Formation + Demands: Established in 1980 - Poland (Lenin Shipyard), Was a Trade Union , Led by Lech Walesa - Gadansk ship builder, Response to social + economic discontent , Demands for workers rights, Workers, intellectuals and Church leaders, Mass mobilisation: Became the largest workers’ movement in the Eastern Bloc, Had 10 million members, Organised peaceful strikes + protests, Country was ‘paralyzed’, It challenged communist rule, 80% of workforce were members, Suppression : Jaruzelski declared martial law, Solidarity leaders arrested, Solidarity was outlawed, Went ‘underground’  - e.g Solidarity Radio started, Brezhnev put pressure on Jaruzelski , Red Army conducted military manoeuvres on Polish border, Re-emergence : after Gorbachev came to power, Era of Glasnost + Perestrioka , Polish government under pressure to negotiate + reform, Economy in continued decline, Illegal strikes broke out, Food prices hiked by 40%, Elections: 1989 - Round Table Talks, Solidarity ‘recognised + legalised’, Free elections to be held, Solidarity win majority of seats , Solidarity part of a coalition Government , Lech Walesa became first democratically elected president of Poland, Legacy: inspired similar movements in Eastern Bloc, Demonstrated power of non violent protest, Weakened communist controls, A beacon of hope for other pro democracy movements , Impact went beyond Polish borders, A catalyst for the end of communism ,

Solidarity - Poland (Organiser)

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