Skrzynetski was replaced, and Dembinski, who moved his troops to Warsaw, was temporarily appointed in his place.
Mutiny in Warsaw
News of the army's defeats caused unrest among the population of Warsaw. The first rebellion arose on June 20, with the news of the defeat suffered by General Yankovsky; under pressure from the crowd, the authorities ordered the arrest of Yankovsky, his son-in-law General Butkovsky, several other generals and colonels, Chamberlain Fenschau (who served as a spy for Konstantin) and the wife of the Russian general Bazunov. Those arrested were placed in the Royal Castle. At the news of the Russians crossing the Vistula, unrest flared up again. Skrzyniecki resigned, and Warsaw was left without power. On August 15, a crowd broke into the Castle and killed the prisoners held there (including General Bazunova), and then began beating the prisoners throughout the prisons. A total of 33 people were killed. The next day, General Krukovetsky declared himself commandant of the city, dispersed the crowd with the help of troops, closed the premises of the Patriotic Society and began an investigation. The government resigned. The Sejm appointed Dembinski as commander-in-chief, but then replaced him on charges of dictatorial tendencies and reappointed Krukovetski, who hanged four participants in the riots.
Siege of Warsaw
On August 19, the taxation of Warsaw began. From the side of Wola, the main forces of the Russians were located against the city, from the side of Prague - Rosen's corps, which Paskevich ordered to try to capture Prague with a surprise attack. Dembinski was replaced by Malakhovski. A military council was convened in the Polish camp, at which Krukovetsky proposed to fight in front of Volya with all available forces, Uminsky - to limit himself to defending the city, Dembinsky - to break through to Lithuania. Uminsky's proposal was accepted. At the same time, Lubensky's cavalry detachment with 3,000 people was sent to the Płock Voivodeship to collect supplies there and threaten the bridges at Osek, and Ramorino's corps with 20,000 was sent to the left bank against Rosen.
From the Russian side, Gen. Ridiger, who was in the Lublin Voivodeship, crossed the Upper Vistula with his detachment (up to 12.5 thousand, with 42 guns) on August 6-7, occupied Radom and sent the 10th Infantry Division to Nadarzyn on August 30 to reinforce the main forces. After reinforcements joined the Russian main army, its strength increased to 86 thousand; the Polish troops defending Warsaw numbered up to 35 thousand. At the same time, Ramorino pushed Rosen back to Brest (August 31), but, having received two orders not to move away from Warsaw, he retreated to Miedzyrzec, and Rosen, following him, occupied Bela.
Assault on Warsaw
From the west, Warsaw was protected by two lines of fortifications: the first was a series of redoubts 600 meters from the city moat, stretching from the fortified suburb of Chiste to the village of Mokotov; the second, a kilometer from the first, was based on Fort Volya and the fortified village of Rakovets. The first line was defended by Henryk Dembinski, the second by Józef Bem. Count Jan Krukowiecki, seeing the danger of the situation, entered into negotiations with Paskevich. The latter offered some guarantees and an amnesty, which, however, did not apply to the Poles of the “eight voivodeships”. On the contrary, Krukovetsky still demanded the return of Lithuania and Rus', saying that the Poles “took up arms to win independence within the borders that once separated them from Russia.”
In total he had 50,000 people at his disposal, of which 15,000 were the National Guard; Paskevich had 78,000 with 400 guns.
At dawn on September 6, after a fierce artillery bombardment, the Russian infantry went on the attack and took the first line redoubts with bayonets. Volya resisted the longest, whose commander, General Sovinsky, responded to the offer to surrender: “One of your cannonballs tore off my leg near Borodino, and now I cannot take a single step back.” He was killed in a fierce assault; Vysotsky was wounded and captured. Dembinsky and Krukovetsky made a sortie, trying to return the first line, but were repulsed. Paskevich set up his headquarters in Wola, and bombarded the second line throughout the night; The Polish artillery responded weakly due to a lack of charges. At 3 o’clock in the morning Prondzinsky appeared in Volya with a letter from Krukovetsky, which contained an expression of submission to the “legitimate sovereign.” But when Paskevich demanded unconditional submission, Prondzinsky declared that this was too humiliating and he did not have the authority to do so from the Sejm. The Sejm met in Warsaw, which however attacked Krukowiecki and the government with accusations of treason. At half past two Paskevich resumed the bombardment. The Russian army, having formed three columns, began an attack. The Poles' bayonet counterattack was repulsed with grapeshot. At 4 o'clock the Russians attacked the fortifications with music and took them. Paskevich himself was wounded in the arm. After this, Prondzinsky appeared again with a letter from Krukovetsky, declaring that he had received authority to sign the surrender. Paskevich sent his adjutant Berg to Warsaw, who finally accepted the surrender from Krukovetsky. However, the Sejm did not approve it, proposing other conditions. Krukowiecki left the government and, taking advantage of the fact that the capitulation was not approved, led 32,000 army men beyond the Vistula, telling the deputies: “save Warsaw - my job is to save the army.” On the morning of September 8, the Russians entered Warsaw through the open gates, and Paskevich wrote to the Tsar: “Warsaw is at the feet of Your Majesty.”
Polish uprising of 1830-1831, (in Polish historiography - November uprising(Polish Powstanie listopadowe), Russian-Polish War 1830-1831(Polish Wojna polsko-rosyjska 1830 and 1831 )) - “national liberation” (in Polish and Soviet historiography) uprising against the power of the Russian Empire on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, Lithuania, part of Belarus and Right-Bank Ukraine. Occurred simultaneously with the so-called “cholera riots” in central Russia.
On the other hand, violations of the constitution were not the only or even the main reason for the discontent of the Poles, especially since the Poles in other areas of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were not subject to its action (although they retained complete land and economic supremacy). Violations of the constitution were superimposed on patriotic feelings protesting against foreign power over Poland; In addition, there were also Wielkopolska sentiments, since “Congress Poland” (Polish. Kongresowka Królestwo Kongresowe), so called by the Poles - the brainchild of Alexander I at the Congress of Vienna, the former Napoleonic “Duchy of Warsaw”, occupied only part of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth within the borders of 1772, only ethnic Poland. The Poles (mainly the Polish gentry), as well as the “Litvins” (the Polish gentry of Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania), for their part, continued to dream of a state within the borders of 1772, hoping for help from Europe.
Patriotic movement
In early October, proclamations were posted on the streets; An announcement appeared that the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw (the seat of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the former governor of Poland) was being rented out from the new year.
But the Grand Duke was warned about the danger by his Polish wife (Princess Łowicz) and did not leave the Belvedere. The last straw for the Poles was Nicholas's manifesto on the Belgian revolution, after which the Poles saw that their army was destined to be the vanguard in the campaign against the rebel Belgians. The uprising was finally set for November 29. The conspirators had 10,000 soldiers against approximately 7,000 Russians, many of whom, however, were natives of the former Polish regions.
