| The factual accuracy of this article is disputed.
Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.
|
Vistulan Country (Russian Привислинский Край, Privislinskiy Kray) was an informal name of the Polish lands incorporated into Imperial Russia after the fall of the November Uprising.
In 1832 all voivodships that constituted the Kingdom of Poland were turned into gubernias and became an integral part of Russia, ruled directly by the Russian tsars. In 1831 the Polish Army, constitution, Sejm and local self-administration were disbanded. Also all universities were closed, only to be reopened several years later as purely-Russian high schools.
Initially the territory maintained certain degree of autonomy than other gubernias. The former Kingdom of Poland continued to use the Polish currency (złoty) and the Administrative Council retained some of its privileges (although it was directly controlled by the Russian governor Field Marshal Ivan Paskevich). However, by 1832 the currency and the customs border were abolished, as was the metric system and penal code. Also the Catholic Church was persecuted and most monasteries were closed and nationalised while the Uniate Church was officially banned and most of its followers were treated as Orthodox.
After the January Uprising in 1863 the Polish language was banned from office and education and the process of incorporation of the Polish gubernias and russification of its administration was completed. During World War I, in 1915 the area was occupied by the Central Powers and in 1917 Russia ceded all Polish lands to Germany and Austria-Hungary, who created a puppet Kingdom of Poland there.
See also:
|
