Curzon Line

:For other uses of Curzon, see Curzon (disambiguation).

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The Curzon Line was a demarcation line proposed in 1919 by the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Curzon of Kedleston, as a possible armistice line between Poland, to the west, and Soviet Russia to the east, during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919?20. Curzon's plan was not accepted by the Soviet Russia, and in fact it did not play any role in establishing the Polish-Soviet border in 1921 because of the Polish demands. The final peace treaty in Riga (1921) provided Poland with almost 52,000 sq mi (135,000 sq km) of land east of the line (on average about 200 km east from the Curzon line).

Related Topics:
1919 - Lord Curzon of Kedleston - Poland - Soviet Russia - Polish-Soviet War - 1921 - Riga

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However, Curzon line was used by Stalin as a significant argument in the talks with the Allies during 1942-1945. Curzon line was similar to the border between the Soviet Union and the Nazi Germany agreed secretly in the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. Stalin in the talks with the Allies argued that USSR cannot demand less territory for the Soviet Union than lord Curzon in 1919.

Related Topics:
Stalin - Allies - Soviet Union - Nazi Germany - Ribbentrop-Molotov pact - USSR - Lord Curzon - 1919

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It lay approximately along the border which was established between Prussia and Russia in 1797, after the third partition of Poland, which was the last border recognised by the United Kingdom. The line separating the German and Soviet zones of occupation following the defeat of Poland in 1939 followed the Curzon Line in places, while diverging from it around Bialystok in the north and in the southern region of Galicia.

Related Topics:
Prussia - Russia - 1797 - Partition of Poland - United Kingdom - German - Soviet - 1939 - Bialystok - Galicia

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There were two versions of the line "A" and "B". Version "B" allocated Lwów (now Lviv) to Poland. The line "A" was used in 1945 as the basis for the permanent border between Poland and the Soviet Union, although with some differences.

Related Topics:
Lwów - Lviv - Poland - 1945 - Soviet Union

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It is sometimes said that the Curzon Line represented an ethnic border between Poland to the west and Belarus and Ukraine to the east. This was not the intention when Lord Curzon of Kedleston proposed the line: its origins were diplomatic and historical. Nevertheless it did run along a line which, with some notable anomalies, approximated a division between regions to the west which were mixed, but majority Polish, and regions to the east which were mixed but majority non-Polish. (This is further discussed below).

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