Abstract
The Introduction orients the reader to the state of the Russian Empire on the eve of the 1863 January Uprising. It argues that Emperor Alexander II, while introducing political and social reforms, also intended to resurrect the police state emblematic of his predecessor and father, Nicholas I. The Introduction argues that Western historiography’s traditional portrayal of Alexander II as a liberal reformer is incorrect. The emperor’s regime actually promoted a reform agenda akin to that of post-Mao China, its central purpose being to strengthen the autocratic government and the nation-state. The regime’s suppression of the January Uprising and mass deportation of Poles is a prime example of its true agenda.
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Gentes, A.A. (2017). Introduction. In: The Mass Deportation of Poles to Siberia, 1863-1880. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60958-4_1
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