Polish People's Republic

The Polish People's Republic (, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern-day Republic of Poland. From 1947 to 1952 it was known as the Republic of Poland (, RP), and it was also often simply known as Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most-populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. A unitary state with a Marxist–Leninist government, it was also one of the main signatories of the Warsaw Pact alliance. The largest city and official capital since 1947 was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west. A communist government was established in the country after the Red Army's takeover of Polish territory from German occupation in World War II. Communist control was strengthened through electoral fraud following the 1946 Polish people's referendum and the 1947 Polish parliamentary election. The Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) became the dominant political faction under a one-party state but the country had more liberal policies than other socialist states due to its strategic location in the Cold War and internal opposition. The state's official name was the "Republic of Poland" between 1947 and 1952 in accordance with the temporary Small Constitution of 1947. The name "People's Republic" was introduced and defined by the Constitution of 1952. The Ministry of Public Security (UB) and later the Security Service (SB) were the chief intelligence agencies that acted as the secret police. The official police organization, Milicja Obywatelska (MO), along with its ZOMO squads, conducted mass surveillance and violent suppression of protests.