Magic the Gathering has long been appreciated as an international sport. However, it wasn't until Alexandre Blumke of Switzerland and Jakub Slemr of the Czech Republic won the 1995 and 1997 World Championships that it was understood just how widespread Magic had become across the Atlantic. Jakub Slemr especially helped break many of the stereotypes concerning the former Soviet bloc countries.
This represents the second in a series of portraits on Magic in Europe - from Slovenia to Portugal to Finland to Croatia. The future of the sport is changing in favor of European dominance - one of these countries will produce the Pro Tour's next big European star.
Previous Profiles: Austria (feature/profiles/austria.html)
Magic In Poland
A Brief History of PolandMuch of Poland's rich and turbulent past can be attributed to its strategic position in the middle of Europe; the nation often found itself in the path of European powers on their way to do battle with other European powers (even the Swedes ventured forth across the Baltic to conquer it). At one time, Poland itself ruled a large empire, stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea. In the late 1700s, the Polish state disappeared into three partitions of territories divided evenly between the German, Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires. This period lasted for 130 years and during that time nearly 1/5 of Poles emigrated to America (by way of comparison, in 1939 there were 35,000,000 people in Poland and by the end of 1946 Poland's population numbered around 23,600,000). World War I found Poland in the middle of a war featuring the three powers that occupied its territory and what was the former Pole nation became the battleground of the war. When those empires collapsed after World War I, Poland was reconstituted as an independent nation.
Poland's respite from war was brief -- the nation was devastated just 20 years later in World War II. Betrayed by the Russians who assassinated 10,000 Polish officers and handed the country over to the Nazis, Poland would lose another 100,000 to concentration camp internment. After the war, Poland became a puppet state to the former ally that had betrayed it and spent several decades under communist rule.
While Czechoslovakia's revolution was poetic and Hungary's methodical, Poland's release from Russian rule was dramatic. At times, it had the feeling of a three-part drama: the rise of Solidarity, the imposition of martial law and the final collapse of communism. But the Poles are dramatic by nature – their fierce fight for freedom reflects their rich history.
Despite its history of occupation -- or perhaps because of it -- Poland became a leader in the movement for a free Eastern Europe. Repeated strikes and rebellions from the early 1950s onward created an atmosphere in which independent trade unions, such as Solidarity, could be formed. Elections in 1989 threw the Communists out of power and set Poland on its current course.
At present, the Poles are working to find their place in a post-Communist world. Their historic ability to adapt adds an intensity to international events such as Magic’s The Pro Tour and, now that the game has reached the nation in earnest, a chance to use their unpredictability and discipline to make a strong impression in that professional sports arena in the coming years.
Magic Comes To Poland
There was a glimpse of Magic in Poland around the end of 1994 , but it would not be until the beginning of 1995 that the game would truly show its face. It was then that 30 year old Grzegorz Swietlik brought the game to Warsaw when he returned from business trips to Boston, Massachusetts and London, England. The Pole managed to accrue a large pool of cards with which to introduce Magic to the locals. The game was slower to spread to outlying cities and most Poles were not introduced to Magic until around the release of Mirage. Few non-Warsaw Poles have had access to cards before 4th Edition/Fallen Empires.
Although Poland can trace its Magic roots to the intrepid Gregorz, it would be that country's major distributor ISA and Level III judge and Poland Tournament Organization/Representative Jakub Wysoczanski who would be key to bringing a steady stream of cards and sanctioned tournaments initially to Warsaw and eventually to the outlying cities. ISA, Jakub and the incredible time and effort spent by the many local organizers in Poland were the reason there is professional level Magic in the former Communist-bloc country.
Warsaw and the ProsMagic is played in nearly all the major Polish cities (Wroclaw, Krakow, Katowice, Szczecin, Gdansk, Lodz) but it is in Warsaw that you will find the Pro Tour Qualifiers, Polish National Championships, prereleases, and other major tournaments. Irrepressible Warsaw native Emil Leszczynski explains the reason for that city’s importance to pro Magic: "It is a legacy from [the former] communist central control of Poland - we can say that all roads lead to Warsaw. Also, Warsaw is home to the Magic distribution company (ISA) and organizer Jakub. "
Most players in Warsaw choose to play at home and occasionally "venture out of their lairs to enjoy a fun event like a prerelease." From those 'smileys' (the Polish equivalent of "scrub") come the hardcore players, about 30 to 40 individuals who regularly take part in DCI sanctioned tournaments. As Emil states, "Those guys are really maniacs. They pay for tourneys, play for fun, and exchange money on a nightly basis." Most drafting is done in players’ homes and the smaller Type II (the most popular format), Type I (which is growing in popularity) and Extended tournaments are played in the stores.
