Russian president Vladimir Putin attributes Belgium’s existence to Russia. Is he right?

"To answer this question, we have to go back in time to before Belgian independence in 1830," says Antoon Vrints, professor of history at Ghent University.

"After the fall of Napoleon, Europe was carved up afresh at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. As part of this reorganisation, the Low Countries were united to form the United Kingdom of the Netherlands under King William I."

However, this union was not well received by some of the inhabitants of what later became Belgium. The differences between north and south were great. "Under William I, Belgians faced oppression and discrimination. The use of the Dutch language instead of French, which was widespread in the southern regions, was also a thorn in the side of many, as was a lack of political autonomy."

These tensions eventually led to the Belgian Revolution of 1830, in which Belgians rebelled against Dutch rule and eventually declared their independence.

Quelling protests

At the same time, the Russian Tsar Nicholas I had formed an alliance with several other major European powers to suppress the rise of nationalist movements and their independence aspirations across Europe.

"Russia's main partners in this were Austria and Prussia," Vrints explains. "Together they formed a conservative European force that tried to maintain the status quo”.

“When the Belgian Revolution against the Netherlands started in September 1830, Russia backed William I’s regime and even planned to send troops to quell the uprising."

Rebellion closer to home

A sudden uprising in Poland threw a spanner in the works of the Russian tsar. That revolt began in November 1830 and is directed against Russian rule. Poles oppose the tsar's authoritarian rule and demand greater political and national freedom.

"For Nicholas I, crushing this quest for independence is a priority. He first has to send his troops to Poland to quell that rebellion."

He eventually succeeds but many Polish rebels flee to Belgium and join the Belgians fighting for independence. In the end, Russia has no choice but to recognise Belgium as a state at the London Conference of 1830. France and the UK in particular take the lead at that conference.

Is Putin's statement true?

"There is a considerable amount of truth in his statement," Vrints notes. "But I do think he phrased it too simply, too briefly. Actually, it was mainly because the Russian tsar had his hands full with the uprising in Poland that the Russians did not get involved in our Belgian revolution."

The statement fits in well with Putin's imperial character, Vrints adds. "He constantly wants to prove that Russia is one of the big boys, that his country was directly responsible for the independence of smaller states. We also see that he constantly cites history and historical arguments to justify his actions, as he does on Ukraine."