Hetmans' Party

The Hetmans' Party (Polish: Stronnictwo hetmańskie), also known as the Magnates' Party (Stronnictwo magnackie), the Muscovite Party (Stronnictwo moskiewskie), the Conservative Party (Stronnictwo konswerwatywne) and the Old-Nobility Party (Stronnictwo staroszlacheckie), was a political party that opposed reforms advocated in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by the Patriotic Party. The Hetmans' Party was aligned with the Russian Empire and supported preservation of the status quo and the "Golden Freedoms". Its various names come from the fact that it was headed by two hetmans (commanders of Commonwealth military forces), represented the interests of conservative nobles and magnates, and was aligned with the Russian Empire.

By the early 17th century, the magnates of Poland and Lithuania controlled the state—or rather, they managed to ensure that no reforms would be carried out that might weaken their privileged status (the "Golden Freedoms"). The peculiar parliamentary institution of the liberum veto ("free veto") since 1652 had in principle permitted any Sejm deputy to nullify all the legislation that had been adopted by that Sejm. Thanks to this device, deputies bribed by magnates or foreign powers, or simply content to believe they were living in some kind of "Golden Age", for over a century paralyzed the Commonwealth's government. The government was near collapse, giving rise to the term "Polish anarchy".

A major opportunity for reform seemed to present itself during the "Great" or "Four-Year Sejm" of 1788–92, which opened on October 6, 1788. Events in the world now played into the reformers' hands. Poland's neighbors were too occupied with wars — Prussia with France, Russia and Austria with the Ottoman Empire — and with their own internal troubles to intervene forcibly in Poland. The Russian Empire had, since the beginning of the century, been increasingly involved in the Commonwealth politics, and the current situation meant it was paying significantly less attention to the Commonwealth politics. The Patriotic Party was established during the Four-Year Sejm (Great Sejm) of 1788-92 by individuals who sought reforms aimed at strengthening the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and assuring its independence from the Russian Empire. The reforms, however, did not enjoy a unanimous support.

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