"November Night"
By February 1831, the strength of the Russian army had increased to 125.5 thousand. Hoping to end the war immediately by inflicting a decisive blow on the enemy, Dibich did not pay due attention to providing the troops with food, especially to the reliable arrangement of the transportation unit, and this soon resulted in major difficulties for the Russians.
On February 5-6 (January 24-25, old style), the main forces of the Russian army (I, VI Infantry and III Reserve Cavalry Corps) entered the Kingdom of Poland in several columns, heading into the space between the Bug and the Narev. Kreutz's 5th Reserve Cavalry Corps was supposed to occupy the Lublin Voivodeship, cross the Vistula, stop the armaments that had begun there and divert the enemy's attention. The movement of some Russian columns towards Augustow and Lomza forced the Poles to advance two divisions to Pułtusk and Serock, which was quite consistent with Diebitsch’s plans - to cut up the enemy army and defeat it piece by piece. The unexpected thaw changed the state of affairs. The movement of the Russian army (which reached the Chizhev-Zambrov-Lomza line on February 8) in the accepted direction was considered impossible, since it would have to be drawn into the wooded and swampy strip between the Bug and Narew. As a result, Dibich crossed the Bug at Nur (February 11) and moved to the Brest road, against the right wing of the Poles. Since during this change the extreme right column, Prince Shakhovsky, moving towards Lomza from Augustow, was too far away from the main forces, it was given complete freedom of action. On February 14, the battle of Stoczek took place, where General Geismar and a brigade of horse-riding heroes were defeated by Dvernitsky’s detachment. This first battle of the war, which turned out to be successful for the Poles, greatly raised their spirit. The Polish army took a position at Grochow, covering the approaches to Warsaw. On February 19, the first battle began - the Battle of Grochow. The first Russian attacks were repulsed by the Poles, but on February 25 the Poles, who by that time had lost their commander (Khlopitsky was wounded), abandoned their position and retreated to Warsaw. The Poles suffered serious losses, but they themselves inflicted them on the Russians (they lost 10,000 people against 8,000 Russians, according to other sources, 12,000 against 9,400).
Diebitsch near Warsaw
The next day after the battle, the Poles occupied and armed the fortifications of Prague, which could only be attacked with the help of siege weapons - and Diebitsch did not have them. In place of Prince Radziwill, who had proven his inability, General Skrzyniecki was appointed commander-in-chief of the Polish army. Baron Kreutz crossed the Vistula at Pulawy and moved towards Warsaw, but was met by Dwernicki's detachment and forced to retreat across the Vistula, and then retreated to Lublin, which, due to a misunderstanding, was cleared by Russian troops. Diebitsch abandoned operations against Warsaw, ordered the troops to retreat and placed them in winter quarters in villages: General Geismar settled in Wavre, Rosen in Dembe Wielk. Skrzhinetsky entered into negotiations with Diebitsch, which, however, remained unsuccessful. On the other hand, the Sejm decided to send troops to other parts of Poland to raise an uprising: Dwernicki's corps - to Podolia and Volhynia, Sierawski's corps - to the Lublin Voivodeship. On March 3, Dwernitsky (about 6.5 thousand people with 12 guns) crossed the Vistula at Pulawy, overthrew the small Russian detachments he encountered and headed through Krasnostaw to Wojslawice. Dibich, having received news of the movement of Dvernitsky, whose forces were greatly exaggerated in reports, sent the 3rd reserve cavalry corps and the Lithuanian grenadier brigade to Veprzh, and then further strengthened this detachment, entrusting Count Tol with command over it. Upon learning of his approach, Dwernicki took refuge in the Zamość fortress.
Polish counter-offensive
In early March, the Vistula cleared of ice, and Diebich began preparations for the crossing, the destination for which was Tyrchin. At the same time, Geismar remained in Wavre, Rosen in Dembe Wielk, to observe the Poles. For his part, the chief of the Polish main staff, Prondzinski, developed a plan to defeat the Russian army piecemeal, until the units of Geismar and Rosen joined the main army, and proposed it to Skrzyniecki. Skrzhinetsky, after spending two weeks thinking about it, accepted it. On the night of March 31, a 40,000-strong army of Poles secretly crossed the bridge connecting Warsaw with Warsaw Prague, attacked Geismar at Wavre and dispersed in less than an hour, taking two banners, two cannons and 2,000 people prisoners. The Poles then marched towards Dembe Wielka and attacked Rosen. His left flank was completely destroyed by a brilliant attack by the Polish cavalry, led by Skrzyniecki; the right one managed to retreat; Rosen himself was almost captured; On April 1, the Poles overtook him at Kalushin and took away two banners. The slowness of Skrzyniecki, whom Prondzinski vainly persuaded to immediately attack Diebitsch, led to the fact that Rosen managed to receive strong reinforcements. However, on April 10, at Eagan, Rosen was again defeated, losing 1,000 men out of action and 2,000 prisoners. In total, in this campaign the Russian army lost 16,000 people, 10 banners and 30 guns. Rosen retreated across the Kostrzyn River; The Poles stopped at Kalushin. The news of these events disrupted Diebitsch's campaign against Warsaw, forcing him to undertake a reverse movement. On April 11, he entered the city of Siedlce and united with Rosen.
While regular battles were taking place near Warsaw, a guerrilla war was unfolding in Volhynia in Podolia and Lithuania (with Belarus). On the Russian side in Lithuania there was only one weak division (3,200 people) in Vilna; the garrisons in other cities were insignificant and consisted mainly of disabled teams. As a result, Diebitsch sent the necessary reinforcements to Lithuania. Meanwhile, Serawski's detachment, located on the left bank of the Upper Vistula, crossed to the right bank; Kreutz inflicted several defeats on him and forced him to retreat to Kazimierz. Dvernitsky, for his part, set out from Zamosc and managed to penetrate the borders of Volyn, but there he was met by the Russian detachment of Ridiger and, after battles at Boreml and the Lyulinsky tavern, was forced to leave for Austria, where his troops were disarmed.
Battle at Ostroleka
Having arranged the food supply and taking measures to protect the rear, Dibich again launched an offensive on April 24, but soon stopped to prepare for the implementation of a new plan of action indicated to him by Nicholas I. On May 9, Khrshanovsky’s detachment, moved to help Dvornitsky, was attacked near Lyubartov by Kreutz, but managed to retreat to Zamosc. At the same time, Diebitsch was informed that Skrzynetsky intended to attack the Russian left flank on May 12 and head for Sedlec. To forestall the enemy, Diebitsch himself moved forward and pushed the Poles back to Yanov, and the next day he learned that they had retreated to Prague itself. During the 4-week stay of the Russian army near Sedlec, under the influence of inaction and poor hygienic conditions, cholera quickly developed in its midst; in April there were already about 5 thousand patients.