Poland has its own group of Pro players to watch; for example, Warsaw native Sebastian Druzbicki placed 29th at PT Rome.
A quick survey of the Polish Pros include:
Wojtek "Baniak" Kazbieruk: Baniak, who placed third in the Polish championships, is considered by many to be the best player in the country for overall skill (deckbuilding, play skill, play psychology) and Poland’s best chance for a PT Top 8.
Grzegorz Swietlik: One of Poland’s friendliest and egregious players (and the Pole who has been playing the longest), Gregorz describes himself as a very casual player. He can laugh about rather embarrassing mistakes he’s made in the past including Earthquaking his own Mishra's Factory (activated) thinking he would have enough damage to kill his opponent. "Oops."
Emil Leszczynski: Another casual player and perhaps the most fascinating of Poland’s pros. Emil tends to tackle games like Magic wholeheartedly and has a well-deserved reputation for doing things "his own way." Fellow Worlds teammates described Emil’s antics in this year's Polish Championship finals when Emil disconnected his mobile phone so his pregnant wife (8 months) would stop calling him. Emil clarifies, "It's true. But when I turned the phone back on and she called me for the fifth time to ‘ask’ me to come home (ok, perhaps it was an order) because she was bored, I knew I would have to retire from the final match and I stayed at 4th place." Emil happily missed the European Championships to welcome his daughter Julia into the world.
Pawel "Karas" Karaszewski: Karas was the first Polish PT player and is the 1998 Polish National Champion. The worst than can be said of Karas’ play skills is that he is a rather slow player. Interestingly enough, he quit Magic twice - each time selling off his collection only to miss the game and start playing again. Karas generally plays his own decks and does not copy decks from the internet (Emil jokes, "it's such unusual behavior in Poland!")
Michal Macioszczyk: Michal was instrumental in helping Emil make the national team and was one of the top 5 players in the country for many years.
Sebastian Druzbicki: Who proved that Poles can play older formats in addition to type II by placing 29th at PT Rome 98.
Gregor Wollny (now living in Germany)
Przemek "Ober" Oberbek, Poland's most controversial player. Ober is considered the best Polish deckbuilder and Limited environment player in the country but has managed to develop a reputation for questionable play. Although he is the best tactician in the nation by far (and there was a time when all tournaments in all formats were won by him), many Poles have begun to question his luck. When asked about Ober, the usual response will be along the lines of, "He can build a killer deck out of crap cards, always comes up with new ideas etc." Unfortunately for Ober, sometimes those ideas simply do not work - like when he completely misjudged the metagame at the Polish Nationals this year and had to drop out after playing WU control. Like his personality, Ober prefers aggressive/obnoxious decks especially with Black (Pox, Necro).
Although the game of Magic has been in the country for over three years, most pros agree that the sport of Magic only came to Poland in 1998 with the staging of the first Polish Championship. That there was a Nationals this year is due to the work of Poland distributor ISA and organizer/Level III judge Jakub Wysoczanski Jakub, 24, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Finance and Banking and began playing a few months after The Dark was released. In the beginning he preferred playing and was one of Poland’s best players. After he organized his first sanctioned tournaments, however, he realized there were few people in the nation willing to do the paperwork and organization necessary to ensure a good tournament. Since nearly all Poles want to play and not organize, he took the onus of judging and organizing on himself to ensure Poland had consistent and competently-run tournaments.
Ironically, Jakub truly enjoyed the judging/organizing aspect of the sport and therefore didn’t feel too much regret not playing in sanctioned tournaments. As well, working for the Polish distributor (ISA) has given him many opportunities to develop Magic as a professional as well as casual game in the country and his hard work is just this year beginning to bear fruit. Before ISA offered Jakub the organizing job, there were only 6 tournaments a year in Poland. Since then, he has organized over 160. It is a testament to both Jakub and the Poles that the players and the distributor/judge enjoy a harmonious relationship so rare among many other countries around the world. Jakub adds, "Although I have organized a large number of tournaments, it is important to mention the other individuals who contributed so greatly in making sure there is Magic in Poland. I know we would not have this level of play without the work of the local coordinators who sacrificed their time and money (tournaments in Poland are not always profitable)."
