Poland still occupies a prominent place on the political map today, and in the old days its influence on European affairs was even more significant. The modern Republic of Poland emerged as a result of a long and difficult evolutionary path from a medieval kingdom to a democratic state within a united Europe.
The origins of democracy: freedom and independence
The history of Poland begins in the distant tenth century, when the first Polish prince named Mieszko converted to Christianity. A hundred years later, the state received the status of a kingdom from the Pope, and five hundred years later it signed a union with the Principality of Lithuania and went down in history under the name of the Commonwe alth, which is a tracing paper from the Latin language and translates as "common cause". This moment is extremely important for understanding the entire subsequent history of Poland.
Despite the fact that formally Poland was a monarchy, there was never any absolutism there, and any attempts to restrict the freedom of the urban population faced strong resistance.
Government act and fight against tycoons
The eighteenth century was not the easiest for the country - there are internal turmoil, and tense relations with neighbors. However, it was then that the first constitution of the Republic of Poland was adopted, which went down in world history under the name "Government Act". In the strict sense, the state did not then have a republican form of government, but on the European continent this was the first attempt to codify the basic law.
This truly revolutionary initiative turned out to be such a surprise for the neighbors that it provoked a war with the Russian Empire, which decided to destroy the nascent democracy in the bud.
Inside the country, too, not everyone was satisfied with the new law and, having united, the Polish magnates began a war against their own government and the Sejm, the main representative body of the country, which had been continuously meeting for three hundred years at that time.
Free Poland. Country or Republic
The truly republican principles of the state were enshrined in the constitution only after the liberation from Russian rule - in 1919. After the Russian Revolution, most of the countries of the Empire gained sovereignty. The Free Republic of Poland appeared as a result of the declaration of independence and the adoption of the so-called Small Constitution, which established the position of head of state, but sharply limited his powers.
Two years later, a new basic law was adopted. According to that constitution, the Sejm was endowed with great powers, but the executive powerexercised by the President of the Republic of Poland.
Communist period. A new round in the development of Polish law
After the end of World War II, the Republic of Poland falls under the strong influence of the Soviet Union. It was during this period that the new Constitution was adopted, written off, by and large, from the Stalinist one. Although that document affirmed the fundamental rights and freedoms of a person, the right of personal property was reserved for artisans and peasants, but all these rights could not be fully realized. In the same constitution, the division of powers into branches, traditional for Poland, was liquidated, and all power and the right to speak in the name of the people remained with the Sejm.
A new period in the history of Poland begins after the liquidation of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact. After a few years, the Seimas will adopt a new constitution, which will be written taking into account all the difficult and unfree past.
The new basic law prohibited confiscations, torture, and put the right of inviolability of the person in the first place. The inviolability of the home and correspondence was also declared, which, in the conditions of the modern development of technology and the attempts of various states to arrange total surveillance of their citizens, seems especially important.
In 2004, Poland finally achieved one of its important goals and joined the European Union, while retaining partial sovereignty. The traditions of the struggle for independence force politicians to be wary of various kinds of associations and unions. Perhaps that is why the Republic of Poland is in no hurry to introduce the European currency into circulation and carefully protects its zloty, which has been a means of payment on its territory for several centuries.