Meanwhile, Skrzhinetsky set as his goal to attack the guard, which, under the command of General Bistrom and Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, was located between the Bug and Narew, in the villages around Ostroleka. Its forces numbered 27 thousand people, and Skrzhinetsky sought to prevent its connection with Diebitsch. Having sent 8,000 to Siedlce in order to stop and detain Diebitsch, he himself, with 40 thousand, moved against the guard. The Grand Duke and Bistrom began a hasty retreat. In the interval between the guard and Dibich, Khlapovsky’s detachment was sent to provide assistance to the Lithuanian rebels. Skrzhinetsky did not dare to immediately attack the guard, but considered it necessary to first take possession of Ostroleka, occupied by Saken’s detachment, in order to provide himself with a retreat route. On May 18, he moved there with one division, but Saken had already managed to retreat to Lomza. Gelgud's division was sent to pursue him, which, having moved towards Myastkov, found itself almost in the rear of the guard. Since at the same time Lubensky occupied Nur, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich retreated to Bialystok on May 31 and settled down near the village. Zholtki, behind the Narev. The Poles' attempts to force crossings on this river were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Dibich for a long time did not believe the enemy’s offensive against the guard and was convinced of this only after receiving news of the occupation of Nur by a strong Polish detachment.
On May 12, the Russian vanguard ousted Lubensky’s detachment from Nur, which retreated to Zambrov and united with the main forces of the Poles. Skrzhinetsky, having learned about the approach of Dibich, began to hastily retreat, pursued by Russian troops. On May 26, a hot battle ensued near Ostroleka; The Polish army, which had 40,000 against 70,000 Russians, was defeated.
At a military council assembled by Skrzhinetsky, it was decided to retreat to Warsaw, and Gelgud was ordered to go to Lithuania to support the rebels there. On May 20, the Russian army was positioned between Pułtusk, Golymin and Makov. Kreutz's corps and the troops left on the Brest Highway were ordered to join it; Ridiger's troops entered the Lublin Voivodeship. Meanwhile, Nicholas I, irritated by the prolongation of the war, sent Count Orlov to Diebitsch with an offer to resign. “I’ll do it tomorrow,” Diebitsch said on June 9. The next day he fell ill with cholera and soon died. Count Toll assumed command of the army until the appointment of a new commander-in-chief.
Suppression of the movement in Lithuania and Volyn
List of battles
- Battle of Stoczek - February 14, 1831, winner: Poland;
- Battle of Grokhov - February 25, 1831, winner Russia;
- Battle of Dembe Wielka - March 31, 1831, winner: Poland;
- Battle of Igan - April 10, 1831, winner: Poland;
- Battle of Ostroleka - May 26, 1831, winner: Russia;
- Defense of Warsaw (1831) - September 6, 1831, winner: Russia;
- Battle of Xentem - October 5, 1831; winner: Poland;
Results of the uprising
- February 26, 1832 - the “Organic Statute” was published, according to which the Polish Kingdom was declared part of Russia, the Sejm and the Polish army were abolished. Old Administrative division into voivodeships was replaced by division into provinces. In fact, this meant adopting a course to transform the Kingdom of Poland into a Russian province - the monetary system in force throughout Russia, the system of weights and measures, was extended to the territory of the Kingdom.
In 1831, thousands Polish rebels and their family members, fleeing persecution by the authorities Russian Empire, fled outside the Kingdom of Poland. They settled in different countries Europe, causing sympathy in society, which put corresponding pressure on governments and parliaments. It was the Polish emigrants who tried to create for Russia an extremely unsightly image of a strangler of freedoms and a center of despotism that threatens “ civilized Europe" Polonophilia and Russophobia became important components of European public opinion from the early 1830s.
- After the suppression of the uprising, a policy was pursued to force the Greek Catholics to join Orthodoxy (see the article Belarusian Greek Catholic Church).
Reflection of the uprising in world culture
Throughout the world, with the exception of Russia, the uprising was met with great sympathy. French poet Casimir Delavigne, immediately after the news about him, wrote the poem “Warsaw Woman”, which was immediately translated in Poland, set to music and became one of the most famous Polish patriotic anthems. In Russia, most of society turned out to be opposed to the Poles, especially in view of the Greater Poland ambitions of the leaders of the uprising and the Polish gentry; The suppression of the uprising is welcomed in his poems written in the summer of 1831 by A. S. Pushkin (“Before the Holy Tomb ...”, “Slanderers of Russia”, “Borodin Anniversary”), as well as Tyutchev.
| The one who fell is unharmed in the struggle; We did not trample our enemies into dust; |
At the same time, Pushkin expresses satisfaction with the death of Poland:
Only on September 14 Vyazemsky became familiar with the poem. On that day, he wrote in his diary: “If we had glasnost press, Zhukovsky would never have thought, Pushkin would not have dared to glorify Paskevich’s victories... The hens would be beside themselves with amazement, seeing that the lion had finally managed to lay his paw on mouse... And what a sacrilege it is to bring Borodino closer to Warsaw. Russia cries out against this lawlessness..."
February 12th, 2018
The impetus for the next revitalization of Polish national movement was the war between France and Austria that began in 1859. Napoleon III liberated Italy, and Polish revolutionaries hoped that he would help Catholic Poland restore its independence. Main generator and conductor nationalist sentiments in the Kingdom of Poland, which was part of the Russian Empire, there was a Polish nobility. The gentry were disadvantaged by the lack of privileges and the opportunity to participate in real public administration, viewed the subjugation of Russia as a humiliation and dreamed of the revival of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1830-1831 A powerful uprising was already breaking out in the Kingdom of Poland, suppressed by Russian troops.
Thirty-three years later, the “Reds,” as the unambiguous supporters of Polish independence were called, began to prepare a new uprising.
In October 1861, the Central National Committee was founded, which subsequently played the role of the rebel headquarters. In addition, there was a Committee of Russian Officers in Poland, founded in 1861 and maintaining close ties with both Polish nationalists and Russian revolutionary democrats. After the arrest of the founder of the circle, Vasily Kaplinsky, who served in the Russian army with the rank of lieutenant, the Committee was headed by another officer - Lieutenant Shlisselburgsky infantry regiment Andrey Potebnya. Yaroslav Dombrowski, who also served in the Russian army as a junior officer and even took part in the Crimean War, was also a member of the Committee.
Yaroslav Dombrovsky
By the end of 1862 underground groups those who were going to take part in the impending uprising numbered at least 20 thousand people. The social base of the rebels were small Polish nobles, junior officers - Poles and Lithuanians who served in the Russian army, students and pupils of Polish educational institutions, representatives of the various intelligentsia. Special role played by priests of the Catholic Church. The Vatican unconditionally supported all plans to start an uprising, counting on the liberation of Catholic Poland from the rule of Orthodox Russia.
