On March 18, 1921, a peace treaty between Poland, Russia and Ukraine was signed in Riga. The treaty ended the Polish-Soviet War, of which Poland, although weak and bruised, came out victorious and proud. This pride was also manifested through the March Constitution adopted the day before the treaty.
The peace treaty between Poland, Russia and Ukraine, also known as the Peace of Riga, and the Treaty of Riga, was signed in Riga on March 18, 1921. Today, much like right after it was signed, the opinions regarding the treaty vary. For some, it was a defeat of Polish political elite, for others, a triumph of realpolitik.
The treaty officially ended the Polish-Soviet War which had begun in 1919. Poland's victory in the war, as well as in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, are listed among the crucial events in the history of the nation.
"Never before and after had social moods in Poland been better" - said Prof. Włodzimierz Mędrzecki, a historian from the Institute of History at the Polish Academy of Sciences.
The peace agreement established Poland's borders which remained in force until World War II. They were later redrawn during the Yalta Conference and Potsdam Conference. The treaty also regulated war reparations for Poland, as well as the issue of political approach to Poles living in the Soviet Russia. Furthermore, it forced the Soviets to return Polish works of art. However, those provisions turned out largely ineffective.
According to Prof. Tadeusz Wolsza of the Institute of National Remebrance, "The year 1921 was just as important as 1918 (when Poland regained independence)". "The three events - the March Constitution, the Peace of Riga, and the Third Silesian Uprising - were the crowning achievements for Poland at the time, as well as for the future of its statehood" - Prof. Wolsza added.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Centralne Archiwum Wojskowe