We ended up with Edward Gierek losing power in the People's Republic of Poland. His place was taken by Stanisław Kania and then by General Wojciech Jaruzelski. The economic situation was becoming dramatic. In April 1981, an agreement was signed in Paris with Western governments and banks to postpone the repayment of debts by the PRL. The authorities again wanted to join the IMF, from which they had withdrawn our country three decades earlier. Unfortunately, it was too late for such a move. In the spring of 1981, the market collapsed and product rationing began. Martial law The deadline for repayment was postponed. This allowed the authorities to breathe and do "order" in the country, that is to pacify the opposition in the form of "Solidarity". On December 13, 1981 Jaruzelski imposed martial law. Currency trading was restricted. A curfew was introduced and the army and the militia made sure that no protests took place in the country. In response, the IMF refused to accept the People's Republic of Poland into its ranks and the West began a policy of isolating our country. As a result, until 1984, Poland could not take on any more debt. Unfortunately, between 1984 and 1989, the debt began to grow again and by the end of that period it amounted to an additional $14 billion. To make matters worse, Jaruzelski was a professional soldier and did not understand economics at all (a fact he shared with the Piłsudskiites). Added to this was his blind faith in communism. Although he evokes mixed feelings today and his decision to impose martial law is sometimes evaluated in different ways, one thing is certain - he did not take care of Poland from the economic point of view. In his defense, the economic situation was dire when he took the helm of power. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to fix it. In 1986, Poland returned to the IMF and the World Bank (yes, this happened during the PRL and before the Third Republic). Here again there is an accusation against Jaruzelski. This was a mere formality. He did not even try based on these two entities to save the Polish market. Inflation in 1984 was 15 percent. in 1987 it jumped to 25 percent. In the background, however, the USSR and the entire Eastern Bloc were falling apart. Mikhail Gorbachev, who headed the eastern superpower, wanted to reform the Soviet Union. He realized that he was ruling a colossus with legs of clay. Although he wanted to strengthen those legs, in the end he contributed to the collapse of the empire that seven decades before him had been built by Lenin and then Stalin. Economic revolution in the People's Republic of Poland Gorbachev's experiments could not escape the attention of the PZPR party bosses. Probably for this reason they began talks with the opposition. And although the final breakthrough is considered to be the symbolic event of the first democratic contractual elections that took place on 4 June 1989, more important decisions had been made earlier. The elections are only a symbol. The eastern bloc began to disintegrate for many reasons but these were mainly economic. The USSR could no longer compete with the USA in the arms race. It turned out that a planned economy did not stand a chance against a capitalist economy. This was probably influenced in the long term by a certain contempt for intellectuals, which can be seen in jokes from this period and in general propaganda and culture. Additionally, there was an ideological factor. Although the first communists were ideological people who believed in the views of Marx and later Lenin, the next generations of party activists already consisted of cynical opportunists and careerists. Probably some of them could see some profit for themselves in the transition to a market economy. At some point, Jaruzelski's advisers began to talk loudly about the need for monetary reform. It was decided that it would be implemented in small steps. The reform program was to be based on: changes in the payment of state companies, balancing the budget, opening up to entrepreneurship. At the same time, trade in foreign currency was facilitated. A team was formed to familiarize the public with the changes. It included Stanisław Ciosek, Władysław Pożoga and Jerzy Urban (yes, that Jerzy Urban!). The trio called for the introduction of a New Economic Policy. According to them, it was to allow the PZPR to retain power but also to reform the country. In November 1987 a referendum was organized in which the public was asked whether they wanted economic reforms. For politicians who ruled the country in a rather murderous manner, this was a novelty. But there was also cynicism behind it. They only wanted to find out whether the Poles would withstand economic changes and were ready for them. Preparations for change were disrupted by a wave of strikes in the spring of 1988. The debt of the Polish People's Republic reached as much as USD 40 billion and inflation began to gallop again. During this period, massive protests against socialist rule took place in Tallinn. Jaruzelski's team was beginning to understand that it had to act quickly or it could lose power in a much less pleasant way than it had imagined. Power wants change On September 16, 1988, the 9th Plenum of the Central Committee of the PZPR was convened. It decided on: abolition of the licensing system for economic activity,
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