The People's Republic of Poland (Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1989. From 1944 to 1952 Rzeczpospolita Polska (The Republic of Poland) was the name of the Polish state.
The Soviet Union had much influence over internal affairs and foreign affairs, and Red Army forces were stationed in Poland (1945 - 500,000; until 1955 - 120,000 to 150,000, until 1989 - 40,000). Therefore the People's Republic of Poland has been described as a satellite state of the Soviet Union. In 1945, Soviet generals and advisors formed 80% of the officer cadre of Wojsko Polskie. The Polish United Workers' Party became the dominant political party, officially making the country a Socialist state.
Read more about People's Republic Of Poland: History, Government and Politics, Culture, Demographics, Geography
Famous quotes containing the words people, republic and/or poland:
“A reader who quarrels with postulates, who dislikes Hamlet because he does not believe that there are ghosts or that people speak in pentameters, clearly has no business in literature. He cannot distinguish fiction from fact, and belongs in the same category as the people who send cheques to radio stations for the relief of suffering heroines in soap operas.”
—Northrop Frye (b. 1912)
“Royalty is a government in which the attention of the nation is concentrated on one person doing interesting actions. A Republic is a government in which that attention is divided between many, who are all doing uninteresting actions. Accordingly, so long as the human heart is strong and the human reason weak, Royalty will be strong because it appeals to diffused feeling, and Republics weak because they appeal to the understanding.”
—Walter Bagehot (18261877)
“It is often said that Poland is a country where there is anti-semitism and no Jews, which is pathology in its purest state.”
—Bronislaw Geremek (b. 1932)