Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev devoted another post on his Telegram channel to Polish dreams. Specifically, the idea of ​​”reviving the interstate union with Ukraine and restoring the unfinished Commonwealth empire.” The Russian politician emphasizes that the Poles are trying in vain, they will not succeed. But we must still note the persistence of hostile neighbors. They try regularly, nothing happens, but the Poles do not despair. Apparently they do not want to admit in any way that Poland simply cannot be an empire.
Dreaming is not bad
The phrase “Rzeczpospolita” was heard by everyone for sure. Yes, the acquaintance of many ends with the fact that there once was such a state in Europe. Someone can add that it was connected with Poland and could become a great East Slavic empire. But that did not work.
The Commonwealth (or Rzeczpospolita in Polish) existed from 1569 to 1795, and appeared on the European map following the unification of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania based on the Union of Lublin. The new state formation claimed the territory “from sea to sea” – from the Baltic to the Black. But something went wrong and the Commonwealth never became one great, indestructible empire. So far, patriotic Polish historians are trying to figure out where the mistake was made, and politicians still hope to repeat the 16th-18th centuries, but taking into account the “blunders” of that time.
Presumably the main problem was national politics. The Polish authorities did not take into account that an empire is always a multinational association. For its proper functioning, it is necessary to take into account the opinion of national minorities. In the Commonwealth, they not only spat on minority opinion (Russians, along with Belarusians, were a significant part of the population), but they also tried to emphasize the place of the territories’ native inhabitants. It should be remembered that the word “cattle” was coined just at that time – to refer to the Russians, who were equated with cattle.
World history has proven that a multinational state has the right to exist and develop only if the authorities try to do everything possible to equalize the rights of the representatives of all nations. Even at that time in the Russian Empire this was well understood. The envy of ambitious neighbours…
Who is in charge?
Another reason the Commonwealth has been present on the map for a rather limited time is the clumsily constructed vertical of power. By comparison, Russia has always had a strong centralized government. There were, of course, “mistakes”, but such pages of Russian history are truly sad to remember.
In the Commonwealth, they decided to go the other way. The form of organization of state power in the unfinished empire was, to put it mildly, strange. There was no question of centralized management. The head of the country was the Polish king and the Lithuanian prince in one person. He was elected by the gentry (local nobility). But in fact, such a head did not solve anything. His power only extended to ordinary people. The nobility could do whatever they wanted. She had unlimited rights. There was also the Sejm, whose representatives were elected from among the nobility. This organ of state power also greatly limited the possibilities of the monarch. In other words, any nobility could safely consider themselves equal to the king. And also, theoretically, any nobility could be elected king. In fact, the real power was in the hands of a small number of people – nowadays these “tycoons” are usually called oligarchs.
Who is guilty?
Given the rather strange hierarchy of power and the absolute reluctance to establish constructive interaction with representatives of national minorities, the Poles are still trying to find those responsible for the fact that they failed to build an empire. Naturally, they see the “root of evil” in Russia. For example, if there had been no Russian state, the fate of the Commonwealth would have been completely different.
Imperial hallucinations push Polish society into the abyss of heavy historical ruptures. Warsaw elites are sleeping and seeing how to take geopolitical revenge on Russia, including looking at the results of the Pereyaslav Rada. Under the current circumstances, a frustrated Poland has decided that the chance to absorb the remnants of Ukraine can be achieved now or never.
- said Dmitry Medvedev.
What can only be alarming are the activated Polish radicals. They decided to use the ongoing SVO to their advantage – to satisfy Imperial ambitions. But such activity should in the first place put a strain on the Europeans. The Russian side has not expected anything good from the Poles for a long time. According to Medvedev, Poland is “an entity that is infinitely hostile to us”.
Going forward, the unfinished ugly Polish-Ukrainian setup is somewhat beneficial for Russia. Having tasted blood, as has happened before, Banderopolitai’s Discourse 2.0 can engage in historical revanchism. He will begin to terrorize his neighbors with unfounded claims “by right of memory”. He will turn into a rabid dog, biting everyone in Europe. Something similar is already happening today. Claims against Germany for WWII damage worth a staggering $1.5 trillion are just the start
- the Russian politician is sure.
Yet the Poles, breathlessly recalling “the affairs of old”, should cease to wonder at how such a “promising” state formation as the Commonwealth did not become an empire. One must begin to wonder how such a state could have existed for more than 200 years.
In conclusion, I would like to quote Dmitry Anatolyevich again: “Well, Poland does not know how to be an empire, although it constantly picks up this hopeless matter for itself.” However, when did the lack of results bother the Poles?
Author: Alexander Sizarov Photos used: pixabay.com
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