Central and Eastern Europe after the Treaty of Riga

The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga; (Russian: Ри́жский ми́рный договóр --romanisation Rízhsky Mírny dogovór-- ,Latvian: Rīgas miera līgums, and Polish: Traktat Ryski) was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, between Poland and the Soviet Union. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages In Linguistics, romanization (or latinization, also spelled romanisation or latinisation) is the representation of a Word or Latvian language (latviešu valoda is the official state language of Latvia. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Events 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius ' will and proclaims Caligula emperor Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar The Second Polish Republic or interwar Poland is the Republic of Poland between World War I and World War II. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The treaty ended the Polish-Bolshevik War.

Background

For more details on this topic, see Polish-Soviet War.

Amidst the Russian Civil War the Poles were eager to regain all the territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from their historical enemy, Russia. The Russian Civil War (1917–1923 was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Meanwhile, the Soviets tried to export their revolution to the West, by force if necessary. If the Bolsheviks had occupied Poland they would have been in a position to come to the aid of German Communists, and possibly ensure the success of a Soviet revolution in Germany. The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists ( Большевик Большевист (singular, derived from bolshe, "more" were a faction Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The historian J.F.C. Fuller described the Battle of Warsaw as one of the most significant battles ever. Major-General John Frederick Charles Fuller, CB, CBE, DSO, commonly J The Battle of Warsaw (Russian Варшáвское сражéние Polish: Bitwa Warszawska sometimes referred to as the Miracle at the Vistula, Polish After that battle, when Poland turned a looming defeat into a great victory, Soviets were eager to begin a peace treaty negotiations. ^[1]

The treaty

The peace talks were started on August 17, 1920, in Minsk, but as the Polish counter-offensive neared, the talks were moved to Riga, and resumed on September 21. Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Minsk (Мінск mʲinsk Минск mʲinsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. In September in Riga the Soviets made two offers: on September 21st and 28th. The Polish delegation made a counteroffer on the 2nd of October. On the 5th the Soviets offered amendments to the Polish offer, which Poland accepted. Armistice was signed on October 12. An armistice is a situation where the warring parties agree to stop fighting Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. [1] and went into effect on October 18. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid

The chief negotiators were Jan Dąbski for Poland, and Adolph Joffe for the Soviets. Jan Dąbski (b April 10, 1880 in Kukizów near Lwów - June 5, 1931 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish politician Adolph Abramovich Joffe ( Russian: Адольф Абрамович Иоффе alternative transliterations Adolf Ioffe or rarely Yoffe) (October 10 1883

The Treaty of Riga was controversial from the very beginning. Many argued that much of what Poland had won during the Polish-Bolshevik War was lost in the peace negotiations, which were characterized by many as short-sighted and narrow-minded. By 1921, Piłsudski was no longer the head of state, and only participated as an observer during the Riga negotiations, which he called an act of cowardice. ^[2] Due to their military setbacks, the Bolsheviks offered the Polish peace delegation substantial territorial concessions in the contested border areas. However, to many observers it looked like the Polish side was conducting the Riga talks as if Poland had not won, but lost the war. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. In fact, a special parliamentary delegation consisting of six members of the Sejm held a vote on whether to accept the Soviets' far-reaching concessions, which would leave Minsk on the Polish side of the border. Pressured by the national democrat Stanisław Grabski, the 100 km of extra territory were rejected, a victory for the nationalist doctrine and a stark defeat for Piłsudksi's federalism, for the national democrats envisioned a unitary Polish state with no more than 1/3 minorities within its borders, a prequisite for any successful Polonization attempts in their eyes. Narodowa Demokracja (National Democracy also known from its initials ND as " Endecja," was a Polish Right-wing Stanisław Grabski ( April 5 1871 - May 6 1949) was a Polish economist and politician a National Democracy Ideologue known Political federalism is a Political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together (Latin foedus, covenant) with a governing Polonization (polonizacja is the acquisition or imposition The Poles were and their public opinion demanded an end to the hostilities; both sides were also under pressure from the League of Nations. The Polish people, or Poles, (Polacy) are a Western Slavic Ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920

On the other hand, the negotiations for a peace treaty dragged on for months due to Soviet reluctance to sign. However, the Soviets faced increased unrest. Between February 23 and March 17 they faced a sailors’ revolt in Kronstadt which was suppressed; peasants were also rising up against Soviet authorities, who collected grains to feed the army and starving consumer regions. This article is about the historical event known as the Kronstadt rebellion Kronstadt (Кроншта́дт also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt (Krone for Crown and Stadt for City) is a Russian The Tambov Rebellion of 1919&ndash1921 was one of the largest and best organized peasant rebellions against the Bolshevik regime during the Russian Civil War In view of this situation, Lenin ordered the Soviet plenipotentiaries to secure a peace treaty. ^[1]

Splitting Belarus

Eventually both sides decided to sign the Peace of Riga on March 18, 1921, splitting the disputed territories in Belarus and Ukraine, between Poland and Russia. Events 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius ' will and proclaims Caligula emperor Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe.

