poland

• country in eastern europe
the republic of poland is a country in central europe. it was partitioned for over one hundred years and re-emerged as an independent state in 1918. from 1939 to 1945 it was occupied by germany and the soviet union. after the second world war a communist-dominated government took power and it came under the soviet sphere of influence. repeated protests against communist rule in 1956, 1968, 1970, and 1976, culminated in strikes in 1980, when the independent trade union solidarity was formed, led by lech walesa, a gdansk shipyard electrician. martial law was imposed by the communist leader, general wojciech jaruzelski in 1981 and solidarity was banned. in 1989 solidarity was legalized and participated in elections, which led to the collapse of communist rule. lech walesa became president in 1990. waldemar pawlak, of the polish peasants party (psl), became prime minister in 1993. poland exports agricultural produce, coal, textiles, and iron. the collapse of state-owned industry and large foreign debts are serious economic problems. poland is a member of the council of europe.