In 1860-1862. the situation became increasingly tense. For example, a pogrom was organized at an Orthodox cemetery, the Russian inhabitants of Warsaw began to receive threatening letters, and on February 15 (27), 1861, soldiers shot at a demonstration, resulting in the death of five of its participants. In turn, Polish radicals repeatedly made attempts on the lives of Russian governors general. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, who escaped with minor injuries, did not escape the assassination attempt. The formal reason for the uprising was the decision of Alexander II to begin recruitment in Poland. So the emperor wanted to isolate most of the protest youth.
On the night of January 10-11, 1863, bells began to ring in many cities in Poland. This was a prearranged signal telling the revolutionaries to begin their action. It was the youth who evaded recruitment into the Russian army who became the backbone of the first rebel detachments. The radicals formed the “Provisional National Government” (Zhond Narodovy), which was headed by 22-year-old former student Faculty of Philosophy Stefan Bobrovsky. On the first day of the uprising, 25 attacks on Russian garrisons occurred throughout the Kingdom of Poland. However, since the rebels were poorly organized and poorly armed, Russian soldiers repulsed these attacks quite easily.
At the beginning of February 1863, 49-year-old Ludwik Mieroslawski, the godson of Napoleonic General Davout, a participant in the uprising of 1830-1831, arrived in Poland from France. and professional Polish revolutionary. He was proclaimed dictator of the uprising. But Mierosławski’s “dictatorship” did not last very long. On February 7 (19), 1863, at the edge of the Krzyvosondz forest, a detachment commanded by the “dictator” himself entered into battle with a detachment of Colonel Yuri Schilder-Schundler, which included 3.5 companies of the Olonetsky infantry regiment, 60 Cossacks and 50 border guards. Even such modest forces inflicted a crushing defeat on the rebels, after which on February 9 (21), 1863, Ludwik Mieroslawski abandoned leadership of the uprising and fled back to France.
Mierosławski Ludwik
After Mierosławski's flight, the rebels were led by Colonel Marian Langiewicz (1827-1887), promoted to general, who had previously commanded the Sandomierz Voivodeship. Like Mieroslawski, Langiewicz, a former Prussian army officer, was a professional Polish revolutionary and lived in France and Italy, where he worked military training Polish youth. Nevertheless, formally Mierosławski was considered the dictator for some time, and only on February 26 (March 10) Langiewicz was proclaimed the new dictator of the uprising. But luck did not smile on him either. Already on March 19, 1863, having been completely defeated in two battles with Russian troops, Langevich fled to the territory of neighboring Austrian Galicia.
In addition to the centralized rebel forces, numerous partisan detachments, led by local "field commanders". These were the detachments of Leon Frankowski, Apolinarius Kurowski, Zygmunt Podalewski, Karol Fruce, Ignatius Mystkowski and many others. Most of the detachments operated for a month or two, or at most three months. Then they suffered crushing defeats from Russian troops. One of the few exceptions was the detachment of Colonel General Mikhail Heidenreich, who managed to hold out from July to December 1863. This was not surprising, considering that Mikhail Jan Heidenreich himself was a former career officer in the Russian army and graduated from the General Staff Academy.
Marian Langevich
In addition to Poland, the uprising also spread to a number of provinces, once former part Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Grodno, Vilna, Vitebsk, Minsk, Mogilev lands - everywhere their own rebel formations appeared, created by Polish and Lithuanian nobles. It is worth noting that the uprising was supported from the very beginning by Polish emigration and revolutionary circles in Europe. Many Russian revolutionaries also sympathized with the Polish rebels. A number of Russian and European radicals went to Polish lands as volunteers. Several volunteer units were formed, staffed by French, Italian, and Hungarian revolutionaries. For example, a “battalion of Zouaves of death” was created, commanded by the Frenchman Francois de Rochenbrun. Distinctive feature This formation had a “death oath” - to commit suicide in case of defeat. Such Polish "suicide bombers".
In the European press, the Polish uprising was romanticized, presented exclusively as a national liberation movement of a proud European people against Russian autocracy and national oppression. Similar attitude inherited from revolutionary movement of that time and the official Soviet historical science. Meanwhile, the rebels were not “soft and fluffy” romantic idealists who fought exclusively for freedom. The rebels, among whom the Polish gentry predominated, defended their class interests, namely, they advocated the return of that form of social and political structure, in which the gentry felt most at ease. Religious differences played a role in motivating the rebels. It is known about reprisals against Orthodox clergy, desecrations of Orthodox churches and cemeteries.
Alexander II in March 1863 took a number of radical measures as part of the ongoing agrarian reform. Thus, in the Vilna, Kovno, Grodno, Minsk, and then Vitebsk, Kyiv, Mogilev, Podolsk and Volyn provinces, the obligations of the peasants towards the landowners were terminated. Since the bulk of the landowners were Polish nobles, such a measure could not be to their liking. But far-sighted Russian policy deprived the Polish lords of the support of the bulk of the peasantry. The majority of peasants both in the Kingdom of Poland and in the western provinces remained indifferent to the rebels. There are many known cases and protests of peasants against the rebels who were annoying rural population with their extortions, and even outright robberies.
The Polish lords were particularly cruel towards the peasant population, especially towards Ukrainian and Belarusian peasants who professed Orthodoxy. Therefore, it was not surprising that the peasant population hated their exploiters and, at any opportunity, took any action against them. For example, peasants repeatedly gathered troops and captured their lords who sympathized with the rebels in order to hand them over to the authorities. Moreover, the command of the Russian army even tried to somewhat cool the ardor of the peasantry, which, during the suppression of the uprising, tried to recoup the centuries of atrocities of the gentry. In turn, the rebels launched real terror against the peaceful peasant population, trying to intimidate the peasants and force them to support the rebels or, at least, not cooperate with royal troops. Lack of support from the peasantry was one of the main reasons for the rapid defeat of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864.
In the period from 1863 to 1865, in the fighting on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland and the western provinces, the Russian army lost 1221 soldiers and officers killed and died from wounds, 2810 - died from diseases and domestic injuries, 3416 - wounded, 438 - missing and deserted , another 254 people were captured by the rebels. There were cases of individual soldiers and junior officers going over to the side of the rebels, and usually Polish and Polish officers went over to the rebels. Lithuanian origin. In the process of suppressing the uprising, the authorities punished the leaders and the most active rebels quite harshly. On March 22, 1864, Konstantin Kalinovsky was hanged in Vilna. The total number of death sentences carried out was for the period 1863-1865. about 400. At least 12 thousand people were deported to Siberia and other areas of the Russian Empire. About 7 thousand more participants in the uprising and sympathizers left the Kingdom of Poland and the western provinces and emigrated to the countries of Central and Western Europe. However, the actions of the tsarist government towards the rebels can hardly be called overly harsh. Already on December 31, 1866, Alexander II replaced the indefinite hard labor for the rebels sentenced to it with ten years. In total, only about 15% of the rebels were punished for participating in the uprising, and most of the participants in the hostilities on the rebel side remained free.