The Ukrainians led by Symon Petliura had been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Poles (after the Treaty of Warsaw (1920)), but in Riga the Poles betrayed them — to the peril of both Poles and Ukrainians. Symon Vasylyovych Petliura (Симон Васильович Петлюра also known as Simon Petlyura; May 10, 1879 – May 25, The Treaty of Warsaw (also the Polish-Ukrainian or Petlura-Piłsudski Alliance or Agreement) of April 1920 was an alliance between the Second ^[1] Piłsudski felt the agreement was a shameless and short-sighted political calculation. Allegedly, having walked out of the room, he told the Ukrainians waiting there for the results of the Riga Conference: "Gentlemen, I deeply apologize to you". ^[3][4][5] The treaty violated Poland's military alliance with Ukraine, which had explicitly prohibited a separate peace. It also worsened relations between Poland and its Ukrainian minority, who felt Ukraine had been betrayed by its Polish ally, a feeling that would be exploited by Soviet propaganda and result in the growing tensions and eventual violence in the 1930s and 1940s. The Massacre of Poles in Volhynia (Rzeź wołyńska (lit Volhynian slaughter was a massive Ethnic cleansing operation in German-occupied Volhynia and By the end of 1921, the majority of Ukrainian, Belarusian and White Russian forces had either crossed the Polish border and laid down their arms or had been annihilated by the Soviets.

However, Józef Piłsudski's dream of creating an Eastern Europe alliance (Międzymorze) of independent countries was thwarted by this treaty, as Poland was unable to fulfill the obligations of its alliance with Ukraine and support its independence, and Polish-Lithuanian relations deteriorated as well as a result of Poland's annexation of the city of Vilnius, which the Lithuanians claimed as their capital. Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. Międzymorze was a project pursued after World War I by Józef Piłsudski, of a Polish -led Federation of Central and

Poland after the Treaty of Riga with the pre-partitions border of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth marked

Lenin also considered the treaty unsatisfactory. The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic He had to temporarily give up his plans for exporting the revolution West. ^[1]

Second page of the treaty, Polish version

On the other hand, the Treaty of Riga led to the stabilization of the eastern border of Poland. The new Polish state surrendered most of land lost in 1st and 2nd partition to Russia by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during partitions of Poland, with a sizeable Polish minority (less than 1 million) especially around Słuck and Żytomierz. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Slutsk (Слуцк Слуцк Sluckas is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River 105 km south of Minsk. Zhytomyr (Житомир ( Zhytomyr) Житомир ( Zhitomir) Żytomierz is a historic City in the North of the western half of Ukraine This would allow Soviets to carry out harsh reprisals against those Poles — begun with confiscation of immense property (land, forests), religious persecution (bishop Cieplak 1923) and eventually full scale deportation of Poles to Kazakhstan 1931-1934. Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the Population living on the Polish side of the Riga border, including Poles and (approx. The Polish people, or Poles, (Polacy) are a Western Slavic Ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. 6 million citizens) minorities of Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians and Jews were largely spared from communist rule, and guaranteed freedom of property and religious faith — for the next 17 years until 1938. Ukrainians (Українці Ukrayintsi,) are an East Slavic Ethnic group primarily living in Ukraine, or more broadly— Citizens Belarusians or Belorussians (Беларусы Biełarusy previously also spelled Belarussians, Byelorussians and Belorusians, also Lithuanians are the Baltic Ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number a little over 3 million PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ However, this didn't protect them from ethnic conflicts, especially during the Great Depression from 1929 on.

Poland also was to receive monetary compensation (30 million rubles) for its economic input into the Russian Empire during the times of partitions of Poland. The ruble or rouble (рубль rublʹ, plural ru рубли́ rubli; see note on English spelling and Russian plurals with numbers The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Russians were also to surrender arts and other Polish national treasures pillaged after 1772 (like the Załuski Library). The Załuski Library ( Zalusciana, Biblioteka Załuskich) was built in Warsaw 1747 – 1795 by Józef Andrzej Załuski and Both sides renounced claims to war compensation.

Notes and references

See also

• Aftermath of the Polish-Soviet War
• West Belarus

External links

• Photocopies of the treaty: pages 1-8, pages 9-16, pages 17-23, appendices and additional protocol