As for judging styles in Poland, Jakub describes the Polish style as hard and close to the rules. "Before the new K-value was introduced, I was very strict. Now it depends on the tournament. For example, during prereleases I am far less strict since there are so many new players attending and I prefer to treat that type of tourney more along the lines of fun and entertainment rather than as a sport. However, after comparing my judging style to other Level IIIs from around the world, I have discovered a tendency to be more strict in comparison, particularly about time (beginning and end of rounds) and the smallest ways of cheating. I honestly question when professional players make "mistakes" by accident."
In true Polish tradition, Jakub smoothly blends competent judging with much needed people skills. He continues, "As for how my players view me, I will always be courteous and friendly even if I am ejecting a player from tournament. Poles are used to my strictness and I have no problems whatsoever with my relations with players. They are still my friends outside the event I am judging and that’s what’s most important to me."
1998 featured the first appearance of Poland at World’s - with very mixed results. Jakub accompanied his team to Seattle and spent most of the time judging. He recounts, "That was my first Worlds. I don't remember much from the tournament other than that a friend of mine from the Polish team changed his deck at the last minute after a new ruling had been announced. Unfortunately, he forget to put 4 Mox Diamonds on his deck list and was subsequently ejected."
As for why Poland has yet to make an impact on the sport, World's Competitor Emil is blunt, "Cash. We don't have local sponsors, don't have a main place to play like Seattle’s Game Center, and the game is still new enough that we lack a large population of players, cards, and tournaments." Emil has sent several proposals to businesses in Poland but could not generate interest for a sponsorship. He adds, "Even Worlds isn’t promoted and advertised in U.S. enough to offset the costs from a sponsor (a plane ticket from Poland to Seattle costs around 3000 PLN or about $1000 - three times the average monthly wage in Poland). Polish companies don’t know anything about Magic and don't want to sponsor players or whole teams." Professional Magic isn't for the ordinary Pole - it is far too expensive.
The Pro players such as Emil and Grezgorz are hoping that the experiences gained at the European Championship and Worlds will help build Polish pro skills enough that tournament earnings can offset the cost of travel. Currently, winning a major tournament earns around 500-1000 Zlotych (roughly $100) and PTQs earn the standard $250 cash. On a brighter note, ISA and Wizards of the Coast: Belgium (Wizards because it was the first official nationals in Poland) paid for flight tickets for the Worlds players and made their transportation economically feasible.
For now, the Poles will continue to play in their local venues in Warsaw. Grezgorz recalls the development of the local play scene in Warsaw. "It all starting with playing on Saturdays in youth clubs. Then we moved into a store. The store closed in ‘97, so we started playing in Burger King near the old store (for some reason they didn't mind us taking a corner). Next a new store opened -Jarowit. It was a great place to play with plenty of tables but people didn't buy enough cards so it went out of business." At that time, the tournaments were always Type I only." Jakub clarifies, "That was due to the general opinion that ‘T1 is for real men’ (at that time there were no woman playing Magic). In the first sanctioned tourney we had 40 people in T1 tourney and 20 in T2." The Warsaw Magic players currently meet in a tiny store where all of four matches can be played at the same time. Jakub compares Warsaw play areas to the other Polish cities, "In other cities, regional coordinators are using free space courtesy of friendly schools and city clubs. In this way they have minimal costs connected to renting space for players."
Emil furthers Gregorz’ ruminations on Magic history with a perspective on the development of multiple formats in Warsaw. "Until a year ago in Poland, there were few Type II Tournaments and although we had heard of other formats such as Draft and Sealed, we never really tried them. In that situation we liked only what we got - constructed was the preferred tournament because it was the only known and played format in Poland. That all changed this year. We've had our first Preleases, PTQs, Championships, Worlds, Drafts and smaller Sealed and Extended tournaments. Draft and Sealed Deck are emerging as the most popular formats in Warsaw. I have even heard stories of some Poles selling off whole collections of cards to play Draft and Sealed. A year ago it would not have been possible. Now we often play either Type II (from force of habit) or Sealed (for money: PTQ, Prerelease)."
