 As a result of the elections to the First Duma ( legislative assembly in the late Russian Empire ) , which were boycotted by the PPS , the National Democrats won 34 of the 55 seats allotted to Poland . Dmowski himself was elected a deputy to the Second and Third Dumas ( beginning on 27 February 1907 ) and was president of the Polish caucus within it . He was seen as a conservative , and despite being a Polish caucus leader , he often had more influence on the Russian than the Polish deputies . 
