Territorial changes of the Baltic states
in the 20th Century

Central and Eastern Europe after the Treaty of Riga

The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga; was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, between Poland, Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish-Soviet War.

The Soviet-Polish borders established by the treaty remained in force until the Second World War. They were later redrawn during the Yalta Conference and Potsdam Conference.

Background

World War I destabilized national borders in Europe. Poland established its independence in 1918, but its borders were not formally determined. The Russian Civil War presented an opportunity for Poland to regain the territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth lost to the Russian Empire during the late 18th century Partitions of Poland. Meanwhile, many in the Soviet leadership desired to export the revolution to the rest of Europe, by military force if necessary. This coincided that Poland was considered a land bridge to the West. The Polish-Soviet War ensued, culminating in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw. Both sides were receptive to ending the conflict. After the military setbacks that followed their defeat near Warsaw, the Soviets were eager to begin peace treaty negotiations.[1] Likewise the Poles, pressured by the League of Nations, were willing to negotiate since its army controlled most of the disputed territories but was nearing exhaustion.

Making of Treaty

Peace talks were started on August 17, 1920, in Minsk, but as the Polish counter-offensive drew near, the talks were moved to Riga, and resumed on September 21. The Soviets proposed two solutions, the first on September 21st and the second on the 28th. The Polish delegation made a counteroffer on the 2nd of October. Three days later the Soviets offered amendments to the Polish offer, which Poland accepted. An armistice was signed on October 12.[2] and went into effect on October 18. The chief negotiators were Jan Dąbski for Poland and Adolph Joffe for the RSFSR.

Due to their military setbacks, the Bolsheviks offered the Polish peace delegation substantial territorial concessions in the contested border areas. However, to many observers it looked like the Polish side was conducting the Riga talks as if Poland had lost the war. In fact, a special parliamentary delegation consisting of six members of the Sejm held a vote on whether to accept the Soviets' far-reaching concessions, which would leave Minsk on the Polish side of the border. Pressured by the national democrat Stanisław Grabski, the 100 km of extra territory was rejected, a victory for the nationalist doctrine and a stark defeat for Piłsudksi's federalism. The National Democrats envisioned the Polish state containing a population of no more than a third of minorities, a prerequisite, in their eyes, for any successful attempts at Polonization. The National Democrats were also motivated by internal political concerns. While the National Democrats' base of support was among Poles in central and western Poland, many of the hundreds of thousands of Poles left by them to live under Soviet rule were supporters of Pilsudski. The elections within the territories of the Treaty of Riga were evenly split. If the Poles and eastern Slavs in the territories given to the Soviet Union had remained in Poland, the National Democrats would have never won an election. [3] Public opinion in Poland also favored an end to the hostilities. Both sides were also under pressure from the League of Nations to make peace.

Regardless, the negotiations for the peace treaty dragged on for months due to Soviet reluctance to sign. However, the Soviet leadership had to deal with increased internal unrest. Between February 23 and March 17 a sailors’ revolt occurred in Kronstadt, which was suppressed; peasants were also rising up against the Soviet authorities, who were collecting grain in order to feed the Red Army and this was causing food shortages. As a result of this situation, Lenin ordered the Soviet plenipotentiaries to secure the peace treaty with Poland.[1] The Peace of Riga was signed on March 18, 1921, partitioning the disputed territories in Belarus and Ukraine between Poland and Russia and ending the conflict.

Terms

The Treaty consisted of 26 articles.[4] Poland was to receive monetary compensation (30 million rubles in gold) for its economic input into the Russian Empire during the times of partitions of Poland. Russia was to surrender works of art and other Polish national treasures acquired from Polish territories after 1772 (such as the Załuski Library). Both sides renounced claims to war compensation.

Article 3 stipulated that border issues between Poland and Lithuania would be settled by those states.[4] Article 6 created citizenship options for persons on either side of the new border.[4] Article 7 consisted of a mutual guarantee that all nationalities would be permitted "free intellectual development, the use of their national language, and the exercise of their religion."[4]

Treaty aftermath

The Allied Powers were reluctant to recognize the treaty, which had been concluded without their participation.[4] Their postwar conferences supported the Curzon Line as the Polish-Russian border, and Poland's territorial gains in the treaty lay about 250 kilometers east of that line.[5][6] French support led to its recognition in March 1923 by France, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan, followed by the US in April.[4]

Belarusian caricature decrying the Peace Treaty of Riga as a partition of their country by Poland and Soviet Russia

In Poland, the Treaty of Riga was met with criticism from the very beginning. Some characterized the treaty as short-sighted and argued that much of what Poland had gained during the Polish-Soviet war was lost during the peace negotiations. By 1921, General Jozef Piłsudski was no longer the head of state, and had only participated as an observer during the Riga negotiations, which he called an act of cowardice.[7] Piłsudski felt the agreement was a shameless and short-sighted political calculation. Allegedly, having walked out of the room, he told the Ukrainians waiting there for the results of the Riga Conference: "Gentlemen, I deeply apologize to you".[8][9][10]

Belarussian and Ukrainian independence movements saw the treaty as a setback.[11] Four million Ukrainians and over one million Belarussians lived within areas ceded to Poland; in one estimate, only 15% of the population was ethnically Polish.[12][13] The Ukrainian People's Republic led by Symon Petliura had been allied with Poland by Treaty of Warsaw, but the Teaty of Riga abrogated it.[1] The new treaty violated Poland's military alliance with the UPR, which had explicitly prohibited a separate peace. In doing so, it worsened relations between Poland and those Ukrainians who had supported Petliura. These supporters felt Ukraine had been betrayed by its Polish ally, a feeling that would be exploited by Ukrainian nationalists and contribute to the growing tensions and eventual violence in the 1930s and 1940s. By the end of 1921, the majority of Poland-allied Ukrainian, Belarusian and White Russian forces had either crossed the Polish border and laid down their arms or had been annihilated by Soviet forces.

Consequences

The treaty contributed to the failure of Józef Piłsudski's plans to create a Polish-led federation of Eastern European countries (Międzymorze), as portions of the territory proposed for the federation were ceded to the Soviets.

Poland after the Treaty of Riga with the pre-partitions border of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth marked

Lenin also considered the treaty unsatisfactory. He had to temporarily give up his plans for exporting the revolution West.[1]

Second page of the treaty, Polish version

While the Treaty of Riga led to a two-decade stabilization of the Soviet-Polish conflict, the conflict was renewed during World War II and the treaty's borders were overidden by decision of that war's Allied powers. In the view of some observers, the treaty's incorporation of signficant minority populations into Poland did not serve Poland's best interests, since these minorities persistently pursued independence and borders passing through ethnically-mixed areas would prove difficult to defend.[4][5] Belarus and Ukraine would go on to become independent nations in the late 20th century.