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Draft:Union of Military Poles in Russia

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Union of Military Poles in Russia
Active24 March 1917 – 4 February 1918 (1917-03-24 – 1918-02-04)

The Union of Polish Military Personnel in Russia (Polish: Związek Wojskowych Polaków w Rosji, abbreviated as ZWP) united as many as 800 legal organizations of Polish officers, non-commissioned officers, privates and military employees serving in the Russian Army (formerly Imperial).[1] The union was created on March 24, 1917, following the February Revolution of 1917.[1] It existed until early 1918.[1] The organizations were district-based.

Its management body was the Central Board. The union's goal was to gather Poles serving in the Russian army, take care of them, spread Polish nationalism and education, take care of the disabled, prisoners of war, and the military personnel's families.[1]

Formation

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The first organization was created by Tadeusz Jastrzębski [pl], a Colonel of Artillery. The organization was established in Tsarskoye Selo on March 24, 1917 as an organization of the Petrograd Military District. Later, branches of the union in were established in the Moscow, Kiev, Western and Northern districts.

lndividual activists had different views on the union's tasks related to World War I, February Revolution and the formation of a Polish army in Russia. The left-leaning supporters of Józef Piłsudski wanted to gather Poles in a union in order to survive the war and preserve their strength for a later period. The aim of the Endecja was to form Polish army units to fight the Imperial German Army under general Russian command.

On the initiative of the ZWP, gatherings of soldiers were held:

Unit Location
Polish Rifle Division [pl] Kyiv
Romanian Front Chișinău
South-Western Front Rechytsa
Western Front Minsk
Moscow Military District Moscow

First General Congress

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On June 7-22, 1917, the First General Congress of the Union was held in Petrograd, during which there was a split regarding whether a Polish army should be created in Russia.[1] The left wing left the Union, the remaining members of the congress decided to organize Polish military formations in Russia. This task was entrusted to the Supreme Polish Military Committee [pl] (Naczpol). Leading activists of the Union were Władysław Raczkiewicz and W. Szczęsny.

The Left established the Main Committee of the Union of Military Poles (Left) in Russia [pl].[1] It was opposed to the formation of Polish troops in Russia and supported communism.[1] A. Żaboklicki was its president, although it was actually led by R. Łęgawa.[1]

According to Encyklopedia PWN, this division in the ZWP squandered the chance to create a large and autonomous Polish army.[1]

Early 1918

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On February 4, 1918, the Naczpol ceased its activities after the Bolsheviks arrested some of its members, and as a result of the demobilization of the Russian army and the creation of the Red Army in early 1918, the ZWP ceased to exist.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Encyklopedia PWN 2023.

Sources

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  • Miodowski, Adam (2004). Związki Wojskowych Polaków w Rosji: (1917-1918) (PDF) (in Polish). Białystok: Instytut Historii Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku.
  • Encyklopedia PWN (2023). "Związki Wojskowych Polaków w Rosji". Encyklopedia PWN (in Polish).
  • "Związek Wojskowych Polaków w Rosji". Mała Encyklopedia Wojskowa (in Polish). Vol. 3. Warszawa: MON. 1971.
  • "Związek Wojskowych Polaków w Rosji". Popularna Encyklopedia Powszechna (in Polish). Vol. 20. Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza. 1998. ISBN 83-85719-07-5.
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