Russia in the propaganda of Polish national uprisings, 1768‑1864. Select issues

The insurrectionary struggles of 1768‑1772,1794,1830‑1831 and 1863‑1864, aimed at liberating Poland from Russian domination, were accompanied by propaganda campaigns which sought to implant specific images of Russia and the Russians in the public mind. This analysis seeks to recreate those images which are extant in select appeals, manifestos, declarations and miscellaneous pronouncements of those times. In doing so, an attempt is made to answer the question how perceptions of Moscow changed in the views of the Bar Confederates, Kościuszko’s insurgents, and those of the forces of the November and January Uprisings, and to identify their fixed and constant elements. The picture was not always absolutely clear‑cut because, apart from the predominance of recurring anti‑Russian themes, there were also calls for reconciliation addressed to the Russian people.