History /
Poland's January Uprisings of 1863 [86]
I have to admit this 1863 rebellion seems to be a badly bungled fiasco!
Yes, exactly! A wonderful fiasco which led to the liberation of Poland in 1918. After Poles and Polesses were defeated in 1864, Russians executed or sent to Siberia a lot of patriots. They confiscated property and dissolved Polish institutions and organisations. The Polish language was banned in education and the youth was to be russified. Generally, the repressions were crushing.
All this led to unexpected results - the Polish nation started to hate Russians. This hate was necessary for our survival . Without it, one day we could assume that Russians were our Slavic brothers. Just like Ukrainians had assumed for decades until they were invaded.