What if "Self-Determination" is actually taken seriously at Versailles?

That definitely does NOT make stealing Karajala from Finland justifiable.
I meant the justification for creating the Polish corridor.

According to the below map, an independent Vilnius region would be surrounded on three sides by a Poland but not an enclave. Also, if it voted to join Poland I believe that Lithuania would be satisfied that the people of Vilnius joined Poland by themselves and not because of foreign interference.

https://i.redd.it/krdjx4ck98u01.png
Yes, if you define Vilnius very broadly, to include the city and all its surrounding villages. Otherwise, the actual city would indeed be an enclave in Polish territory. As for the Lithuania, it would not be satisfied with not getting Vilnius, whatever happened, since they wanted the city for historical reasons and did not really care about the wishes of its inhabitants.


You say that language doesn’t mean a place should be part of a state to justify Kuban being part of Russia, and you say that language DOES mean that to justify Kursk being part of Russia. Kursk (at least its hinterland) was very much ethnically Ukrainian.
Because there is evidence that the Ukrainian speakers of the Kuban mostly identified as Russian, while there is no evidence that the Russians speakers of the Kursk governorate identified as Ukrainian. And neither Kursk (92% Russian), nor its hinterland (97% Russian), nor the governorate (77% Russian) as a whole were majority Ukrainian.

Why? Dobrudja isn’t Germany, it can’t throw its weight around, so the Danube river should give Romania all the sea access it needs. Additionally, Gaugauz are concentrated in the southern third of Bessarabia and in 1919 formed a contiguous majority region (their current status is partly due to Soviet repression), so no, they are not “too dispersed”.
The southern third of Bessarabia had several ethnicities of which the Gagauz were certainly not the largest, nor was their settlement especially compact.

The reason I made Dobrudja separate is because it is NOT Romanian. Romanians form about half of its population, but the Bulgarian and Turkic minorities there are too separate from their homelands to be ruled from Sofia or Istanbul.
If this argument is to be used, it would make more sense to leave the Bulgarian majority part of Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria and to include the Bulgarian population of Bessarabia which would make for a more compact connection with the Gagauz populated areas as well.[/QUOTE]
 
I meant the justification for creating the Polish corridor.


Yes, if you define Vilnius very broadly, to include the city and all its surrounding villages. Otherwise, the actual city would indeed be an enclave in Polish territory. As for the Lithuania, it would not be satisfied with not getting Vilnius, whatever happened, since they wanted the city for historical reasons and did not really care about the wishes of its inhabitants.



Because there is evidence that the Ukrainian speakers of the Kuban mostly identified as Russian, while there is no evidence that the Russians speakers of the Kursk governorate identified as Ukrainian. And neither Kursk (92% Russian), nor its hinterland (97% Russian), nor the governorate (77% Russian) as a whole were majority Ukrainian.


The southern third of Bessarabia had several ethnicities of which the Gagauz were certainly not the largest, nor was their settlement especially compact.


If this argument is to be used, it would make more sense to leave the Bulgarian majority part of Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria and to include the Bulgarian population of Bessarabia which would make for a more compact connection with the Gagauz populated areas as well.
Poland was also not going to be satisfied with letting Vilnius go to Lithuania. And Poland is much larger in comparison to Lithuania than Germany is in comparison to Lithuania. So giving Vilnius free city status was the best option, not a good option, because there is no good option.

Kuban decided to unify with Ukraine during the Civil War, so there is also evidence that they considered themselves Ukrainian. However, I agree that Kursk should probably remain part of Russia.

I specifically included the Turkish majority region of northeastern Bulgaria as well as Bulgarian regions of Bessarabia and Dobruja. The Turkish-majority region and the Bulgarian-majority region cannot be administered from their respective capitals, necessitating the creation of a Confederation. The Gagauz (an isolated group of Turks, though not descended from Anatolian Turks) were included because they would have more representation in this new state than under Romanian authority.
 
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