Full title: Polish Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) and the Treaty of Riga. (Based on the materials of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History)
Author: prof. Yulia Kantor
Abstract in English:
The Polish Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) (RCP (b)) not only followed the negotiations in Riga in the autumn 1920 – spring 1921, but also, according to the documents, influenced their course. The influence of the Polish Bureau on the process of preparing a peace treaty and preliminary agreements, alas, has been on the periphery of the attention of researchers. The documents make it possible to trace what discussions unfolded between its members regarding the positions of the Polish delegation at the negotiations, the subject of their geopolitical and party interests in relation to the peace treaty, as well as the issues on which they advised the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs. Repatriation issues were of special importance to the Polish Bureau leadership, which took a tough stance towards the proposals of the Polish side. The Soviet delegation received instructions regarding the prisoners from the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, which in many respects was guided precisely by the postulates of the Polish Bureau. The Polish Bureau proposed to the Soviet delegation in Riga to conclude an agreement “on the custody of prisoners of war” and to conduct their segregation according to the class principle. Also noteworthy is the role of the Polish Bureau on the re-evacuation of property exported from Poland to Russia, and the re-evacuation of science subjects and educational institutions to Poland and ideological argumentation. The Polish Bureau persistently promoted the idea of political agitation and insisted on forming a Polish department of the Politdirectorate of the Republic’s RMC. Of particular interest are the documents of a general nature: they can be used to reconstruct the views of the Polish Bureau on the fate of Poland, the prospects for its Sovietization, or the relations with the Entente countries in this context. The rhetoric of the members of the Polish Bureau about the political argumentation of the Polish side in relation to the causes of the imperialist stink is an example of radical Bolshevik views. The Polish Bureau’s comment on the Polish project “on military guarantees” also deserves attention. The summary of the Polish Bureau regarding the prospects for the Treaty of Riga is as follows: “Our line towards Poland should be firm, but peaceful. While refraining from further concessions (in the field of re-evacuation of borders, etc.), we must simultaneously refrain from military aggressiveness until it is necessary. The behavior of our delegation should be firm and will be firm and uncompromising, but patient and careful. There is no need for us to rush because time is working for us.”