Orientacje polityczne ludności polskiej północno-wschodniej części Królestwa Polskiego na przełomie XIX i XX wieku

Abstract

Problems of political trends among Polish residents of the former Russian territories are in the center of attention not only of historians but also of sociologists and politicians. Discovering and understanding political sympathies of the Polish community in the difficult times when Poles were deprived of their independent state, taking into consideration regional differences, seem to be of utmost importance and require further research. The knowledge of the subject may be of great help to modern sociologists and politicians while analyzing contemporary political processes. Previous historical studies were mostly concerned with particular political parties and groupings; it should be mentioned, that it was not the number of party members but mostly political preferences of the common residents (expressed either directly or, more often, indirectly) which determined the position of a certain party on the political scene. Political activeness of the Polish residents in the North Eastern part of the former Polish Kingdom revealed itself in direct and incidental political activity, patriotic endeavors, community work, national solidarity acts as well as reading of the certain kind of press. Some people joined parties and took part in the formation of their programs, but they were not the decisive force in the success of a definite grouping. The range of influence of a party depended to a larger extent up on the support of its adherents among common people. Unfortunately it is impossible to be precise while defining the level of political awareness in the Polish society of the abovementioned territories before World War I. But we may surmise that political choices of different orientations were made by intelligentsia, petty gentry and some of the peasantry. Some of the working class people of small towns were also politically conscious. We should also keep in mind the diversity of political positions in particular social communities. Intelligentsia was the most politically active group, the next come gentry and young people (students of secondary schools and universities). A lot of them became political leaders after the independence was gained. Political consciousness of the proletariat seem to have desisted after the failure of the 1905 - 1907 revolution. We cannot but mention the difference between the more prominent political attitudes of the people in towns and definitely less obvious political stance of people in villages. More politically involved were people of Lomza district as compared to Suvalki region. The National Camp was the most politically successful in the North East ern part of the Polish Kingdom. The most important factor of its success was the social structure of the abovementioned territories. National Democrats appealed to the ancient national symbols, traditions, religion and Polish nationalism that were valued by the majority of Polish society. The adherents of the Uniate Church were also among the supporters of the National Democrats. The success of the National Democrats was to a large extent due to their domination in the region as well as the political bearing of their leaders. National Democrats extended their influences ( although not equally) to the most of the Lomza district as well as to the territories with Polish residents in Suvalki region. The most of their supporters were concentrated in Augustovo, Suvalki and Seiny regions. A small number of Liberal Movement representatives showed interest in national democratic ideas. As for socialists of the beginning of the XX century, they were not ready to undertake any real activity. They couldn't attain any visible successes in spite of all their efforts because of the improper social structure of the Polish society in North Eastern Poland at that period. Small influences of Social Democrats of Poland and Lithuania were to be observed not far from Bialystok Socialist revolutionary movement, which was mostly Jewish and Lithuanian and to a lesser degree Polish, was widely spread in Lithuanian territories of Suvalki region. It should be mentioned that socialists of that period were far from being rebellious. They were only single voices of those who sympathized with the ideas among young people at the end of the 19th century and the be ginning of the 20th century. Only a small number of the national movement followers could be heeded among the peasantry of Lomza district and even less in the Polish part of Suvalki Region. They were mostly those people who became politically conscious before the 1905 - 1907 revolution and later were called "politically unstable", as well as some peasants who became involved in national movement. After the failure of the 1905 - 1907 revolution, the independence movement was initiated mainly by younger generation consisting mostly of secondary schools and university students. Some people were sympathetic with the idea of national unity notwithstanding different political positions, but the number of politically indifferent was too large to be estimated. Most of the problems touched upon in the present dissertation need further research. Some additional examination of political tendencies in particular people's groupings and social and professional associations is obviously of great importance. ParalleI studies of political trends taking into consideration different parts of the Polish Kingdom should be conducted. We should also keep in mind and further explore the development and extension of certain political trends that endured to our times and may be traced in contemporary political life. Further insight into problems of political tendencies and practices of the Polish people starting with the time of their formation and up to the moment when they became mass political movements of contemporary period, seems to be essential.