Poland

**Poland**, officially the **Republic of Poland** is a country in Europe, bordered by Germany, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania.

## History

### Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century

During World War I, all the Allies agreed on the reconstitution of Poland that United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in Point 13 of his Fourteen Points. Shortly after the armistice with Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita Polska). It reaffirmed its independence after a series of military conflicts, the most notable being the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921) when Poland inflicted a crushing defeat on the Red Army at the Battle of Warsaw, an event which is considered to have halted the advance of Communism into Europe and forced Vladimir Lenin to rethink his objective of achieving global socialism.

The 1926 May Coup of Józef Piłsudski turned rule of the Second Polish Republic over to the Sanacja movement. By the 1930s Poland had become increasingly authoritarian; a number of 'undesirable' political parties, such as the Polish Communists, had been banned and following Piłsudski's death, the regime, unable to appoint a new leader, began to show its inherent internal weaknesses and unwillingness to cooperate in any way with other political parties.

The beginning of World War II was marked by the Nazi German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, followed by the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September in violation of the Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact. On 28 September 1939 Warsaw capitulated. At the war's conclusion in 1945, Poland's borders were shifted westwards, resulting in considerable territorial losses. Most of the Polish inhabitants of Kresy were expelled along the Curzon Line in accordance with Stalin's agreements.

At the insistence of Joseph Stalin, the Yalta Conference sanctioned the formation of a new provisional pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the Polish government-in-exile based in London; a move which angered many Poles who considered it a betrayal by the Allies. In 1944, Stalin had made guarantees to Churchill and Roosevelt that he would maintain Poland's sovereignty and allow democratic elections to take place. However, upon achieving victory in 1945.

The People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956 after the death of Bolesław Bierut, the régime of Władysław Gomułka became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. A similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under Edward Gierek, but most of the time persecution of anti-communist opposition groups persisted. Despite this, Poland was at the time considered to be one of the least oppressive states of the Soviet Bloc. Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity movement heralded the collapse of communist regimes and parties across Europe.

### War in Ukraine

In 2014, the President of Ukraine, Victor Yanukovych was overthrown in the Euromaidan revolution, bringing a new pro-European government into power. This sparked the Crimean Crisis in which pro-Russian militias seized control of the Crimea Peninsula, which declared its secession from Ukraine, and was annexed to the Russian Federation. It also sparked the War in the Donbass, in which the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic fought for their independence.
In 2015, Russia invaded Ukraine in support of the newly formed Novorossiya and quickly overran the Ukrainian government forces. What remained in government control was called ‘Rump Ukraine’ and joined Poland as the autonomous Free Ukrainian Republic in September 2016.

## Government and Politics

The President is the head of state and is elected by popular vote every five years. The Prime Minister is the head of government as is a member of the lower house of parliament, the Sejm. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and is traditionally the leader of the largest party in the Sejm, being able to maintain a confidence vote. The Parliament is divided into two houses, the Sejm and the Senate. The 460 members of the Sejm are elected by proportional representation for four-year terms. The 100 members of the Senate are elected by a first-past-the-post system, with each Senator representing a single seat constituency.

### Administrative Regions

Poland is divided into 16 provinces and one autonomous region, the Free Ukrainian Republic, which maintains its own parliamentary system independent to the Polish system. The provinces are then subdivided into 379 counties, which are further divided into 2,478 communes and municipalities. The 16 provinces are:

* Greater Poland
* Kuyavian Pomeranian
* Lesser Poland
* Lodz
* Lower Silesian
* Lublin
* Lubusz
* Masovian
* Opole
* Podlaskie
* Pomeranian
* Silesian
* Świętokrzyskie
* Warmian-Masurian
* West Pomeranian

### Foreign Relations

Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the UN and an observer of the G-30 economic forum. Poland maintains strong relations with its fellow EU and NATO member states and is particularly close to the Baltic and Nordic states due to the threat of Russian expansion into those regions.