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Current Polish-Russian relations.. What do the Poles think? [60]
In retrospect, it would have been better for the entire world if Poland had won in 1612.
There is a quote from some Greek, regarding the Romans: "Conquered, we conquer." It was in regards to how the Greeks, despite being militarily subjugated, conquered the Romans through culture.
How do you know, then, that merging with Russia would not forever change the fabric of Poland? Russians are not as small as Lithuanians which you can systematically sideline and dilute. It would effect changes in your society that would have made it unrecognizable to you. Poland, with all its idiosyncrasies, is a product of history and geography as any nation is. Including Russia. Your freedoms and our autocracy have reasons behind them. Could Poland control such a territory while keeping in place the highly decentralized form of government you poets enjoy so much? Perhaps an absolutist autocracy is the only way dozens of peoples can be kept in check, without everything descending into a bloodbath regularly?