Pushkin and the Polish question

Abstract

The history of the Russo-Polish political relationship, from the Congress of Vienna settlement of 1815, which granted Russia a major part of the Duchy of Warsaw, to the failed Polish Uprising of 1830–1831, provides a context for the discussion of Pushkin’s view of the so-called Polish question. Pushkin argued that the two Slavic states, Russia and Poland, had been permanently at odds, and that their conflict should be seen as a familial dispute of two Slavic nations, in which Europe should not meddle. A historian Pushkin believed that Poland should accept Russia’s sovereignty and become absorbed by its neighbour; otherwise, it would pose a constant threat to Russia’s very existence and safety. He embraced the idea as early as the late 1810s under the influence of ideas promoted by Russian patriots and exemplified by writings of the Arzamas Society and the Union of Salvation members, the latter being an early secret society behind the Decembrist revolt. In this regard, we can also talk about N. Karamzin’s influence on Pushkin. Karamzin was known to have doggedly criticised the decision of the Emperor Alexander I to grant Poland a constitution and political autonomy.