After the suppression of the uprising, the tsarist government became concerned with the prevention of nationalism among the Polish gentry. In 1864, the Latin alphabet was banned, Mikhail Muravyov ordered to stop publishing any books in Lithuanian language. In 1866, the Governor-General of the Vilna province Konstantin Kaufman banned the use of Polish language in public places and in official documents, and also introduced a ban on the use of any Polish national symbols. A serious blow was dealt to the positions of the Polish gentry. But as a result of the uprising, the peasantry won. Power, seeking to create a counterbalance Polish gentry, reduced the amount of redemption payments for peasants by 20% (in Lithuanian and Belarusian lands - by 30%). In addition, a centralized opening has begun primary schools for the children of Belarusian and Lithuanian peasants, which had a completely understandable meaning - to educate the younger generations of peasants in loyalty to Russian authorities, in the Orthodox cultural tradition.
Although European public opinion idealized the rebels, viewing them exclusively as idealistic heroes, in reality, not a single European power seriously helped the Polish uprising. It was the hope of help from France and Great Britain that “warmed the soul” of the Polish nobles, who were counting on the outbreak of war between the Western powers and Russia. Even British newspapers admitted that if the rebel leaders had not counted on Western military assistance, the uprising would have stopped by itself, or even would not have started at all.
sources
Author: Ilya Polonsky
The Poles strived for restoration of independent Poland within the borders before 1772(before the first section). November 29, 1830 group Polish officers broke into the residence of the leader. Prince Konstantin Pavlovich, the viceroy of the Russian emperor, with the aim of killing him and seizing power. Workers and students, having taken possession of the arsenal and weapons warehouse, began to arm themselves. The rebels created Provisional Government. On January 25, 1831, the Polish Sejm declared the independence of Poland. Nicholas I sent an army of 120 thousand people to Poland under the command of Diebitsch. Polish troops numbered 50-60 thousand people. The forces were unequal. Polish troops put up stubborn resistance, but were defeated.
In September 1831 tsarist army took Warsaw by storm. The uprising was suppressed. Thousands of Poles were sent into exile.
Nicholas destroyed the Polish constitution. In February 1832 it was published Organic statute. According to it, the Kingdom of Poland was declared an integral part of the Russian Empire, and the Polish crown was declared hereditary in the Russian imperial house. The administration of Poland was entrusted to Administrative Council headed by the Emperor's Viceroy. The Seimas was liquidated. The Russian nobility supported the punitive policy of the Nicholas government.
After the suppression of the uprising in Poland slogan Nicholas's domestic policy became protection of the original Russian system.
After the revolutions of 1848 - 1849. Nikolai refused to carry out any changes. 1848 – 1855 characterized as " gloomy seventh anniversary» Nicholas's reign:
Russian troops in 1849.suppressed the uprising in Hungary. After this, Russia gained a reputation in Europe “ Gendarme of Europe».
In 1848 Nikolai refused from his intentions to free the peasants. He stated: “Some people attribute to me the most absurd and reckless thoughts and intentions on this subject. I ... them I reject with indignation».
The French were banned from entering Russia, and then all Europeans. Travel abroad was extremely limited; Department III issued foreign passports only to persons in need of treatment.
Censorship oppression reached its apogee during these years. In 1848, an emergency censorship body was created, popularly called the Buturlinsky Committee after the name of its chief. He looked through publications that had already been cleared for publication by the censors.
The issue of closing universities was discussed in ruling circles. In 1849, Uvarov published an article in defense of universities. Nicholas sent him into retirement.
The persecution of universities intensified, and control over the teaching of professors increased. Granovsky was required to submit lecture notes to the Ministry of Public Education.
A.V. Nikitenko, censor, professor, wrote about this time in his memoirs: “Barbarism triumphs there in a wild victory over the human mind.”
T.N. Granovsky wrote about this time: “Let the present be damned, maybe the future will be bright” (1849). "A lot of decent people fell into despair and looked at what was happening with dull calm - when will this world fall apart.”
A.I. Koshelev: “Nicholas’s reign from 1848 was especially difficult and suffocating.”
Chicherin B.N..: “In the last years of the reign, despotism reached its most extreme proportions, and oppression became completely unbearable. Every independent voice has fallen silent; universities were twisted; the press was suppressed; no one thought about enlightenment. Boundless servility reigned in official circles, and hidden anger began to boil below. Everyone, apparently, obeyed unquestioningly; everything was going according to plan. The monarch’s goal was achieved: the ideal of oriental despotism was established on Russian soil.”
A.I. Herzen: “Quickly in our north, wild autocracy is wearing out people... as if on a battlefield - dead and mutilated.”
Events Crimean War became a difficult test for society and Nicholas himself. Nikolai sincerely believed in what he was doing myth about the military-political power of Russia .A.F. Tyutcheva wrote: “...the unfortunate emperor saw how under him the stage of that illusory greatness on which he imagined that he had raised Russia collapsed».
Nicholas I could not bear the shame of Russia's defeat in the Crimean War. At the beginning of February 1855, Nikolai fell ill with the flu. He was in a state of severe depression: he refused to receive ministers, sending them to the heir Alexander Nikolaevich, he prayed a lot in front of icons, he received almost no one, Nicholas was tormented by insomnia, he cried. On February 18, 1855, Nicholas I died, and on February 19, 1855, Alexander II ascended the throne.
How was it perceived? Russian society news of Nikolai's death? As testified Koshelev, the news of the death of the emperor did not upset many, as people were tired of administrative and police arbitrariness.
February 19, 1855 met Granovsky and Soloviev on the porch of the church. Soloviev said only the word: “He died!”, and Granovsky answered him: “The amazing thing is not that he died, but that you and I are alive.”
F.I. Tyutchev wrote the following lines:
“You were not a king, but a performer,
You did not serve God and not Russia,
You served your vanity.”
Kropotkin wrote in his memoirs: intelligent people, having learned about Nikolai’s death, hugged on the streets of St. Petersburg, telling each other the good news. Everyone had a presentiment that the end was coming both to the war and to the terrible conditions created by the iron tyrant.”
They said that Nikolai took poison.
One said that Nicholas could not survive the failures of the Crimean War and committed suicide;
Another accused the life physician Mandt, a foreigner, of “killing the Tsar.” These legends spread with lightning speed.” The government needed to publish (March 24, 1855) the book “The Last Hours of the Life of Emperor Nicholas I” (in the printing house of the III department). It was written by D.N. Bludov, chief manager of department II. The book presented the official version Nikolai's natural death from influenza.
