Poland and the Soviet Imperium
Article Summary and Author Biography
Events in Poland since August 1980, the struggle of Polish workers for their rights, constitute a critical turning point in the history of the Soviet imperium. The situation, still completely unpredictable at the onset of the new year, holds much more importance for the future of the world communist movement, the Soviet empire, and the Soviet Union itself than the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the Polish revolt of the same year, the Czechoslovak reforms of 1968, and even the Stalin-Tito rupture of 1947-48. Its international implications are no less grave. Poland is the key country in the Soviet bloc in terms of strategic location, military and economic potential, and size of population. A major lasting change there could transform, if not destroy, the Soviet Union's East European empire.
Seweryn Bialer is Professor of Political Science at Columbia University and Director of its Research Institute on International Change. He is the author of numerous works on the Soviet Union, of which the latest is Stalin's Successors.
Poles! If you cannot prevent your neighbors from devouring your nation, make it impossible for them to digest it.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Events in Poland since August 1980, the struggle of Polish workers for their rights, constitute a critical turning point in the history of the Soviet imperium. The situation, still completely unpredictable at the onset of the new year, holds much more importance for the future of the world communist movement, the Soviet empire, and the Soviet Union itself than the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the Polish revolt of the same year, the Czechoslovak reforms of 1968, and even the Stalin-Tito rupture of 1947-48. Its international implications are no less grave. Poland is the key country in the Soviet bloc in terms of strategic location, military and economic potential, and size of population. A major lasting change there could transform, if not destroy, the Soviet Union's East European empire.
Even before the recent events, Poland was far from being a typical East European communist state. It is the only communist country in which individual small landholders form the vast majority of the peasantry. The Polish Catholic Church represents a virtual alternate government with a moral authority unmatched by any postwar Polish regime. (As a Vatican joke has it, the most Catholic countries in the world are Poland, Ireland and the Vatican, in that order.) Culturally, Poland belongs to the West; its cities exhibit a lifestyle that is Western in character.
This is a premium article
You must be a logged in Foreign Affairs subscriber to continue reading. If you wish to continue reading this article please subscribe , or activate your online account to get full online access.
Sign-up for free weekly updates from ForeignAffairs.com.