Silent Sejm
Silent Sejm is the name for those Polish Reichstag, Sejms , in which the members of the parliament were forbidden to speak or to object. They are directly related to the interference of Poland's neighboring states ( Russia , Prussia , Saxony and Austria ) in its domestic politics, which led to the partition of Poland towards the end of the 18th century .
The consistency
In the Polish Reichstag, the golden freedom of the unrestricted right to speak and object, which was resolutely defended by the majority of the nobility, applied. This included the Liberum Veto , which was first used in 1652. This regulation made it possible for every single member of parliament to make the decisions of the entire Reichstag null and void. In practice there was almost always a member of the Szlachta who was bribed by some aristocratic party or from abroad in order not to let the Reichstag come to a decision. Since even the king could not make any important decisions without the Reichstag, this led to domestic political chaos, foreign policy weakness and economic backwardness in Poland, which was then gradually exploited by the neighboring states.
The Mute Reichstag
The Mute Sejm of 1717
The 1717 Mute Sejm of February 1, 1717 marked the beginning of Russia's first significant interference in the internal affairs of the Polish state. It was preceded by the uprising of the Tarnogród Confederation under the leadership of Stanisław Ledóchowski against King August II , who tried to implement absolutist reforms to strengthen the royal power in a kind of coup. Subsequently, both sides asked the Russian tsar to mediate and Peter I forced a compromise. In the following years both parties tried to push back Russian influence; However, since nothing fundamental changed in the situation in the Reichstag ( Liberum Veto , electoral kingship , etc.), Russian interference in the War of the Polish Succession from 1733–1738 was able to continue.
The Mute Sejm from 1768 (Repnin-Sejm) and the Mute Sejm from 1773 (Teilungs-Sejm)
With the end of the Saxon period in Poland in 1763, new opportunities arose, because there was a fundamental will to reform in the country, and the new King Stanisław August Poniatowski was a Pole by birth. But the foreign policy situation had also changed, because with Tsarina Catherine II and Frederick II there were overpowering opponents, and the aristocratic parties once again proved to be at odds.
When the king wanted to curtail the application of the Liberum Veto and politically disempower the poor nobility, two rival party formations and external interference occurred in 1766. One party (subsequently organized in the Confederation of Bar ) advocated far-reaching reforms, and the other (the Radom Confederation under Karol Radziwiłł , formed on June 23, 1767) acted against it with Russian support. The king bowed. Under the pressure of massive politico-military interference by the Russian Empire, a silent Sejm, the Repnin-Sejm , met on March 5, 1768 , which in turn stood for "cardinal rights", such as free king elections and unanimous decisions in the Reichstag (Liberum Veto), and which Russia as Protective power of these "rights" determined. Critics such as the Bishop of Krakow were arrested in advance by the Russian ambassador to Poland, Repnin , and deported to Russia.
The uprising of the Confederation of Bar (formed on February 29, 1768) against the king and against Russia followed, which also led to a simultaneous Russian-Turkish war . The four-year civil war and a Hajdamak uprising exhausted and tore the country apart. The Szlachta sought the protection of Russia by bypassing the king, and the Russian envoy Repnin was assigned the role of a “viceroy” who decided on offices, money and domestic policy. The military successes of the Russian General Suvorov and the changed attitude of the great powers then led to the First Partition of Poland . This division was sanctioned in another silent Sejm, the division Sejm of September 30, 1773, amid strong protests by some deputies .
The Mute Sejm of 1793 (Sejm von Grodno)
The smaller Poland was still viable despite the division and severely disadvantageous trade agreements. The Reichstag passed some important reforms and renounced the application of the Liberum Veto. In addition, Russia had to restrict its role as a protecting power in the 1980s and withdraw its troops. However, resistance arose against the reform measures of the "patriots", especially against those who were already intellectually connected with the French Revolution ( constitution of May 3, 1791 ). The Tsarina encouraged several Polish magnates to form the Targowica Confederation (formed on April 27, 1792) and made a strong Russian army available to it. It came to the Russo-Polish War of 1792 , in which Poland was defeated due to insufficient troop strength (effectively only 37,000 men, i.e. far too few even for a smaller Poland), and the Second Partition of Poland .
In the Silent Sejm of 1793 , which met from June 17 to September 23, the Second Partition of Poland had to be sanctioned, which meant that Poland was no longer economically viable. It was held in Grodno because Warsaw seemed too revolutionary. Although the deputies were carefully selected, arrest, threats, isolation, the presence of Russian troops, and even bribery were necessary to quell resistance to ratification . It was the last Diet of the First Polish Republic.