The Border Agreement between Poland and the USSR of 16 August 1945 established the borders between the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
(USSR) and the
Republic of Poland. It was signed by the
Provisional Government of National Unity
The Provisional Government of National Unity ( pl, Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej - TRJN) was a puppet government formed by the decree of the State National Council () on 28 June 1945 as a result of reshuffling the Soviet-backed Provisio ...
(Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej) formed by the
Polish communists
Communism in Poland can trace its origins to the late 19th century: the Marxist First Proletariat party was founded in 1882. Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (''Socjaldemokracja Królest ...
. According to the treaty, Poland officially accepted the
ceding its pre-war Eastern territory to the USSR (
Kresy
Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the History of Poland (1918–1939), interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural ...
) which was decided earlier
in Yalta already. Some of the territory along the
Curzon line
The Curzon Line was a proposed demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and the Soviet Union, two new states emerging after World War I. It was first proposed by The 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston, the British Foreign Secretary, to ...
, established by Stalin during the course of the war, was returned to Poland. The treaty also recognised the division of the former German
East Prussia and ultimately approved the finalised
delimitation
Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities. line between the Soviet Union and Poland: from the
Baltic sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
, to the border tripoint with
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
in the
Carpathians
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
.
[Sylwester Fertacz]
"Krojenie mapy Polski: Bolesna granica" (Carving of Poland's map).
''Alfa.'' Retrieved from the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
on 14 November 2011.[J.A.S. Grenville]
''The major international treaties, 1914–1973.''
A history with guide and text. ''Taylor & Francis.'' 572 pages.[Pro-rector Bogdan Kawałko]
"Prostowanie granicy" (The fixing of border).
''Dziennik Wschodni'', 2006-02-03. ''Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania i Administracji w Zamościu''. Retrieved 15 November 2011. The agreement entered into force on 5 February 1946.
Prelude
Prior to the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, within the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
Polish territories were administered by a
Vistula Land
Vistula Land, Vistula Country (russian: Привислинский край, ''Privislinsky krai''; pl, Kraj Nadwiślański) was the name applied to the lands of Congress Poland from 1867, following the defeats of the November Uprising (1830–3 ...
, whose eastern frontier roughly mirrored the ethnic border between the
Polish people
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Cen ...
on the west, and the
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
s and
Belarusians (then referred to as
Little and White Russians respectively) on the east. In
Austrian Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...
there was no administrative border which marked the ethnic one between the Polish and the Galician Ukrainians (
Ruthenians
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in ...
). Ukrainian territories were also heavily infiltrated by Polish increpancies.
During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the
Russian Civil, the
Polish-Soviet and
Polish-Ukrainian wars, the territory passed hands several times, and each of the controlling powers tried to create its own administration on the region. During the conflict, the
Supreme War Council, tried several times to intervene and create an agreeable border between the
Second Polish Republic and
Bolshevik Russia
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
, the most notable outcome, was the border presented by the British Foreign Secretary
George Curzon, after whom the
proposed line was named. The line mostly followed the 19th century border between the
Vistula Land
Vistula Land, Vistula Country (russian: Привислинский край, ''Privislinsky krai''; pl, Kraj Nadwiślański) was the name applied to the lands of Congress Poland from 1867, following the defeats of the November Uprising (1830–3 ...
, but also extended further south and portioned Galicia along the rough ethnic border between Poles and Ukrainians.
Though accepted by the Bolshevik government, the line was ignored by Poland, and after the
Polish-Soviet War's conclusion, on the
Treaty of Riga
The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet War.
...
, Bolshevik Russia recognised a new border almost 250 km east of the Curzon Line. The border was recognised by the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
in 1923, and confirmed by numerous Polish-Soviet treaties and delimited in due course.
World War II partitions
The
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...
of August 1939 provided for the partition of the
Second Polish Republic between the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Following the corresponding invasions, a new border was drawn up, though based on the
Curzon Line
The Curzon Line was a proposed demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and the Soviet Union, two new states emerging after World War I. It was first proposed by The 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston, the British Foreign Secretary, to ...
, deviated west of it in several regions. Most notably, was the
Belastok Voblast
Belastok Voblast or Belostok Oblast ( be, Беластоцкая вобласць, Biełastockaja vobłasć, russian: Белостокская Область, pl, Obwód białostocki) was a short-lived territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet ...
, that was added to the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, although most of the region was populated by Poles.