There is a group of memoir sources in which a version of Nikolai's poisoning is developing.
At the beginning of February 1855, Nikolai fell ill with the flu. The most accurate dating of the development of the disease is provided by the Chamber-Fourier journal, in which at the end of the day Nikolai’s daily routine was recorded. According to the magazine, on February 5 the monarch felt imperfectly healthy. The Emperor was ill for 5 days and clearly became stronger. The journal entries do not convey the alarm over Nikolai's illness. On February 12, Nicholas received a report from Yevpatoria about the defeat of the Russian troops. It became clear to the Emperor that the war was lost. The Chamber-Fourier journal noted that on the night of February 14, the sovereign slept little. Probably, insomnia was caused by Nikolai's heavy thoughts; signs of ill health were insignificant. Entries from the Chamber-Fourier journal: “February 13. The fever is less, the head is free. The 14th of February. The fever has almost stopped. The head is free. February, 15. Pulse is satisfactory. Cough and sputum production are not severe. February 16. There is no headache, mucus production is free, and there is no fever.” As you can see, Nikolai’s health gradually improved.
Nikolai was experiencing a mental crisis. According to Mandt, the news from near Evpatoria “killed him.” From February 12, Nikolai stopped accepting reports; he sent cases to the heir; refused food and suffered from insomnia. The court was concerned about the king's seclusion. P.D. Kiselev recalled: Nikolai “no matter how much he wanted to overcome mental anxiety, it was expressed on his face more than in his speeches, which, when talking about the most sorrowful events, concluded with one ordinary exclamation: “Do your will, God.” State mental anguish This was unusual for a sovereign who prided himself on his equanimity.
The heir, the empress, the court, and the general public had no idea about the possibility of an imminent death.
On the night of February 18, 1855, Mandt, according to his memoirs, received a note from Bludova asking “not to waste time in view of the increasing danger.” At three o'clock in the morning, Mandt hurried to Nikolai and, after examining him, became convinced that his situation was extremely dangerous, that he was experiencing the onset of paralysis. Nikolai courageously listened to Mandt’s diagnosis and asked to call the heir. The cause of the paralysis is not entirely clear. The testimony of an unknown person, written from the words of Dr. Karell, Mandt’s colleague, has been preserved. This person said that on February 17, Carell “was called to Emperor Nicholas at night and found him in a hopeless state and only Mandt was not with him. The emperor wanted to reduce his intense suffering and asked Karell to alleviate it, but it was too late, and no remedy could save him. ...Carell, knowing. That not only in the city, but even in the palace, no one knew about the danger, he went to the heir’s half and demanded to be woken up. We went to wake up the empress and immediately sent two ballots for the two previous days to be printed.” All the bulletins about Nikolai’s illness were written in the Chamber-Fourier journal in the margins in a different ink; until that day, the margins remained empty. There is an assumption that these bulletins were entered into the journal later in order to create a picture of the emperor’s increasing illness.
Mandt later wrote a pamphlet about the death of the emperor and intended to publish it in Dresden, but the Moscow government, having learned about this, threatened him with deprivation of a substantial pension if he did not immediately destroy what he had written. Mandt complied with this requirement, but told a select circle of people about what happened. One of them was Pelikan Wenceslav Wenceslavovich - chairman of the medical council, director of the medical department of the Ministry of War, president of the Medical-Surgical Academy, and Savitsky Ivan Fedorovich, adjutant of Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich on the General Staff. Pelikan more than once told his grandson A. Pelikan, according to Mandt, the circumstances of Nikolai’s death. A. Pelikan - diplomat, later - censor. According to A. Pelikan’s note, Mandt gave poison to someone who wanted to commit suicide at all costs. In addition, Pelikan cited information that anatomy professor Gruber also claimed that Nikolai was poisoned. Gruber was invited to work at the Medical Academy from Vienna. Gruber, a famous anatomist, was tasked with embalming the body of the deceased emperor. Gruber typed up the autopsy report in Germany. For this, he was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he was kept for some time, until his intercessors managed to prove his lack of intent. In other works there is evidence that the embalming of the emperor’s body was carried out twice: the first time by Gruber, the second by Enokhin and Naranovich. Other sources confirm the embalming of the body by Grubber and the pressure on it. Savitsky was a friend in the Tsarevich's retinue since childhood. KN. Alexandra. He saw a lot. He later retired, took part in the Polish uprising of 1863, remained in exile, wrote memoirs, completely free from internal and external censorship. He was an informed witness to many events. In his memoirs, Savitsky wrote about Nikolai: “Surrounded by liars, flatterers, not hearing the truthful word, not hearing the truthful word, he woke up only to the thunder of the guns of Sevastopol and Evpatoria. The death of his army - the support of the throne - opened the king's eyes, revealing all the destructiveness and fallacy of his policy. But for a despot possessed by exorbitant vanity and conceit, it turned out to be easier to die, to commit suicide, than to admit his guilt. And although the war still lasted, its outcome was clear even to Nicholas. The German Mandt, forced to flee abroad, told me about the last minutes of the great ruler. After receiving a dispatch about the defeat near Yevpatoria, he summoned Mandt to himself and declared: “You have always been loyal to me, and therefore I want to speak with you confidentially - the course of the war has revealed the fallacy of my entire foreign policy, but I have neither the strength nor the desire to change and go any other way, it would be contrary to my convictions. Let my son, after my death, make this turn. It will be easier for him to do this after coming to terms with the enemy.” “Your Majesty,” I answered him. “The Almighty has given you good health, and you have the strength and time to improve things.” Nikolai: “No... Give me poison that would allow me to give up my life without unnecessary suffering, quickly enough, but not suddenly (so as not to cause misunderstandings). ... I command and ask you, in the name of your devotion, to fulfill my last request" Further, Savikiy supplemented this story with a description of what he saw and heard himself. Savitsky wrote that Alexander, having learned about it. That his father was dying, he hurried to his father, collapsed at his feet and shed tears. Nikolai fell ill and never got up again. That same night, the palace learned that the king was seriously ill. The court doctors Karell, Rauch and Marcus were called to a consultation; the signs of poisoning were so obvious that the doctors refused to sign the previously prepared bulletin about the disease. Then they turned to the heir and, at his command, the court doctors affixed their signatures to the bulletin and sent it to the Minister of War.” (For more details, see the article by A.F. Smirnov “The solution to the death of the emperor” // Presnyakov A.E. Russian autocrats. M., 1990.). Nicholas I was buried on March 5, 1855.
Most historians give the official version of Nicholas's death from influenza.
Entering Poland as a “liberator” in 1807, Napoleon turned it into a French-dependent Duchy of Warsaw. But after his defeat in 1815, at the Congress of Vienna, a new division of Poland was carried out - already the fourth, in which four-fifths of the Duchy of Poland was transferred to Russian citizenship. Russia created the Kingdom of Poland on this territory with its own constitution and Sejm. The rest of Poland was divided between Austria and Prussia.
