The aim of this article is to present the status of the Free City of Kraków in the policies of its neighbouring states, i.e. Austria, Prussia, and Russia, in regards to regional security (in areas of Central and Eastern Europe under the legal or real sovereignty of these powers). The main objective of the regional policy conducted by these powers was to protect the status quo and maintain the ancien régime in their respective states, along with upholding security and public order in the region. The article draws attention to the main ideas underlying the cooperation of these counties in this respect, and identifies the conventions and secret agreements that had direct impact on the creation, functioning, and dismantling of the Republic of Kraków. It further discusses the roles of the representatives of the protecting powers in Kraków, and their influence on the activity and reorganization of the city’s administration, police, militia, and judiciary. It offers examples that illustrate the consequences that the inhabitants of the Free City of Kraków suffered due to the legal and factual dependence of the state on the policies of the partitioning powers.