1947 ⟶ Mikołajczyk Flees Poland
Stanisław Mikołajczyk, leader of the non-communist Polish Pe...
Year
1947
1948
1981
🏃 Mikołajczyk Flees Poland
Stanisław Mikołajczyk, leader of the non-communist Polish People's Party, flees the country ahead of impending arrest. Organized, legal political opposition to Polish communism is effectively at an end.⟶
PolandCommunismPolitical RepressionSoviet InfluenceEastern EuropeCold WarOppositionExile
👑 Romanian Monarchy Abolished
In Romania, King Michael I of Romania is forced to abdicate by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, the monarchy is abolished and the Romanian People's Republic is instituted instead. The Communist Party would rule the country until December 1989.⟶
RomaniaCommunismMonarchySoviet InfluenceEastern EuropeCold WarGheorghe Gheorghiu-DejPolitical Change
🇨🇿 Czechoslovak Coup d'État
The Communist Party takes control in the Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948.⟶
CzechoslovakiaCoupCommunismSoviet InfluenceEastern EuropeCold WarPolitical ViolencePrague Spring
🕊️ Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk Dies
Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk is reported having committed suicide.⟶
CzechoslovakiaEastern EuropePoliticsCommunismSoviet InfluenceDeathCold War
🚩 Rákosi Becomes Leader of Hungary
Mátyás Rákosi becomes General Secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party and, therefore, the de facto leader of Communist Hungary.⟶
HungaryEastern EuropeCommunismPoliticsSoviet InfluenceCold WarLeadership
🇵🇱 Martial Law Declared in Poland
Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, having been appointed First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party, introduces martial law, which drastically restricts normal life, in an attempt to crush the Solidarity trade union and the political opposition against communist rule.⟶
PolandMartial LawSolidaritySoviet UnionCold WarEastern EuropeCommunismPoliticsRepression