Silent Sejm (Polish: Sejm Niemy) is the name given to the session of the Sejm (parliament) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of 1 February 1717. It marked the end of Augustus II of Poland's attempts to create an absolute monarchy in Poland, and the begining of Russian Empire increasing influence and control over the Commonwealth. This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... The debating chamber or hemicycle of the European Parliament in Brussels. ... Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 4 — The Netherlands, Britain & France sign Triple Alliance March 2 — Dancer John Weaver performs in the first ballet in Britain shown in Drury Lane The Loves of Mars and Venus March 31 - Bishop Benjamin Hoadly, acting on the advice of King George begins the Bangorian Controversy by saying... Reign From 1697, until 1706 and from 1709, until February 1, 1733 Elected In 1697 in Wola, today suburb of Warsaw, Poland Coronation On September 15, 1697 in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland Royal House Wettin Parents John George III Wettin Anne Sophie Consorts  ? Children August III Sas Maurice de... Absolute monarchy is an idealized form of government, a monarchy where the ruler has the power to rule his or her country and citizens freely with no laws or legally-organized direct opposition telling him or her what to do, although some religious authority may be able to discourage the... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start...

History

In the aftermath of the Great Northern War, which devasted the Commonwealth and marked the rise of the Russian Empire, the growing conflict between Polish monarch Augustus II of Poland, who wanted to create an absolute monarchy, and the Polish nobility (szlachta) which opposed him, allowed the poweful Russian Tsar Peter the Great, victor of the Great Northern War, to pose as the conciliator between the Commonwealth king and the szlachta. Not to be confused with the Northern Wars (1655–1661) The Swedish Victory at Narva, 1700 by Gustaf Cederström, painted 1910 Battle of Poltava fragment of mosaic, by Mikhail Lomonosov, 1717 The Great Northern War was the war fought between a coalition of Russia, Denmark-Norway and Saxony-Poland (from... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. ... Reign From 1697, until 1706 and from 1709, until February 1, 1733 Elected In 1697 in Wola, today suburb of Warsaw, Poland Coronation On September 15, 1697 in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland Royal House Wettin Parents John George III Wettin Anne Sophie Consorts  ? Children August III Sas Maurice de... Absolute monarchy is an idealized form of government, a monarchy where the ruler has the power to rule his or her country and citizens freely with no laws or legally-organized direct opposition telling him or her what to do, although some religious authority may be able to discourage the... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... Tsar (Bulgarian цар, Russian царь,  listen; often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to... Peter I Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia Peter I (Pyotr Alekseyvich) (9 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ...

Threatened by strong Russian army, with Russian soldiers 'guarding' the proceedings, the Silent Sejm - known as silent because only one person, marshal of the Sejm Stanisław Ledóchowski (podkomorzy krzemienicki), was allowed a voice - outlined the terms of the settlement designed by Peter the Great. This settlement stipulated that Poles and Saxony (Augustus homeland) should not intervene into each other domestic affairs, limited the powers of the hetmans (Polish military commanders in chief), and established taxes for Commonwealth army of 24,000 (normal soldier's wages, which meant that after factoring officer pensions and other military needs, the effective army was a little over 10,000 strong, several times weaker then those of its neighbours). After outlining the proposal, Ledochowski asked if there are any objections. After 6 hours, when nobody dared to oppose him and risk Russian intervention, Ledochowski concluded that 'silence means lack of objections'. The Silent Sejm is regarded as one of the first precedences that the Russian Empire dictated Polish internal policy, and also as a precursor to the partitions of Poland, which erased the Commonwealth from world maps by 1795. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (or The Republic of the Two Nations, Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów in Polish; Belarusian: Рэч Паспалі́тая) was a federal monarchy-republic formed by the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, between 1569 and 1795. ... With an area of 18,400 sq. ... Hetman (from Czech: hejtman, German: Hauptmann, Turkish: Ataman) was the title of the second highest military commander (after the monarch) used in 15th to 18th century Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, known from 1568 to 1795 as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... The Partitions of Poland ( Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...