Western Krai (, literally Western Land) was an unofficial name for the westernmost parts of the Russian Empire, excluding the territory of Congress Poland (which was sometimes referred to as Vistula Krai). The term encompasses the lands annexed by the Russian Empire in the successive partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century – in 1772, 1793, 1795 and located east of Congress Poland. This area is known in Poland as (Taken Lands, Stolen Lands) but is most often referred to in Polish historiography and common parlance as part of (the Russian Partition). Together with Congress Poland, the territory roughly overlapped also with the Jewish Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire. Political geography Western Krai was made of the following lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: from the First Partition of Poland (1772): 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 territories east of the Bug River and (about 120,000. km²) (after 1807, the Belostok Oblast) It has never constituted one official administrative subdivision (Krai) of Russia but was a common name for two such subdivisions: Northwestern Krai and Southwestern Krai. The territory consisted of nine guberniyas: six Belarusian and Lithuanian ones that constituted the Northwestern Krai (Vilna Governorate, Kovno Governorate, Grodno Governorate, Minsk Governorate, Mogilev Governorate and Vitebsk Governorate) and three Ukrainian ones that constituted the Southwestern Krai (Volhynia Governorate, Podolia Governorate and Kiev Governorate). History Due to its national specifics, the Western Krai had some special laws and elements of government. During the reign of Alexander I of Russia, Poles prevailed in the western provinces. After 1819, Grodno, Vilnius (rus. , pol. ), Minsk, Volhynia (pol. ), Podolia (pol. ) governorates and the Belostok Oblast remained under the chief administrative management of the Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia. All positions of the local administration were dominated by Poles. Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth noble families (pol. ) had there a wide local government and enjoyed many social, economic and military privileges, unlike noble families in so called Congress Poland. This opportune situation