After Germany's invasion of the USSR, the territory in question was also re-partitioned by the Nazis. Ukraine and Belarus were administered by the occupation
Ostland and
Reichskommissariat Ukraine
During World War II, (abbreviated as RKU) was the civilian occupation regime () of much of Nazi German-occupied Ukraine (which included adjacent areas of modern-day Belarus and pre-war Second Polish Republic). It was governed by the Reich Min ...
Reichskommissariats. Galician territory east of the 1939 border and the
Belastok Voblast
Belastok Voblast or Belostok Oblast ( be, Беластоцкая вобласць, Biełastockaja vobłasć, russian: Белостокская Область, pl, Obwód białostocki) was a short-lived territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet ...
plus adjacent territory to the east of this were transformed respectively into the
Distrikt Galizien
The District of Galicia (german: Distrikt Galizien, pl, Dystrykt Galicja, ua, Дистрикт Галичина) was a World War II administrative unit of the General Government created by Nazi Germany on 1 August 1941 after the start of O ...
and
Bezirk Bialystok
Bialystok District (German: ''Bezirk Bialystok'') was an administrative unit of Nazi Germany created during the World War II invasion of the Soviet Union. It was to the south-east of East Prussia, in present-day northeastern Poland as well as in sm ...
, and subjugated directly to the
Reich
''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (lit ...
.
Following the Soviet Union's liberation of Ukraine and Belarus, in 1943/1944 the
Tehran conference
The Tehran Conference ( codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943, after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It was held in the Soviet Union's embass ...
and
Yalta conference
The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
discussed upon the future of the Polish-Soviet borders, and the Allied leaders recognised the Soviet right to the territory east of the 1939 border. However, after the liberation of Western Ukraine and Belarus in summer of 1944, a Polish committee formed in the town of
Sapotskin sent a letter to Moscow asking that they remain part of Poland. Stalin agreed, and on 29 September, administration of 17 (of the 23) districts of
Belastok Voblast
Belastok Voblast or Belostok Oblast ( be, Беластоцкая вобласць, Biełastockaja vobłasć, russian: Белостокская Область, pl, Obwód białostocki) was a short-lived territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet ...
(including the city of
Białystok) and an additional three (
Siemiatycze
Siemiatycze ( uk, Сім'ятичі ''Simiatychi'', be, Сямятычы ''Siamiatyčy'') is a town in eastern Poland, with 15,209 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Białystok V ...
,
Hajnówka
Hajnówka (; be, Гайнаўка, ''Hajnaŭka''; uk, Гайнівка, ''Hainivka''; yi, האַדזשנאָװקאַ, ''Hachnovka''; russian: Хайнувка) is a town and a powiat seat in eastern Poland ( Podlaskie Voivodeship) with 21,442 ...
and
Kleszczele
Kleszczele (, uk, Кліщелі ''Klishcheli'', be, Кляшчэ́лі ''Kljaščè́li'') is a town in Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland. Prior to 1999, it was in Białystok Voivodeship (1975–1998).
Demograph ...
) of the
Brest Voblast
Brest Region or Brest Oblast or Brest Voblasts ( be, Брэ́сцкая во́бласць ''(Bresckaja vobłasć)''; russian: Бре́стская о́бласть (''Brestskaya Oblast)'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative cent ...
was passed to the
Polish Committee of National Liberation
The Polish Committee of National Liberation ( Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the la ...
from the BSSR.
In October 1944 these were joined by a further transfer of
Lubaczów
Lubaczów ( uk, Любачів ''Liubachiv'') is a town in southeastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine, with 12,567 inhabitants
Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the capital of Lubaczów County and is loca ...
,
Horyniec,
Laszki,
Uhnów and
Sieniawa
Sieniawa (; uk, Сеня́ва, Seniáva), is a town in southeastern Poland. It had a population of 2,127 inhabitants (02.06.2009). Since 1999, Sieniawa has been part of Subcarpathian Voivodeship.
History
Sieniawa's history dates back to the 17 ...
raions of the
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a relational adjective—in English translating to a noun adjunct w ...
from the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
. In March 1945, an additional batch of land, the
Bieszczady,
Lesko
Lesko (or ''Lisko'' until 1926; ua, Лісько - Lisko; la, Lescow, alias ''Olesco Lescovium''; yi, לינסק-Linsk) is a town in south-eastern Poland with a population of 5,755 (02.06.2009). situated in the Bieszczady mountains. It is ...
