Józef Piłsudski and the Unsolvable “Belarusian Question”: The Collapse of the Polish Federal Project in 1918–1920 in an Updated Version

Gierowska-Kałłaur J. Józef Piłsudski wobec kwestii białoruskiej (1918–1920). – Warszawa: Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 2023. – 496 s.

Abstract

Polish historiography has shown a persistent interest in the reasons for the failure of the theoretical constructs of federalism developed by J. Piłsudski’s supporters before the First World War and aimed at restoring, in the conditions of the 20th century, a multinational statehood in Eastern Europe under the leadership of Poland, including Belarusian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian lands. In the context of the restoration of Polish statehood in 1918–1920, federal projects turned out to be absolutely incompatible with historical reality. In a detailed monograph by Polish historian Joanna Gierowska-Kallaur, published in Warsaw in 2023, the reasons for the failure of Pilsudski’s attempts to resolve the Belarusian direction of the federal plans in his favor are examined in detail and in many ways in a new way. Significant archival material accumulated by the author over a quarter of a century of work on the topic allows for convincingly debunking the persistent stereotypes that have accumulated in the study of this issue. At the same time, the glorification of the personality and views of J. Pilsudski, characteristic of the researcher, gives rise to new intricate misconceptions regarding the motivation and results of the geopolitical transformations that determined the design of the eastern borders of interwar Poland.

Received: 07.03.2025.

Citation
Borisyonok Yu. A. Józef Piłsudski and the Unsolvable “Belarusian Question”: The Collapse of the Polish Federal Project in 1918–1920 in an Updated Version // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 456–469 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.23