Subdivisions of the Polish–Lithuanian territories following the partitions

Partitions of Poland

Administrative division of Polish territories after partitions is a complex issue, involving changing administrations of the territories acquired after three partitions of Poland in the late 18th century by Austrian Empire, Kingdom of Prussia and the Russian Empire, further complicated by the changes within those states and periodic recreations of some form of Polish state itself.

This article covers the period 1772-1918 and overlaps with several articles:

• for the administrative division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before its final third partition, see Administrative division of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• for administrative divisions of two main Polish states of the 19th century, see Administrative division of Duchy of Warsaw (1807-1815) and Administrative division of Congress Poland (1815-1918)
• for administrative divisions of the partitioners, see Provinces of Prussia and History of the administrative division of Russia,

Austrian partition

Further information: Austrian partition

Territorial changes of Galicia, 1772-1918

Austrian Empire (known from second half of the 19th century as the Austro-Hungarian Empire) which acquired Polish territories in the First (1772) and Third (1795) Partitions of Poland, had divided former territories of the Commonwealth it obtained into:

• Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria - from 1772 to 1918.
• New Galicia - from 1795 to 1809
• Free City of Kraków - from 1815 to 1846

Prussian partition

Further information: Prussian partition

Kingdom of Prussia (known from second half of the 19th century as German Empire) which acquired Polish territories in all three Partitions, had divided former territories of the Commonwealth it obtained into:

• Netze District - from 1772 to 1793
• New Silesia - from 1795 to 1807
• New East Prussia - from 1795 to 1807
• South Prussia - from 1793 to 1806
• East Prussia - from 1773-1829
• West Prussia - from 1773-1824

Russian partition

Further information: Russian partition

Western governorates of the Russian Empire, acquired from Poland

Russian Empire which acquired the former territories of the Kingdom of Poland as well as of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in all three Partitions, had divided former territories of the Commonwealth it obtained by creating or enlarging the following guberniyas:

• Belarus Governorate
• Bratslav Governorate
• Chernigov Governorate
• Grodno Governorate
• Izyaslav Governorate
• Yekaterinoslav Governorate
• Kiev Governorate
• Lithuanian Governorate
• Minsk Governorate
• Mogilev Governorate
• Podolia Governorate
• Polotsk Governorate
• Pskov Governorate
• Slonim Governorate
• Wilno Governorate
• Volhynia Governorate

After Congress of Vienna in 1815, Russian empire created a separate entity, the Congress Poland, out of some of the above governorates. See administrative division of Congress Poland for details.

Territories under Russian partition, not incorporated into Congress Poland, were officially known as the Western Krai, and in Poland, as the taken lands.

Western Krai was made of the following lands of the Commonwealth:

• from the first partition of Poland (1772): Polish Inflants (Latgale), northern part of the Polotsk Voivodeship, entire Mstsislaw Voivodeship and Vitebsk Voivodeship, and south eastern part of the Minsk Voivodeship (about 92,000. km²)
• from the second partition of Poland (1793): remaining part of the Minsk Voivodeship, the entire Kiev Voivodeship, Bracław Voivodeship and Vilnius Voivodeship, parts of Podole Voivodeship and eastern parts of the Wołyń Voivodeship and Brest Litovsk Voivodeship (about 250,000. km²)
• from the third partition of Poland (1795): all the terriories east of the Bug river and (about 120,000. km²) (after 1807, the Belostok Oblast)

It consisted of 9 guberniyas: 6 Belarusian and Lithuanian ones that constituted the Northwestern Krai (Vilna Governorate, Kovno Governorate, Grodno Governorate, Minsk Governorate,Mogilev Governorate and Vitebsk Governorate) and 3 Ukrainian ones that constituted the Southwestern Krai (Volhynia Governorate, Podolia Governorate and Kiev Governorate).