The RSW Prasa-Książka-Ruch literally the Workers' Publishing Cooperative abbreviated to RSW ( pl, Robotnicza Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza ), was a state-owned newspaper monopoly in communist

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

founded on 1 January 1973 by the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

(PZPR). It operated a system of printing houses and distribution outlets (see also:

Empik Empik (stylised as empi̓k) is a Polish commercial chain selling books, international press and media products (including film, music, and software). The chain also owns a photo company, Empik Foto, as well as a foreign language school, Empik Scho ...

), and owned vast real estate including resort and recreation property also rented out.

Operation

The RSW practically financed the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

throughout the 1970s and 1980s until the collapse of the Soviet empire. The company was exempt from paying taxes on its own revenue (in 1988 the RSW held back taxes amounting to 52 billion zlotys used for the exuberant bonuses of party officials, along with their political campaigns). The RSW was liquidated by the Act of Polish Parliament on 22 March 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasa-Ksiazka-Ruch Publishing in Poland Publishing companies of Poland