Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation

by Serhii Plokhy

the Four-Year Diet, which began its proceedings in Warsaw in 1788, launched a number of reforms intended to modernize the Polish state. Adopted by the pro-reform faction of the Diet, the Constitution of May 3, 1791, strengthened the position and powers of the king, made the Diet a more workable institution by getting rid of the liberum veto—the requirement that all decisions be made by unanimous vote—and establishing the separation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. None of that was good news for Russia, which saw the reforms not only as impairing its ability to manipulate the Polish political system but also as promoting the ideas of the French Revolution. The latter threat made Catherine forget many of her Enlightenment-era initiatives and take a reactionary view of anything that smacked of danger to her authoritarian rule.