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The Polish United Workers' Party (Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, PZPR) was a political party in Poland that played a dominant role in the country's political landscape during the era of communist rule, from its formation in 1948 until the…   decline of communist authority in 1989. It emerged from a merger of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) and the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), under the influence of the Soviet Union, which sought to consolidate communist control in the Eastern Bloc following World War II.<br /><br />The core values and ideology of the Polish United Workers' Party were rooted in Marxism-Leninism, a branch of communist ideology that emphasizes the role of the proletariat (or working class) in the revolutionary struggle to overthrow capitalism and establish a classless, communist society. The PZPR sought to transform Poland into a socialist state, with the means of production owned or controlled by the state, and a planned economy where production and distribution of goods were centrally managed.<br /><br />The party advocated for the principles of social equality, aiming to eradicate the disparities between the rich and the poor. It promoted state-sponsored social welfare programs, universal education, and healthcare to improve the living standards of the population. The PZPR also emphasized the importance of international solidarity among communist and socialist countries, aligning closely with the Soviet Union's foreign policy and participating actively in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) and the Warsaw Pact, which were central to the Soviet bloc's economic and military alliances, respectively.<br /><br />However, the party's rule was also marked by authoritarian governance, suppression of political dissent, and limited political freedoms, leading to various crises and periods of unrest throughout its tenure. The imposition of martial law in the early 1980s, in response to the Solidarity movement's growing influence, was one of the most controversial and repressive measures taken by the PZPR-led government.<br /><br />The decline of the Polish United Workers' Party began in the late 1980s, as economic difficulties and a surge in opposition movements pressured the regime to negotiate with its critics. This culminated in the Round Table Talks of 1989, which paved the way for partially free elections, leading to the eventual dismantling of the PZPR's monopoly on power and the emergence of a democratic government in Poland. The party was officially dissolved in 1990, marking the end of communist rule in Poland and the transition to a democratic political system.Διαβάστε περισσότερα