Assessment of the Role of the German Factor in the Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Works of Prominent Historians of the Russian Empire from the Second Half of the 19th to the Beginning of the 20th Century (S.M. Solovyov, V.O. Klyuchevsky, N.I. Kareev, M.K. Lyubavsky)

Abstract

Russian historiography during the pre-revolutionary period dedicated special attention to research on the history of Slavic peoples. This field of study became known as Slavistics. In turn, within the series of Slavistic research, the history of Poland received separate attention due to its long-standing history of Russo-Polish rivalry. One of the most relevant topics for study was the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This event posed a significant challenge for the internal politics of the Russian Empire, commonly referred to as the ‘Polish question.’ Simultaneously, researchers could not overlook the role of other participants in the partitions—Prussia and Austria. This article focuses on evaluating the role of the German states in the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.