Convention of Saint Petersburg (1797)
The Saint Petersburg Convention confirms the final partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗A secret provision bound the three powers not merely to keep the land but to suppress the name: no ruler's title was to carry "Kingdom of Poland" any longer.
A closing convention, not the partition itself
Russia and Prussia concluded the Saint Petersburg Convention on 26 January 1797, with the Habsburg emperor Francis II acceding to it. The document confirmed the Third Partition, delimited the partitioning powers' borders precisely and completed the formal division.
The territorial agreement it confirmed had been reached on 24 October 1795 — the three powers still had to settle boundaries, liabilities and the legal consequences among themselves.
By then the former Commonwealth's inhabitants had already become subjects of Russia, Prussia or Austria; the convention confirmed that status rather than creating it.
Two dates on one document, and no Polish signature
The convention carries its date twice: 15 January 1797 in Russia's Old Style calendar and 26 January 1797 in the New Style calendar used in modern dating.
No Polish or Lithuanian representative negotiated it. The agreement was made entirely among the states taking the land.
Alongside the boundary work sat the secret undertaking to suppress the name "Kingdom of Poland" in the rulers' titles and to prevent reminders of the former political body.
What the listing gets wrong
Stanisław August Poniatowski was not forced to abdicate by this treaty. He had abdicated on 25 November 1795, fourteen months earlier, and was not a party on 26 January 1797.
Calling him simply a prisoner in Saint Petersburg is too categorical: he lived there under Russian control and financial dependence, but was maintained at court and given a state funeral after his death.
The Great Emigration is likewise misplaced here — that term conventionally denotes the political emigration following the failed November Uprising of 1830–31.
Sources
Researched 24 Aug 2026 5 sources not yet audited
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What the sources leave uncertain
- The treaty gives 15 January under the Russian Old Style calendar and 26 January under the New Style calendar used in modern dating.
- This event must be distinguished from the Third Partition agreement of 24 October 1795 and Stanisław August’s abdication on 25 November 1795.
Checked against
- Primary-document catalogue: Convention on the final partition, 15/26 January 1797
- Alfonsas Eidintas et al., The History of Lithuania
- Polish–German Law Review: Petersburg Convention of 15/26 January 1797
- Robert Bideleux and Ian Jeffries, A History of Eastern Europe
- Polish National Library: The Polish Library in Paris and post-1831 emigration