The three partitions, which took place in 1772, 1793 and 1795, resulted in the complete loss of Poland's and Lithuania's sovereignty, with their territories split between Russia, Prussia and Austria.

To the Russians after partition, Poland ceased to exist, and their newly acquired territories were considered the long lost parts of Mother Russia.

[1] Even before the partitions from the late 18th century, the Russian Empire had already acquired some territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (a real union of Kingdom of Poland with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania).

The first Russian partition took place in the late 17th century when the forced Treaty of Andrusovo signed in 1667 granted Russia the Commonwealth's territory in the Eastern Ukraine.

[3] Under the Third Partition of Poland Russia acquired Courland, all Lithuanian territory east of the Nieman River, and the remaining parts of Volhynian Ukraine.

It ended up in the massacre of Praga district of Warsaw, in which the Russian imperial army killed up to 20,000 civilians in reprisal or revenge, regardless of gender and age.

Notwithstanding, the relentless Russian exploitation activities led to the 1830–1831 November Uprising which took place in the heartland of partitioned Poland, forming a government.

The return to Poland's independence was a result of the First World War on the Polish lands (1914–1918), the overthrow of the Tsarist regime, and the defeat of the Central Powers in 1918.

Hunger and poverty were rampant with record number of women forced to work at the Russian military brothels, of which there were some 185 in total, including 16 official ones (1884).

[14] In cheap army brothels sex could be bought for as little as 30 kopecks (less than 1/3 of a rouble); one woman for every 30 Russians stationed at a garrison, with beatings and instances of women getting killed by them in drunken rages.

Officers had their own brothels under the chief of police (1888–1895), known sex connoisseur Nikolai Kleigels (Russian: Николай Клейгельс) who was selling young Polish girls dressed in exotic costumes for 10 roubles a visit.

In all cities with the Russian garrisons, army-licensed brothels were required to provide so-called "patriotic duty" to their regiments by giving one free visit per soldier, at least once a week.

Each girl was required to service 20-21 members of a battalion, after which she would be allowed to take other men to make money in order to buy food.

[15] Jewish girls were especially vulnerable due to the totality of the tsarist official antisemitism including mass expulsions of Litvaks commanded by Alexander III of Russia which led to desperation and hunger.

[16] There was nonetheless growth in the national consciousness, and the Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907) resulted in the general improvement of the situation soon before the dissolution of the Empire.