Russian ambassador Repnin, who orchestrated the proceedings of the Sejm
TheRepnin Sejm(Polish:Sejm Repninowski) was aSejm(session of theparliament) of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealththat took place between 1767 and 1768 inWarsaw.This session followed theSejms of 1764to 1766, where the newly elected King of Poland,Stanisław August Poniatowski,attempted with some successes to push through reforms to strengthen the government of the Commonwealth. These reforms were viewed as dangerous by Poland's neighbors, who preferred a weak Commonwealth and did not want to see it threaten their own political and military aspirations. TheRussian Empiresent ambassadorNikolai Repnin,who became the driving force behind the Sejm proceedings. The Repnin Sejm marked one of the important milestones in increasing Polish dependence on the Russian Empire, and turning it into a Russianprotectorate.This dependent position was bluntly spelled out inNikita Ivanovich Panin's letter to King Poniatowski, in which he made it clear that Poland was now in the Russiansphere of influence.[1]
The Ambassador of theRussian Empireto Warsaw PrinceNikolai Repninreceived orders from Russian EmpressCatherine the Greatto bribe and coerce the Sejm deputies in order to push legislation favourable to Russia, in effect "a carefully drafted plan for destroying the republic".[2][3]At that time Poland had a population of about 11.5 million, out of which about 1 million were non-Catholics.[2]In his preparations Repnin fostered unrest among the religious minorities –Protestants(mostly inRoyal PrussiaandGreater Poland) andEastern Orthodox(mostly in theGrand Duchy of Lithuania), who wanted to have equal rights with theRoman Catholics.[4]Repnin was well aware that a Catholic-dominated Sejm would be strongly opposed to such demands. He also calculated that such a demand itself would make theszlachtasuspicious of all reform, including the recent reforms of KingStanisław August Poniatowskiand his supporters from the magnateCzartoryski family.Repnin's calculations were proven correct at theSejm of 1766,which not only rejected the dissident bill, but repealed all of Poniatowski's reforms.[2]This weakened the position of King Poniatowski. Supporters of the previous KingAugustus III of Polandfrom theElectorate of Saxony,led byGabriel Podoski,started a campaign to dethrone the king.[2]
In order to further Russian goals, Repnin encouraged the formation of two ProtestantkonfederacjasofSłuckandToruńand later, Catholic (Radom Confederation,led byKarol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł).[5]The first act of the Radom Confederation was to send a delegation toSaint Petersburg,petitioning Catherine to guarantee the liberties of the Republic, and allow the proper legislation to be settled by the Russian ambassador at Warsaw. With Russian troops sent to "protect" the various pro-Russian factions and thiscarte blanchein his pocket, Repnin proceeded to treat the deputies of the Sejm as if they were already servants of the Russian empress.[2]
Through thePolish noblesthat he bribed (likeGabriel Podoski,Primate of Poland)[10]or threatened by the presence of over 10,000 Russian soldiers in Warsaw[1]and even in the very chambers of the parliament,[2]Repnin, despite some misgivings about the methods he was ordered to employ,[11]de factodictated the terms of that Sejm.[12]The intimidated Sejm, which met in October 1767 and adjourned till February 1768,[6]appointed a commission (the so-called Delegated Sejm) which drafted a Polish–Russian treaty, approved in a "silent session" (without debate) on February 27, 1768. The legislation undid some of the reforms of 1764 under King Poniatowski and pushed through legislation which ensured that thepolitical systemof the Commonwealth would be ineffective and easily controlled by its foreign neighbours. Theliberum veto,wolna elekcja(free election),neminem captivabimus,rights to form theconfederationandrokosz— in other words, all the important privileges of theGolden Liberty,which made the Commonwealth so ungovernable[4]— were guaranteed as unalterable parts in theCardinal Laws.[5]
The Sejm, however, also passed some more beneficial reforms. Russia, which had used the pretext of increasedreligious freedomsfor theProtestantandOrthodox Christiansto destabilize the Commonwealth in the first place, now had to push those reforms through the Sejm to save face. Thus, the legislation of the Sejm granted those religious minorities the same status as that of the previously dominantRoman Catholics,and some privileges of the Catholic clergy were limited. In addition, the penalty for killing a peasant was increased from a fine to thedeath,liberum vetowas abolished onsejmiks(local parliaments), and amintwas created.[5]All those reforms were guaranteed by the Russian Empress, Catherine II.[6]The resulting reaction among Poland's Roman Catholic leadership to the laws granting privileges to the Protestants, as well as the deep resentment of Russia's meddling in the Commonwealth's domestic affairs, led to the War of theBar Confederation(1768–1772),[1]directed against Poniatowski and Russia, which ended with Russian victory and theFirst Partition of Poland.