, and most of Przemyśl raions (including Przemyśl city) were transferred to Poland from the
Drohobych Oblast
Drohobych Oblast ( uk, Дрогобицька область, translit=Drohobytska oblast; December 4, 1939May 21, 1959) was an oblast in the Ukrainian SSR. It had a territory of 9.6 thousands of km³ and, as of 1956, population of 853,000.
Histo ...
of Ukraine to the now
Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland
The Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, RTRP) was created by the State National Council () on the night of 31 December 1944. Davies, Norman, 1982 and several reprints. ''God's Playgr ...
.
Soon afterwards World War II finished, and as the Provisional Government continued to transfer administration from military to civil bodies, it also finalised its new borders with its neighbors, and in particular, the Soviet Union.
Soviet claims, which became the main problem preventing cooperation between the Polish government in London and Moscow during the war, were then accepted by PKWN activists in July 1944. Their consent to the Curzon line signed on July 27, 1944 (Handing half of
Białowieża Forest
Białowieża Forest; lt, Baltvyžių giria; pl, Puszcza Białowieska ; russian: Беловежская пуща, Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a forest on the border between Belarus and Poland. It is one of the last and largest remaining pa ...
was Stalin's only concession, and representatives of the
Polish Committee of National Liberation
The Polish Committee of National Liberation ( Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the la ...
were afraid to mention the return of Lviv which became part of the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
) was a condition for sending these activists to Lublin and Chełm.
On 16 August 1945, the border agreement was officially signed by
Edward Osóbka-Morawski
Edward Bolesław Osóbka-Morawski (5 October 1909 – 9 January 1997) was a Polish activist and politician in the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) before World War II, and after the Soviet takeover of Poland, Chairman of the Communist-dominated inte ...
, on behalf of the
Provisional Government of National Unity
The Provisional Government of National Unity ( pl, Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej - TRJN) was a puppet government formed by the decree of the State National Council () on 28 June 1945 as a result of reshuffling the Soviet-backed Provisio ...
and
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. ; (;. 9 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._25_February.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 25 February">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dat ...
, the Soviet Minister of Foreign affairs. The exchange of ratified documents occurred on 5 February 1946 in Warsaw, and from that date the agreement was in force.
Aftermath
Although the treaty finalised the 1939 line, with the 1944/45 adjustments, the border would receive a few more alterations. On 15 May 1948, the raion of
Medyka
Medyka (; uk, Медика, Medyka) is a village in Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the municipality (gmina) called Gmina Medyka. It lies approximately east of Pr ...
was transferred from the
Drohobych Oblast
Drohobych Oblast ( uk, Дрогобицька область, translit=Drohobytska oblast; December 4, 1939May 21, 1959) was an oblast in the Ukrainian SSR. It had a territory of 9.6 thousands of km³ and, as of 1956, population of 853,000.
Histo ...
of Ukraine to the
Republic of Poland. And finally a
1951 Polish–Soviet territorial exchange
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
, saw Poland return its pre-1939 territory of
Ustrzyki Dolne raion from the
Drohobych Oblast
Drohobych Oblast ( uk, Дрогобицька область, translit=Drohobytska oblast; December 4, 1939May 21, 1959) was an oblast in the Ukrainian SSR. It had a territory of 9.6 thousands of km³ and, as of 1956, population of 853,000.
Histo ...
, and instead it passed the USSR part of the
Lublin Voivodship
The Lublin Voivodeship, also known as the Lublin Province ( Polish: ''województwo lubelskie'' ), is a voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in southeastern part of the country. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Lublin, Che ...
, with the cities of
Belz
Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the Solokiya river (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the adminis ...
,
Uhniv,
Chervonohrad and
Varyazh, (all of which after the Nazi and Soviet Axis invasion of Poland in September 1939 became a part of Poland occupied by the USSR and was allocated to Ukraine in 1939 until 1941 when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union. It was occupied again in 1944–1945 after the Soviet advance to Berlin). The border between Poland and Belarus, and Poland and Ukraine has remained the same since.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Border Agreement Between Poland And The Ussr Of 16 August 1945
Poland–Soviet Union border
Poland–Soviet Union relations
Treaties of the Soviet Union
Treaties concluded in 1945
Treaties entered into force in 1946
1945 in the Soviet Union
1945 in Poland
Treaties involving territorial changes
Polish-Soviet
Belarus–Poland border
Treaties of the Polish People's Republic