Polish National Districts (called in Russian "полрайоны", polrajony, an abbreviation for "польские национальные районы", "Polish national raions") were in the interbellum period providing national autonomy for Polish minorities in the Ukrainian and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republics of the USSR. They were created in an attempt to live up to the postulate of Leninism about the rights of nations for self-determination. Also, creation of these regions served one of purposes of the Bolsheviks to export the revolution since after their defeat in the Polish-Soviet War, the Soviets did not give up their idea of creating a Soviet Republic in Poland. Polish National Districts were supposed to be the origin of future Soviet Poland. They both were disbanded in mid-1930s and a significant part of their populations ("anti-Soviet and unreliable elements") was deported to Kazakhstan, with many of them killed during the Great Purge.
Origins
The possibility of granting autonomy to Polish-populated areas of the Soviet Union was discussed during the Polish-Soviet war by key persons involved in the Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee. However, there were no plans to create whole districts; autonomy would be granted to separate villages. In 1925 it was decided that a district would be created in Soviet Ukraine, where, according to the 1926 survey, 476,435 Poles lived. This was 1.6% of the Ukrainian population, but in the Zhitomir Oblast, their number reached 10%. Among persons who supported the district were Soviet communists of Polish origin, such as Feliks Kon, Julian Marchlewski, Felix Dzerzhinsky and Tomasz Dąbal. Thus Marchlewszczyzna was created, and later Dzierżyńszczyzna.
Marchlewszczyzna
Marchlewszczyzna was the Polish National District (Мархлевский польский национальный район) in Ukraine created as an experiment and as part of the Soviet Korenizatsia campaign on 21 July 1925 in Zhytomyr Okruha on resolution of Little Presidium of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee. Its capital the town of Dovbysh, later in 1926, was renamed as Marchlewsk. The district was one of 32 other national districts that were created in the Ukrainian SSR during that period (1924-1939). Creation of the district was based on standards adopted by the fourth session of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee (15-19 February 1925) and recommendations of Central Commission in affairs of National Minorities at that executive committee. It was created to implement an idea in creation of Polish national districts on territories of Ukrainian and Belarusian SSRs.
The district was located far away from railroad in which numerically dominated settlements of khutir type (farmsteads). Village Dovbysh was a small settlement around porcelain factory. The district did not have telephone and telegraph communications and by general estimates it was economically backwards. At the beginning stage the district was composed of 26 rural communities (so called selsoviet) with general area of 620 km2. Later 108 populated places were united into 34 communities (30 Polish, 2 Ukrainian, 2 German). In percentage relation the population consisted of 68.8% of Polish people, 19.2% of Ukrainians, 8.8% of Germans, 2.5% of Jews, 0.5% of Russians. In 1932 the number of communities increased to 38 with 34 being Polish.
Official opening ceremony of the district took place on 27 March 1926 with participation of Felix Dzerzhinsky, Feliks Kon, Samuil Lazovert, Boleslav Skarbek, Józef Unszlicht at the First district congress of Soviets (27-30 April 1926) where in total took part 103 delegates and 500 visitors. The newly created district received valuable presents: from Moscow Factory "Tribuna" were 2 tractors with ploughs, from "Pratsia" association – radio receivers, from Polish department of the People's Commissariat of Enlightenment of the Ukrainian SSR – otoscopes. In 1927 took place the Second congress of Soviets of Marchlewski District at which were present Tomasz Dąbal, Samuil Lazovert, Boleslav Skarbek. During celebration of the tenth anniversary of 1917 October Revolution the Polish District was visited by Polish delegation.