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Can a peaceful revolution overthrow the communist regime? More than three decades ago, Poland was the first to show it to the world.
In 1989, after two months of negotiations with the LFR authorities, members of the Solidarity Society (Solidarność) reached the country’s first democratic elections, at least partially. After its victory, Solidarity managed to obtain the right to form a government, and this was the beginning of the birth of a new Poland. But the road to that was extraordinary and long. He recalled the events of that time in his essay. currenttime.tv.
The events that led to the collapse of the LLR of the communist regime began four decades ago with a strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk. Discontent with the socialist system has been maturing for years, but the strike has been triggered by a sharp jump in food prices.
Photo from Wikipedia.org / Strike at the Gdańsk shipyard
Photo from Wikipedia.org / Strike at the Gdańsk shipyard
On August 14, 1980, several thousand shipyard workers occupied the company and refused to leave their territory for more than two weeks. They were joined by employees from other companies in Gdańsk and later from other cities. The leader of the protesters was the electrician Lech Wałęsa, who had been arrested several times since 1976 for activities against the government and the fight for workers’ rights.
Photo from Wikipedia.org / Lech Wałęsa, chairman of the Gdańsk shipyard strike committee
The first victory was achieved after 17 days. The government could no longer ignore the massive protests of the workers and was forced to start negotiations with the strikers. During the negotiations, workers won the right to form independent unions and defend their rights in various ways, including strikes.
The Gdansk agreements legalized the political struggle of workers throughout Poland, and on September 17, 1980, representatives of strike committees from various parts of the country announced the establishment of an independent and autonomous union called Solidarity. In November, when Solidarity was officially registered, there were 7 million people on its membership lists, and one in four Polish citizens later became a member of Solidarity.
Solidarity managed to unite all the anti-Soviet groups in Polish society, from the dissidents to the Catholic clergy, from the nationalists to the Polish left, who spoke out against the influence of Moscow in the life of the country. The Catholic Church provided significant support for the movement. He is also known for secret financial and other support from the West.
However, the Polish communist regime had an influential ally, Moscow. And he was very unhappy with what was happening in the country. While the Solidarity supporters were intoxicated after the first victories, the LLR leadership, having secured the support of the Eastern Bloc countries, shook plans to crush the movement by force.
In December 1981, the parties to the Warsaw Pact issued a declaration of “brotherly solidarity” with the leadership of socialist Poland in the fight against “difficulties”. On December 13, Wojciech Jaruzelski, Chairman of the LLR Council of Ministers, announced the introduction of military status in the country. The tanks took to the streets. Solidarity was declared illegal and some 10,000 activists were arrested.
Photo from Wikipedia.org / General Wojciech Jaruzelski announces the introduction of military status in the country
After living just over a year, Solidarumas went into hiding. Lech Wałęsa was imprisoned for years, but his release was further persecuted. When he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, his wife went to Norway to collect the award because the leader of Solidarity suspected that the authorities who had left the country would not allow him to return.
The military situation in Poland was not lifted until July 1983. During the repression, several dozen people died and thousands lost their freedom. Despite everything, Solidaridad survived and did not renounce the principles of the non-violent struggle against power.
Photo from Wikipedia.org / The militia is ready to expel the Solidarity protesters
The fact that Solidaridad managed to survive in the clandestine conditions later determined its role in the overthrow of the communist regime. In an attempt to neutralize the movement, the authorities hoped to “regain control of the situation in the country,” but the arrests of Solidaridad leaders did not solve the economic problems. When the situation in the country deteriorated again in 1989, the only way out of the crisis was to negotiate with Solidaridad.
The round table lasted from February to April. More than 700 people from both sides participated in the negotiations and talks. They agreed to re-legalize Solidaridad and implement the political reform package.
Photo from Wikipedia.org / Round table at the Presidential Palace of Poland
The round table would become a compromise between the communist government and the opposition. Former Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski held a specially created post of Polish President and had to retain it for six years. In the Sejm, quotas were approved for the ruling Joint Polish Workers’ Party (LJDP) and only 161 out of 460 parliamentary seats were elected. The Polish Senate was re-established and all 100 of its members would be elected here.
The first semi-democratic elections ended with an absolute victory for Solidarity. Its representatives won all 161 seats in the Seimas and 99 of the 100 seats in the Senate (one seat was won by an independent candidate). Although the LJDP, which had 173 seats in the Seimas, hoped to continue ruling Poland unimpeded with its satellite parties, Solidarity managed to attract its long-standing communist allies, the United People’s Party and the Democratic Party, to its side. And so, suddenly, “Solidarity” won the majority in the Seimas.
After this turn of events, there was nothing left but to allow the government to form a Solidarity. Tadeusz Mazowiecki became Prime Minister. On January 27, 1990, the LJDP decided to free itself. Wojciech Jaruzelski also did not keep his post. Lech Wałęsa won the presidential election on December 9, 1990, with almost 75 percent of the vote in the second round.
When they came to power, the opposition did not begin to persecute the leaders of communist Poland and their supporters. In his famous speech in parliament, Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki suggested “leaving the past behind a thick line.” For many, including the more radical group Solidarity, this approach has not proven strong enough. But Mazowiecki was convinced that this is what differentiates peaceful revolutions from coups d’état, after which the defenders of an overthrown regime become second-class citizens: it is “democracy for all” that must become the basis of the new order.
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