Russian Emperor Alexander I forgave the Poles for their action against Russia: in 1812 Poland fielded Napoleonic army its 80,000-strong army. Order and calm were restored in the country, the material well-being of the people began to develop rapidly, which gave impetus to the rapid growth of the population. Russia also did not forget about public education and the cultural growth of the Kingdom of Poland - a university was founded in Warsaw, “two military academies, a women’s institute, a school of agriculture and agriculture and others educational establishments" The brother of Emperor Alexander I, Konstantin Pavlovich, loved Poland, knew its language perfectly and, being the commander-in-chief of the Polish army since 1814, strengthened it in every possible way. Later, after the first governor - General Zajonchek, becoming the governor of the Kingdom of Poland himself, he married the Polish Countess I. Grudzinskaya and even stood for the complete independence of Poland. Konstantin was quite satisfied with his fate and, perhaps, that is why in 1823 he abdicated the Russian throne in favor of his younger brother Nikolai Pavlovich.
The documents on this case were prepared in advance by Alexander I and kept secretly in one copy each in the Synod, the Senate, the State Council and the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin; the sealed envelopes had the royal signature: “...keep until my demand, and in the event of my death reveal, before any action, in an emergency meeting.” So Constantine finally broke with the succession to the throne and devoted himself to Poland. The Poles themselves spoke about their well-being with great satisfaction: “...Poland has never been as happy as in the time of Alexander I, and if it had continued to follow this path, it would soon have forgotten 200 years of its anarchy and would have become, along with the most educated states of Europe "
Even after the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Alexander I granted the Poles a constitution. The manifestation of the opposition began with the fact that Poland, having, thanks to the efforts of Constantine, its own national army, began to strive for separation from Russia and even intended to annex a huge part of the territory of Russian lands that made up Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. Such a statement at the Sejm outraged the Russian emperor, and he began to limit its activities, stretch the time between its meetings, and then the publicity of the Sejm gathering was canceled, and basically its meetings began to be held at behind closed doors. Such a violation of the constitution resulted in the organization of a network secret societies, who took up the special education of the growing youth and preparation for the future uprising.
Over time, two main parties were formed: the aristocratic one, led by Prince Adam Chertoryski, and the democratic one, led by Lelevel, a professor of history at Vilna University. They were separated by plans for the future reorganization of Poland, but were united by the current ones - to prepare as quickly as possible for an uprising to fight for national independence Poland. They even tried to contact the Decembrists in Russia, but the negotiations did not lead to the desired results.
By this time, the flames of revolution began to flare up in the West. In France, the Bourbon dynasty was swept away, Belgium was indignant, and the wind of unrest of the Russian peasantry blew from the east. Preparations for the uprising in Poland began to become overripe - denunciations and arrests began. It was impossible to postpone the performance any further. The final, decisive impetus for the uprising was the inclusion of Polish troops in the Russian army for the campaign in Belgium to suppress the revolutionary movement.
In the cold autumn night On November 17, a group of conspirators from young officers and students of military schools, led by Nabelyak, Trzhaskovsky and Goschinsky, burst into the Belvedere country palace shouting: “Death to the tyrant!” The sleepy Konstantin was pushed aside by the valet, and he managed to hide and then go to the Russian army. But many Russian generals, officers, Constantine’s associates and servants, along with the Poles loyal to Russia, were killed.
The conspirators broke down the doors of the arsenal and began to arm the army of rebels, who incited anger with provocative cries, “... that the Russians are slaughtering the Poles and burning the city.” At this time, another group tried to seize the barracks, but the firefight dragged on and the matter failed. There were clearly not enough military forces for the coup, since a small number of units were involved. Then the organizers rushed with a call to the working-class neighborhoods, and the entire population of the city was raised. Crowds of people rushed to the arsenal. In a short time the uprising spread throughout Warsaw. At this time, Constantine, having released the Polish troops loyal to him, retreated with his Russian troops from the city, giving the Poles the opportunity to understand that the Russians were peaceful. He considered the moment the uprising began to be a small outbreak and expected it to go out by itself. But as a result of such inaction, the uprising spread throughout Poland. The rapidly developing events frightened the top of the Polish aristocracy. An interim government was urgently created, headed by the former minister and friend of Emperor Alexander I, Adam Chertoryski. He persuaded General Khlopitsky, who once served in Napoleonic's army, to take over the leadership of the uprising in order to prevent it from developing spontaneously. And then the new government and the Sejm sent their demands to St. Petersburg to comply with the constitution and restore Poland to the borders before its first partition, that is, with the annexation of the “Western Russian regions” to it. In response to the “bold” statement, Nicholas I did not negotiate, but stated: “... that he promises amnesty to the Poles if they immediately submit; but if they dare to raise arms against Russia and their legitimate sovereign, then they themselves and their cannon shots will overthrow Poland.”
But the rebels did not lay down their arms. Then the Russian emperor sent his troops to tame the “rebels” under the command of Field Marshal Johann Diebitsch-Zabalkansky. But since the uprising in Poland was unexpected for Russia, it took about 3.5 months to prepare the army for military action. In the meantime, only one corps of Baron Rosen was operating there, which, under the pressure of the Poles, gradually gave up its positions.
The new year 1831 has arrived. The Russian emperor in Poland was declared deposed, the people took to the streets and demanded the complete separation of Poland from Russia. As a sign of solidarity with the Russian revolutionaries of 1825, they demonstratively served a memorial service for the executed Decembrists and “... put forward a slogan addressed to the Russian people - “For our and your freedom.”
Russian punitive troops were on the way. Poland was intensively preparing for military action. Its initial army of 35 thousand grew to 130, but barely half was suitable for real action. In Warsaw itself there were up to four thousand national guardsmen under arms. Having extensive experience, General Khlopitsky already foresaw the outcome of the uprising. From the very beginning, he did not want to take on leadership and refused the role of dictator. He pursued a wait-and-see policy in order to get out of the game if necessary. Khlopitsky did not even take advantage of the absence of the main forces of the Russian army to defeat the 6th Lithuanian corps of General Rosen. He was eventually replaced by Prince Mikhail Radziwill.
The Russian army of 125.5 thousand entered Poland. On January 24, Diebich wedged it in several columns between the Narev and the Bug in order to cut the Polish army and break it piece by piece with one decisive blow. But the mud thawed his plans. In order not to get stuck in the swamps of the interfluve, he went out onto the Brest Highway. On February 13, Diebich defeated the Polish army near Grochow, but did not finish them off when crossing the Vistula and gave them the opportunity to leave for Prague. The next day, approaching the fortress that Suvorov had once taken, he became convinced that it was impossible to take it without special siege weapons.
