LTKeturiolika mėnesių ir dvidešimt dienų - tiek oficialiai truko Lenkijos ir Lietuvos valstybės kaip konstitucinės monarchijos istorija. Tai labai trum¬pas laiko tarpas, jei žvelgsime į jį iš daugiau nei du šimtus metų gyvavusio, 1569 m. Liublino unijos metu sukurto naujo politinio darinio Vidurio Rytų Europoje - Abiejų Tautų Respublikos - raidos perspektyvos. Tačiau tai nepaprastai svarbus laikotarpis žvelgiant į jį per modernios visuomenės formavimosi procesų prizmę. Per vienerius metus - nuo 1791 m. gegužės 3 d. iki 1792 m. liepos 23 d., kada valdovas Stanislovas Augustas prisiekė Lenkijos generalinei Targovicos konfederacijai, - Lenkijos ir Lietuvos valstybė išgyveno esminių permainų tarpsnį ir buvo atvėrusi kelius luominei visuomenei virsti pilietine. 1791 m. gegužės 3 d. konstitucijoje įtvirtinti pamatiniai valdymo pertvarkymai: remiantis Charleso Louis Montesquieu valdžių atskyrimo principu, buvo atskirtos įstatymų leidžiamoji, vykdomoji ir teisminė valdžios; sustiprintas centrinis valdžios aparatas; patvirtintos dalinės pilietinės miestiečių teisės; valstiečiams užtikrinta valstybės globa; tautos valia paskelbta pamatiniu valdžios šaltiniu - visa tai rodė Lenkijos ir Lietuvos bajoriškosios visuomenės pastangas modernizuoti valstybę ir garantuoti jos egzistavimą sudėtingų ir nuolat kintančių geopolitinių iššūkių akivaizdoje. [Iš straipsnio, p. 27]
ENThe second introductory article by Ramunė Šmigelskytė-Stukienė "Implementation of the Constitution of 3 May 1791: Years of Constitutional Monarchy in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania" reveals the fourteen-month long period of establishing a constitutional monarchy when the society underwent the period of essential changes and opened up ways to turn an estate society into a civil one. The author notes that the years of the constitutional monarchy fundamentally changed the everyday life of the society of that time, especially that of the nobility. Administrative reorganization went hand in hand with the changes in the political system, the court system reform was implemented, new local self-government institutions were created, cities enjoyed a period of rise due to regaining or acquiring self-governance rights. The reforms reached the most distant corners of the state and were met with positivity in the circles of local nobility, as was shown by the success of the dietines (sejmiki) gatherings that took place in 1792. The implementation of the Four-Year Sejm resolutions met strong support from the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and went smoothly.There was not a single law that would be boycotted or the implementation of which would be deliberately delayed by the county nobility. The problems encountered by the local county nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania did not have any signs of political confrontation. Instead, they were related to organizational problems: the required infrastructure and the candidates that would comply with the requirements of positions in the newly created counties were lacking. There was a lack of noblemen who were land owners, did not hold any other office in a specific county and also had the qualification needed to perform duties in state institutions. The Law on Land-Owners Book was implemented at the slowest pace, since it received a negative reaction from the nobility that owned no land and were afraid to lose their civil rights. The main problem faced in the implementation of the Four-Year Sejm reforms at the level of counties and self-governance and court system reformation was the lack of time to implement the reforms. The years of constitutional monarchy at the Grand Duchy of Lithuania testify that the downfall of the state was not caused by internal turmoil but by the aggression of neighboring states. [Extract, p. 203-204]