Editing Pan-Slavism (section)

== Pan-Slavism in Poland ==
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With the exception of Russia, the Polish nation has the distinction among other Slavic peoples of having enjoyed independence as a part of various entities for several centuries prior to the advent of Pan-Slavism.

After 1795, [[First French Republic|Revolutionary]] and [[First French Empire|Napoleonic]] France had influenced many Poles who sought the [[Duchy of Warsaw|reconstitution of their existing country]]—particularly since France was a mutual enemy of Austria, Prussia, and also Russia. Russia's Pan-Slavic rhetoric had alarmed the Poles. Pan-Slavism was not fully embraced among Poles after the early period. Poland did nevertheless express solidarity with those of its fellow Slavic nations that had suffered oppression and were seeking independence.

While Pan-Slavism as an ideology was inimical to [[Austro-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] interests, Poles instead embraced the wide autonomy within the state and assumed a loyalist position towards the Habsburgs. Within the Austro-Hungarian polity, they were able to develop their national culture and preserve the [[Polish language]], both of which were under threat in both [[Germany|German]] and [[Russia]]n Empires. A Pan-Slavic federation was proposed, but on the condition that the [[Russian Empire]] would be excluded from such an entity. After Poland regained its independence (from Germany, Austria and Russia) in 1918, no internal faction considered Pan-Slavism as a serious alternative, viewing Pan-Slavism as ''[[Russification]]''. During Poland's communist era, the [[USSR]] used Pan-Slavism as a propaganda tool to justify its control over the country. The issue of Pan-Slavism was not part of current mainstream politics and is widely seen as an ideology of Russian [[imperialism]].