The line of separation of territories between two neighboring states more than once became the subject of hostilities, disputes and treaties. The current border between Russia and Poland was formed after the end of World War II. The westernmost outpost of the country "Normally" is located there. Border protection is carried out by the Russian border service, which is part of the FSB.
Section of the Commonwealth
The idea of dividing the state that arose in 1569 as a result of the unification of Lithuania and Poland appeared at the beginning of the 18th century. The king, elected by the nobility, depended on the decision of the aristocrats and was often powerless in his actions. The groups of the Polish nobility were constantly at odds with each other. By the second half of the XVIII century, the Commonwealth turned into a weak state, unable to resist the stronger neighbors: Prussia, Austria and Russia. The end of the Seven Years' War contributed to the establishment of relations between Russia and Prussia. The allied treaty concluded in St. Petersburg in 1764 was the first step towards dividing the territory of Poland. In 1772, 1793 and 1793 Austria, Prussia and Russia produced three sections of the Commonwealth. Accordingly, the borders of the state were constantly changing. As a result, Poland lost its statehood; its territories until 1918 were part of the Russian Empire, Prussia and Austria.
Riga world with Poland
The offensive of Polish troops on April 25, 1920 began the war of Soviet Russia against Poland. A month later, the Red Army launched a counterattack and, after a series of successful actions, entered the approaches to Warsaw and Lviv. As a result of the retaliatory strike of the Polish troops, the Red Army was forced to retreat. The catastrophic defeat forced the Soviet government to negotiate with “white” Poland. The war ended with the signing of a peace treaty in Riga (March 18, 1921).
Negotiation progress
The proposal of the USSR to draw the Russian-Polish border along the Curzon line was negatively accepted by the Polish leadership. Diplomats said that it reminds them of the shameful partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, carried out in 1795. Having abandoned the initial plans to push the eastern border to the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, that is, to the Western Dvina and the Dnieper, the Poles decided to draw the border along a line coinciding with the line of the Russian-German front 1915-1917 The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland said that this section is the most profitable, as there are engineering fortifications on the former front line. Supporters of People’s Democratic Poland held the position according to which it was not necessary to include territories populated by culturally and religiously alien Poles by the population. These installations were shared by the heads of the Polish delegation, J. Dombsky. The division along the former front line allowed Poland to acquire territories inhabited mainly by Catholics.
Reached agreements
As a result of the peace treaty, territories located east of the Curzon line with the predominant non-Polish population moved to Poland: Western Ukraine (part of the Volyn province), Western Belarus (part of the Grodno province) and some of the former provinces of the Russian Empire.
The initial section of the Second World War
The first decision to cross the land border dividing the territories of neighboring states was made in February 1945. It was planned to draw the border along the Pregel and Pissa rivers. The situation was complicated by the fact that the cities located on the coast of the rivers (regardless of which side they were located) belonged to the Soviet Union. In the event of the implementation of the initial decision of the State Defense Committee, part of the cities of today's Kaliningrad region would become part of Poland.
At the Soviet-Polish negotiations held during the Potsdam Conference in August 1945, the decision was revised. The RSFSR additionally received a small piece of territory. The new border of Russia and Poland was drawn along the northern borders of German territories. Immediately after the conclusion of the contract, the transfer of civil power began. The leadership of that part of East Prussia, which departed to Poland, was transferred to the Polish authorities.
Border change
Quite unexpectedly for the Polish side, changes began at the end of September and the beginning of October 1945. Old-timers said that Soviet servicemen came to the village, which had actually become Polish, and offered the elders to release him. In this way, part of the former German cities, already populated by the Polish population, passed to the Soviet Union.
In December, Moscow decides to move the border 40 km south to Poland. In April 1946, through official negotiations, an official, but not the last, establishment of the border between Russia and Poland took place. Over the next 10 years, until 1956, the shape changed 16 times.
Currently
Mostly Poland has a land border with Russia. The modern line is interesting in that it is not tied to geographical objects and runs approximately in a straight line. The entire border of Russia and Poland coincides with the border of the Kaliningrad region, the westernmost region of the country. The site on which the border is located is fenced off from another part of the region by barrage structures, and you cannot get there. Settlements, respectively, are not there either. The total length of the border is 204 km; of these, a little less than 1 km pass along the lakes, the rest are land borders. In the south, the border begins at the point dividing the territories of three states: Lithuania, Poland and Russia. Border protection, which is also the border with the European Union, is carried out by the Russian border service on the one hand and the Polish border service on the other.