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Europe

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Samizdat, Consumer Goods

Czechoslovaks watched the unfolding of perestroika [restructuring] in the Soviet Union and its slow introduction into their own economy with great interest, although there were obstacles to doing so.

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Preparing for Martial Law in Poland

In August 1980, a worker's strike began in Gdansk, Poland in reaction to the struggling economy and massive shortages. In a compromise to resolve the strike, the Communist government legalized Solidarity, but this only increased tensions as the shortages failed to improve.

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Economic Woes for the Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Pact was based around the principle of cooperation and mutual assistance for its member states, including both military agreement and economic cooperation. In reality, the Soviet Union decided both the military and economic policies for all of the Warsaw Pact's member states.

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Unacceptable Liberalism in Poland

Following a secret telephone conversation with Stanislaw Kania (first party secretary of the Communist Party in Poland [PZPR]), Leonid Brezhnev (first party secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union [CPSU]) sent telegrams about their discussion to Soviet ambassadors throughout the regi

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Who Controls Poland?

Following the first congress of Solidarity held in September 1981 in which Solidarity leaders adopted "An Appeal to the Peoples of Eastern Europe," Leonid Brezhnev (first party secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union [CPSU]) secretly called Stanislaw Kania (first party secretary of t

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Exchange of Opinions on the Polish Question

In September 1981, Solidarity held its first Congress in which it adopted a document, "An Appeal to the Peoples of Eastern Europe," a message geared toward working-class people in other Soviet bloc countries.

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A Hard Line With Poland

Polish and Soviet leaders met on numerous occasions to discuss the ongoing critical situation in Poland.

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Brezhnev Gets Forced to Make a Decision

During the developing economic and political crisis in Poland in the early 1980s, Polish and Soviet leaders communicated regularly to discuss the situation in Poland.

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Decisions of the Polish Leadership

As the economic and political crisis in Poland continued to worsen in the early 1980s, Soviet officials regularly and secretly met with Polish leaders to provide support, advice, and criticism.

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Brezhnev's Decision on Poland

In the midst of the ongoing economic and political crisis in Poland in the early 1980s, Soviet leaders frequently communicated with top Polish officials.