Untitled - OUDL Home

and could not be understood by Europe. England inparticular had better remember Ireland.Nevertheless, the Polish question between 1830 and1863 was a stormy petrel of European internationalrelations, and the Polish emigres and their quasi-governmentin Paris were a perpetual preoccupation forNicholas. In any cafce, even apart from the West, thePolish question could not be a purely internal problemsimply owing to the existence of a Prussian and anAustrian Poland. In 1830 the three eastern powers,and in 1863 Russia and Prussia, though not Austria,marched literally hand in hand.The Russian reaction to 1830 was to treat ' CongressPoland' as a conquered country, though still distinctfrom the rest of the empire. The 1815 constitution wasswept away and until the death of Nicholas in 1855 t^ieRussian hand lay heavier and heavier upon the country.In 'the western lands' full assimilation with the rest ofthe empire was henceforward the order of the day: along series of anti-Polish measures was introduced anda powerful campaign launched against the Uniat church.1848, the year of revolutions, and the Crimean War(1854-56) somewhat strangely saw no revolt in RussianPoland: the collapse of a rising in Prussian Poland, thestrength of the Russian army and the absence of a leadfrom Warsaw or from the West prevented any move.But the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War broughta change.The internal crisis in Russia during the early yearsof Alexander II had its effect on policy towards ' CongressPoland.' Under the Polish nobleman Wielopolski anumber of reforms were made which gave some scopeto Polish development, and there seemed a chanceof an understanding between Polish and Russian conservativeadherents of moderate reform. It provedimpossible. The blunders of the government incitedthe nationalist societies to rebellion. They declaredAlexander deposed and an independent Poland with'the western lands.'Alexander (and Russia was behind him) refused toreturn even to 1815, for he feared that it would be but218