Having secured the base and strengthened the rear, on April 12, Dibich launched a decisive offensive. Having learned about this, the commander-in-chief Polish forces Skrzhinetsky began to escape with his troops from under attack, but on May 14 he was overtaken and defeated at Ostroleka. After the defeat, the Polish army concentrated near Prague. Diebitsch moved towards her, but on the way he died from cholera, which was rampant not only in Poland, but also in central regions Russia.
On June 13, General I. F. Paskevich-Erivansky took command of the Russian troops. General N.N. Muravyov was moving with his army to the Brest Highway. The Poles pulled an army of 40 thousand people to Warsaw, in addition, a general conscription into the militia was announced. But it was all in vain. By August 1, Skrzhinetsky resigned from the post of commander-in-chief. He was replaced by Dembinski, the fourth leader of the Polish army. All three previous commanders-in-chief - Khlopnitsky, Radziwill and Skrzynetsky were accused of treason and imprisoned. The Poles demanded their execution, but the government remained silent. Then a crowd of angry townspeople forced their way into the prison and executed the arrested generals by lynching. Popular uprisings began against the government, which in turn became confused. Adam Chertoryski left the post of chief ruler and fled from Warsaw to Paris. The Sejm urgently appointed General Krukovetsky in his place, and reprisals began against popular performances. Some participants in the demonstrations against the Polish government and the most ardent participants in the massacre of former commanders in prison were executed. There were attempts to start new negotiations with Paskevich, but he did not accept any conditions, categorically declaring that the rebels should lay down their arms and stop resistance. The Russian commander's statement was rejected. The Poles decided to fight to the end.
On September 25, Paskevich, with decisive army actions, struck the western suburbs of Warsaw and captured its suburban part - Wola, and the next day all of Warsaw was surrendered. Part of the Polish troops under the command of Rybinsky, who did not want to lay down their arms, retreated to the north of Poland. Pursued by Paskevich's army, Polish troops crossed the Prussian border on September 20 and were disarmed there. Soon the military garrison of Medlin surrendered, followed by Zamość on October 9. The instigators and active participants were exiled to Siberia, the Polish Sejm was dispersed, and the constitution was abolished. It was replaced by the “Organic Statute”, according to which from now on and forever Poland was to be an integral part of the Russian Empire. The name Kingdom of Poland was retained, but it ceased to exist as an independent state. General Paskevich was appointed governor of this Russian province and received the title of Prince of Warsaw. Under him, a council was established of the main officials of the region, replacing the previous ministers. Instead of the Sejm, the State Council of the Kingdom of Poland was established, consisting of dignitaries appointed by Emperor Nicholas I himself. The Russian language was mandatory in all official areas of activity.
Three years later, the Russian emperor himself showed up in Warsaw and, at the reception of a delegation from the population, directly stated: “...By my order, a citadel was erected here (Alexandrovskaya fortress for the Russian garrison), and I announce to you that at the slightest indignation I will order the destruction of your city...” .
In order to prevent the future organization of Polish secret societies and the ideological influence of the Poles in the western regions of Russia, universities in Warsaw, Vilna, as well as the Krmenets Lyceum were closed, and instead of them the University of St. Vladimir.
The Russian Synod received with great sympathy the petition of Uniate Bishop Joseph Semashko for reunification with the Russian Orthodox Church Uniate churches of the Russian population western regions influenced by Polish Catholicism. The highest hierarch and outstanding theologian of that time, Moscow Metropolitan Philaret, played a significant role in this matter.
An event such as a rout Polish uprising, has not gone unnoticed in the history of awards. All participants in hostilities against the Polish rebels were given a special award - a special cross, minted in the manner of the Polish military order"Virtuti Militari". This Russian sign - “werewolf” - of the Polish Order of Distinction for Military Merit was specifically introduced by Emperor Nicholas I to insult national dignity Polish people. Like the Polish order, it has widened ends and an image in a rosette of the front side of a Polish single-headed eagle, around which a continuous wreath of laurel leaves is placed around its circumference. At the ends of the cross there are inscriptions: “VIR” on the left, “TUTI” on the right, “MILI” on the top, “TARI” on the bottom. On back side, in exactly the same rosette with a wreath, a three-line inscription: “REX - ET - PATRIA” (Ruler and Fatherland); Below, under the spherical line, the date is “1831”. At the ends of the cross there is an image of monograms initial letters- SAPR ( Stanislav August Rex Polonia), but the order of their arrangement is unusual: on the top - “S”, on the left - “A”, on the right - “R” and on the bottom - “P”. This inscription recalls the last Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who reigned at one time with the support of the Russian Empress Catherine II and was oriented toward Russia in Polish politics. He died in St. Petersburg in 1798 after abdicating the Polish crown.
The cross of Russian coinage was divided into five classes:
1st class badge - gold, with enamel, issued with a shoulder ribbon and star to the army commander and corps commanders;
2nd class badge - gold, with enamel, on a neck ribbon - for generals of lower rank than corps;
3rd class badge - gold, with enamel, to be worn on a chest ribbon - for headquarters officers;
4th class badge - gold, but without enamel - like a soldier's, size 28x28 mm - for chief officers;
5th class badge - silver, size 28x28, intended for awarding lower ranks.
Establishing this cross in 1831, Emperor Nicholas I “...ordered to consider it as a medal...”. The ribbon for all crosses was adopted the same (the colors of the Polish national order) - of blue color with black stripes along the edges. After the appearance of the Russian sign, reminiscent in shape of the Polish order, it actually ceased to exist. And only a few decades later it was revived again by the Polish bourgeois government.
In addition to these signs, a special silver medal, with a diameter of 26 mm. On its front side, in the entire field, there is an image of the Russian State emblem(double-headed eagle), in the center of which under royal crown porphyry with the image of the Polish coat of arms (single-headed Lithuanian eagle); on top, along the side of the medal, there is a small inscription: “BENEFIT OF HONOR AND GLORY.”
On the reverse side, inside a wreath of two laurel branches tied at the bottom with a ribbon, there is a four-line inscription: “FOR THE CAPTURE - BY ASSAULT - WARSAW - 25 and 26 Aug.”; below, at the baldric, the year is “1831”. At the very top, between the ends of the branches (above the inscription), there is a radiant six-pointed cross.
The medal was awarded to lower ranks who participated in the assault on the Polish capital, as well as priests and medical personnel who performed their duties in a combat situation.
Such medals were also of smaller diameter - 22 mm. They were intended to reward cavalrymen. This is the latest - the fifth - in a series of similar cavalry awards. They were worn on the same ribbon as Polish signs- blue with black stripes along the edges.
There is a mint of the medal “For the capture of Warsaw by storm” made of white metal, 26 mm in diameter, somewhat different in image. This is one of the first medals made of white metal.
