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Silent Sejm (or Dumb Sejm, ; ) is the name given to the session of the SejmSejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament....
 of the Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, also known as the "Republic of the Two Nations" or "Commonwealth of Both Nations...
 of 1 February 1717. It marked the end of Augustus II of Poland's attempts to create an absolute monarchyAbsolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the king has the power to rule his or her land or country and it...
 in Poland, and the beginning of Tsardom of RussiaTsardom of Russia

The Tsardom of Rus' was the official name for the Russian state between Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 ...
 increasing influence and control over the Commonwealth.
History In the aftermath of the Great Northern WarGreat Northern War

The Great Northern War was the war fought between a coalition of Russia, Denmark-Norway, and Saxony-Poland on one side and ...
, which eventually devastated the Commonwealth and marked the rise of the Russian EmpireRussian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was declared a republic in August 1917....
, the growing conflict between Polish monarchFacts About Monarch

A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state....
 Augustus II of Poland, who wanted to create an absolute monarchyAbsolute monarchy Summary

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the king has the power to rule his or her land or country and it...
, and the Polish nobility which opposed him (see Tarnogród ConfederationTarnogród Confederation

Tarnogr?d Confederation was a confederation of szlachta in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the years 1715-1716....
), allowed the powerful Russian TsarTsar

Tsar , occasionally spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English, is a Slavonic term des...
 Peter the GreatPeter I of Russia

Peter I the Great . ruled Russia from 7 May 1682 until his death, before 1696 jointly with his weak and sickly half-broth...
, victor of the Great Northern War, to pose as the conciliator between the Commonwealth king and the szlachta.

Threatened by strong Russian army, with Russian soldiers 'guarding' the proceedings, the Silent Sejm - known as silent because only one person, marshal of the Sejm Stanislaw LedóchowskiStanislaw Ledóchowski

Stanislaw Led?chowski was a marshal of the Crown Tribunal , member of the Sandomierz Confederation of 1704, marshal of the ...
, was allowed a voice - outlined the terms of the settlement designed by Peter the Great.






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1717   Silent Sejm in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Beginning of Russian Empire increasing influence and control over the Commonwealth.






Encyclopedia


Silent Sejm (or Dumb Sejm, ; ) is the name given to the session of the SejmSejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament....
 of the Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, also known as the "Republic of the Two Nations" or "Commonwealth of Both Nations...
 of 1 February 1717. It marked the end of Augustus II of Poland's attempts to create an absolute monarchyAbsolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the king has the power to rule his or her land or country and it...
 in Poland, and the beginning of Tsardom of RussiaTsardom of Russia

The Tsardom of Rus' was the official name for the Russian state between Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 ...
 increasing influence and control over the Commonwealth.

History

In the aftermath of the Great Northern WarGreat Northern War

The Great Northern War was the war fought between a coalition of Russia, Denmark-Norway, and Saxony-Poland on one side and ...
, which eventually devastated the Commonwealth and marked the rise of the Russian EmpireRussian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was declared a republic in August 1917....
, the growing conflict between Polish monarchFacts About Monarch

A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state....
 Augustus II of Poland, who wanted to create an absolute monarchyAbsolute monarchy Summary

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the king has the power to rule his or her land or country and it...
, and the Polish nobility which opposed him (see Tarnogród ConfederationTarnogród Confederation

Tarnogr?d Confederation was a confederation of szlachta in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the years 1715-1716....
), allowed the powerful Russian TsarTsar

Tsar , occasionally spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English, is a Slavonic term des...
 Peter the GreatPeter I of Russia

Peter I the Great . ruled Russia from 7 May 1682 until his death, before 1696 jointly with his weak and sickly half-broth...
, victor of the Great Northern War, to pose as the conciliator between the Commonwealth king and the szlachta.

Threatened by strong Russian army, with Russian soldiers 'guarding' the proceedings, the Silent Sejm - known as silent because only one person, marshal of the Sejm Stanislaw LedóchowskiStanislaw Ledóchowski

Stanislaw Led?chowski was a marshal of the Crown Tribunal , member of the Sandomierz Confederation of 1704, marshal of the ...
, was allowed a voice - outlined the terms of the settlement designed by Peter the Great. This settlement stipulated that Poles and SaxonySaxony

The Free State of Saxony has a land area of 18,413 km and a population of 4.3 million, the tenth-largest in area and sixth-...
 (Augustus homeland) should not intervene into each other domestic affairs, limited the powers of the hetmanHetman

Hetman was the title of the second highest military commander used in 15th to 18th century Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithu...
s (Polish military commanders in chief), and established taxes for Commonwealth army of 24,000 (normal soldier's wages, which meant that after factoring officer pensions and other military needs, the effective army was a little over 10,000 strong, several times weaker then those of its neighbours). After outlining the proposal, Ledochowski asked if there are any objections. After 6 hours, when nobody dared to oppose him and risk Russian intervention, Ledochowski concluded that 'silence means lack of objections'. The Silent Sejm is regarded as one of the first precedences that the Russian Empire dictated Polish internal policy, and also as a precursor to the partitions of PolandPartitions of Poland

The Partitions of Poland took place in the 18th century and ended the existence of the sovereign Polish-Lithuanian Commonwe...
, which erased the Commonwealth from world maps by 1795.

See also

  • Grodno SejmGrodno Sejm

    Grodno Sejm was the last Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth....