The Polish Eastern Border Demarcation Issues in 1920 - Beginning of 1921 (Alexandr Tikhomirov)

Раздел - "Международные отношения"The article dwells on the issues concerning the Polish eastern border demarcation in 1920—beginning of 1921 in the context of the developments of the last stage of the 1919—1920 Poland-Soviet war. The analysis of the positions of Poland, the RSFSR and other Soviet republics as well as that of the Entente countries and the Vrangel government allowed the author to point out different variants of the border demarcation which existed in 1920. In January 1920 the government of the RSFSR expressed its willingness to draw the borderline with Poland along the Polish-Eastern Soviet frontline as of the beginning of 1920. In July 1920, with the Red Army's successful offensive the Entente countries suggested that the border should b e based o n the Polish borderline which had been elaborated by the special commission of the Paris peace conference and adopted by the Entente Supreme (High) Council o n December 1919. But b o t h variants were declined by all belligerents for various reasons. In October 1920 Poland, the RSFSR and other Soviet republics agreed to draw the border along the line of "the German trenches", i. e. the Russian-German frontline of the 1916—1917 period. This line was proposed by the Polish delegation and was determined by the military strategy considerations. However, adopting it as the eastern border of Poland would have meant the victory of the proponents of the incorporation of Western Belarusian and Ukrainian lands into the Polish state. The agreement on the delineation of the eastern border of Poland along the "German trenches" was fixed in the preliminary Riga Treaty of October 12, 1920. The attempts to change the balance of power during the armed uprisings of B.Savinkov, S.Bulak-Bulakhovich and S.Petlyura as well as in the rebellions in Slutsk in November 1920 were not a success. On March 17, 1921 Poland, the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR signed the peace treaty in Riga, the provisions of which sealed the territorial division of Belarus and Ukraine. The 1921 Riga Peace Treaty became a certain compromise between Poland and Soviet Russia which buried their leaders' ambitious plans. Along with the 1919 Versaille Peace Treaty it determined the international relations in Europe between the First and Second world wars. At the same time, the Riga Treaty, like the Versaille Treaty, was not and could not possibly be durable, since it was based on the principle of military and political expediency. The eastern border of Poland, drawn o n a quite arbitrary basis, divided the Belarusian and Polish peoples. This circumstance objectively made for instability in the system of international relations in Eastern Europe and eventually led to the tragic events of the autumn of 1939