Polish Autonomous Districts were created in the Soviet Union republics of Belarus and Ukraine in an attempt to live up to the postulate of the Leninism about the rights of nations for self-definition.

Dzierzynszczyzna

Dzierzynszczyzna was a Polish Autonomous District in Belarus. It was created on March 15, 1932, with the capital at Dzierżyńsk (Dzyarzhynsk, Dzerzhynsk, formerly known as Kojdanów). It was named after the bolshevik of Polish ancestry, Felix Dzerzhinsky.

It was created near Minsk, near the Soviet-Polish border of the time.

Marchlewszczyzna

Marchlewszczyzna was the Polish Autonomous District in Ukraine created in 1926, with its capital at Marchlewsk (known before and after as Dołbysz or Dowbysz). It was named after a Polish bolshevik Julian Marchlewski.

It was created in Volynia, 100 km west of Zhytomyr.

Disbanding

Polish districts were among those who resisted Soviet collectivization. For political reasons, initially drastic measures were not applied in these areas. Eventually both districts were disbanded in 1935 at the onset of the Great Purge and almost all its administration was executed. The population was deported to Kazakhstan.

External link

Polskie rejony autonomiczne w Związku Sowieckim (in Polish)