The Polish Question in Russian-German Inter-Imperial Relations: Cooperation or Confrontation? A Study Based on Archival Documents

German policy towards the Polish national minority has seldom been examined by Russian historians. Furthermore, no dedicated studies have yet addressed the inter-imperial interactions among the three powers involved in the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, despite the evident historical significance of this issue. The tumultuous period of Russian and Polish history surrounding the 1863–1864 uprising (the January Uprising) exemplifies a temporary cooperation between Prussia and Russia, driven by mutual interests in supporting each other’s political objectives. However, following Otto von Bismarck’s resignation and Germany’s subsequent shift in foreign policy – from maintaining relatively close and mutually beneficial relations with Russia to a deliberate rupture – the policies of both powers regarding the Polish question increasingly reflected their respective domestic political concerns and long-term foreign strategies. The years 1890–1897, selected for this study, mark a transitional period, shifting from Bismarck’s cautious diplomacy to the “world policy” of Bernhard von Bülow and Wilhelm II. This period saw Germany view the Polish territories as a potential theatre for future conflict with Russia, prompting a return to harsh Germanisation policies, although these were briefly moderated by the conciliatory “New Course”. During this time, both Berlin and St. Petersburg became less interested in inter-imperial cooperation, with their focus shifting away from the Polish issue. The primary sources for this article are diplomatic documents from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire, many of which are being introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time.