Harris Dupre 108331532 History 395 Due: October 1, 2012
Comparing the Reasons for Violence in the Imperial Russian Acquisition of Poland and the
Caucasus
Imperial expansion and violence go hand in hand, and Russia’s expansion was no
exception. A nation virtually always resists when some power attempts to gain control over it
and the desire to be free of constraints and authority manifests itself in all people. Therefore, the
commonality of conflict for a nation that marches through lands inhabited by other people and
claims them for its own is not surprising. Poland and the Caucasus were subjected to Russian
imperialism and responded with violence. Though the circumstances were very different the
fundamental reason for the conflicts was the familiar issue of nations unwilling to be ruled by
foreigners.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (henceforth referred to as Poland, for simplicity’s
