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December 1970 Events
The 1970 Polish protests ( pl, Grudzień 1970, lit=December 1970) occurred in northern Poland during 14–19 December 1970. The protests were sparked by a sudden increase in the prices of food and other everyday items. Strikes were put down by the Polish People's Army and the Citizen's Militia, resulting in at least 44 people killed and more than 1,000 wounded. Background In December 1970, the government suddenly announced major increases in the prices of basic foodstuffs, especially dairy products, after bad harvests throughout the year. The increases proved to be a major shock to ordinary citizens, especially in the larger cities. Events Demonstrations against the price increases broke out in the northern Baltic coastal cities of Gdańsk, Gdynia, Elbląg, and Szczecin. The regime was concerned about an emerging wave of sabotage, which may have been inspired by the secret police, who wanted to legitimize a harsh response to the protestors. Another possible reason why the secr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race. The Western Bloc was led by the United States as well as a number of other First W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party between 1981 and 1989, making him the last leader of the Polish People's Republic. Jaruzelski served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985, the Chairman of the Council of State from 1985 to 1989 and briefly as President of Poland from 1989 to 1990, when the office of President was restored after 37 years. He was also the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's Army, which in 1990 became the Polish Armed Forces. Born to Polish nobility in Kurów in eastern (then-central) Poland, Jaruzelski was deported with his family to Siberia by the NKVD after the invasion of Poland. Assigned to forced labour in the Siberian wilderness, he developed photokeratitis which forced him to wear protective sunglasses for the rest of his life. In 1943, Jaru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mieczysław Moczar
Mieczysław Moczar (; birth name Mikołaj Diomko, pseudonym ''Mietek'', 23 December 1913 in – 1 November 1986) was a Polish communist politician who played a prominent role in the history of the Polish People's Republic. He is most known for his unorthodox, alternative socialist views attitude which influenced Polish United Workers' Party politics in the late 1960s. During this time, Moczar and his supporters challenged Władysław Gomułka's authority. Moczar was heavily involved in the March 1968 events in Poland against Polish Jews, in which he led the faction of hardliners inside the Communist Party. Biography Early life Moczar's father was Orthodox Belarusian and an activist of the Communist Party of Poland, and his mother was a Polish Catholic. Moczar was a member of the Communist Party before World War II. During the occupation, Moczar organized communist guerillas in the Lublin and Kielce regions. His active role in the Communist underground during the resistance allow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1982 and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet between 1960 and 1964 and again between 1977 and 1982. His 18-year term as General Secretary was second only to Joseph Stalin's in duration. Brezhnev's tenure as General Secretary remains debated by historians; while his rule was characterised by political stability and significant foreign policy successes, it was also marked by corruption, inefficiency, Era of Stagnation, economic stagnation, and rapidly growing technological gaps with the West. Brezhnev was born to a working-class family in Kamianske, Kamenskoye (now Kamianske, Ukraine) within the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire. After the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 7th most-populous city in the European Union. The city area measures and comprises 18 districts, while the metropolitan area covers . Warsaw is an Alpha global city, a major cultural, political and economic hub, and the country's seat of government. Warsaw traces its origins to a small fishing town in Masovia. The city rose to prominence in the late 16th century, when Sigismund III decided to move the Polish capital and his royal court from Kraków. Warsaw served as the de facto capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, and subsequently as the seat of Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warsaw Voice
''Warsaw Voice: Polish and Central European Review'' (shortly ''The Warsaw Voice'') is an English-language newspaper printed in Poland, concentrating on news about Poland and its neighbours. First released in October 1988, it is a general news magazine with sections on political, economic, social and cultural news and with opinions sections. The printed edition has a circulation of 10,500. It was created by Polish tv-presenter and journalist Andrzej Jonasz. After the fall of communism in 1989, many Western European companies started to come to Poland, such as the American Coca-Cola, the French Carrefour, the German Volkswagen and the Dutch Philips (then lamps), ING bank and Makro wholesalers. The expat community in Warsaw and surroudings quickly grew to some tens of thousands. The Voice caters specially to their needs, offering primarily economic, political and cultural news and background. The Voice concentrates its reporting on Warsaw and surroundings. From 1992 until 1998 Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanisław Kociołek
Stanisław Kociołek (3 May 1933, Warsaw – 1 October 2015), often referred to as the "butcher of Tri-City", was a Communist official who served as deputy prime minister of Poland for six months in 1970. After the fall of Communism, he was charged with crimes committed in Gdańsk and Gdynia during the Polish 1970 protests. Kociołek personally approved the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) order issued with Zenon Kliszko, for the regular Army to fire at striking workers in Polish shipyards, which resulted in at least tens of people being killed indiscriminately and hundreds wounded.Polska. Historia PWN Encyklopedia. Retrieved July 11, 2005. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armored Personnel Carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. According to the definition in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, an APC is "an armoured combat vehicle which is designed and equipped to transport a combat infantry squad and which, as a rule, is armed with an integral or organic weapon of less than 20 millimetres calibre." Compared to infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), which are also used to carry infantry into battle, APCs have less armament and are not designed to provide direct fire support in battle. Infantry units which travel in APCs are known as mechanized infantry. Some militaries also make a distinction between infantry units which use APCs and infantry units which use IFVs, with the latter being known as armoured infantry in such militaries. History The genesis o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
OT-62 TOPAS
The OT-62 TOPAS is a series of amphibious tracked armoured personnel carriers developed jointly by Polish People's Republic and Czechoslovakia ( ČSSR). OT-62 stands for ''Obrněný Transportér vzor 62'' – "armoured personnel carrier model 62". TOPAS stands for ''Transportér Obrněný Pásový'' – "tracked armoured personnel carrier". Development In the late 1950s Czechoslovakia bought a license to produce BTR-50s from the Soviet Union. The received documentation was used to develop a new tracked armoured personnel carrier for Czechoslovak army and Ludowe Wojsko Polskie (LWP). The work started in 1958 and the first prototype was completed in 1962. After it passed the trials it was accepted and received the name TOPAS. Because the standard TOPAS vehicle used by the LWP (Polish People's Army) was unarmed, the design bureau of Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna (WAT) (Military Technical Academy) designed a variant armed with a new turret placed centrally on top of the superstructure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baton (law Enforcement)
A baton (also known as a truncheon or nightstick) is a roughly cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic, or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security guards and military personnel. A baton may be used in many ways as a weapon. It can be used defensively to block; offensively to strike, jab, or bludgeon; and it can aid in the application of armlocks. The usual striking or bludgeoning action is not produced by a simple and direct hit, as with an ordinary blunt object, but rather by bringing the arm down sharply while allowing the truncheon to pivot nearly freely forward and downward, so moving its tip much faster than its handle. Batons are also used for non-weapon purposes such as breaking windows to free individuals trapped in a vehicle, or turning out a suspect's pockets during a search (as a precaution against sharp objects). Some criminals use batons as weapons because of their simple co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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