In the Polish tradition, the most popular tournaments are held at conventions where players can sleep at the actual tournament venue and nearly all PTQ’s and prereleases are held in that way. This allows the organizers to gather more people from cities far away from the tournament place. When not held at a convention, major tournaments in Warsaw can also be found at NOK (Natolinski Osrodek Kultury), a club located in the suburb of Ursynow (Ursynow is considered the biggest "bedroom" of Warsaw - a part of the City where many thousands of people live in concrete buildings, another legacy of communism after Warsaw was rebuilt from the ground up in the late 1940s).
As for the local atmosphere, when Poles get together to play there is generally very little difference between their play styles and their western counterparts’ other than language. As Emil so amusingly puts it, "As usual it depends on player. Some drink, some eat, some talk, talk, talk, and play. Generally I think that there's nothing unique about Polish Tournaments. Before and after play we discuss strategy, special combos, and unusual moves. We play Swiss and after each round (about 45 minutes) scores and pairings are posted. We eat, we drink, we talk, we play - we're people, not Martians."
Poles also have their own slang for certain cards in the game, although most are so obscene they would never be used in public. Polish culture and language is unique enough that the nicknames can be used without sounding too vulgar or harsh. Tradewind Rider, for example, is called "Tredek" in Polish (it is similar phonetically to Tradewind and sounds silly since it is slang similar to calling John "Johnny"). Wrath of God is nicknamed "Wraciak (another phonetic nickname, though it doesn’t have a meaning in Polish), River Boa is called bolec (a phonetic reference from one of Poland’s cruder jokes), and Mogg Flunkies are called "Szachista." As Emil says, "Szachista, in Polish, means Chess Player. You know Mogg Flunkies can’t play alone so they must be chess players."
For now, the Polish pros will have to continue to grapple with the high costs of playing, especially for formats like limited. Grezgorz clarifies: "For the kids, paying 20USD is way too much. If we ran more limited tournaments, they would attract only 10-15 people at the most."
Despite the hardships specific to playing Magic in Poland, there are indicators that the sport is growing at an increased rate in that country. Only a year ago the DCI database listed a total of 40 individuals. This year that number has jumped to well over 600 players (with over 200 of those playing consistently in tournaments around the country) and that number is expected to climb to 750 by the end of the year. As well, the Urza’s Saga prerelease was attended by over 150 individuals and Jakub predicts that the Urza’s Legacy prerelease will see figures over the 200 attendance mark (the first Polish prerelease was Stronghold). It is hoped that in the coming year, as more players are introduced to formal play, more Poles will become interested in the pro sport aspect of the game. Currently, Pro Tour Qualifiers in Warsaw average around 30 to 40 players since only the strongest Polish players participate. As Jakub notes, "There is a large gap between the experienced veteran players and the newer players that started their tournament life this year. Until the newer players get better, a PTQ will be a waste of money to them."
Magic outside of the Capital
That Magic is played in the cities outside of Warsaw at all is a measure of the time and work spent by promoter Jakub Wysoczanski as well as the work of so many promoters at the local level. Much of Jakub's work day consists of calling the local retailers in the smaller cities and offering to help organize their first tournaments and find competent judges to run them. Once he finds an individual in that area he can trust, Jakub follows up with help and support from his Warsaw location. As a result of the courtesy and friendliness of this one promoter, magic is viewed as a fun and interesting game and not as a hostile, money-sucking vacuum run by selfish and greedy organizers. Jakub found that, unlike many other countries in the World, promoting the game in Poland was better accomplished by direct contact with the promoters and players rather than with flyers or media advertisements.
After Warsaw, the primary cities having a strong Magic player population are: Gdansk, Krakow, Katowice, Szczecin, Radom, Rzeszow, and Lodz. Of course, tournaments in those areas are more social than their counterparts in Warsaw (and that is due in no small part to the players interacting more as friends than as competitors). In most cities , Poles play in small shop tournaments (8-20 competitors) and for the most part they are very inexperienced and unfamiliar with the more complex aspects of the game. And yet, despite that inexperience, it can be argued that they enjoy the game and even the sport on a far greater level than the Warsaw hard core players. Players in the city of Katowice (the main city in the area of Silesia in Southern portion of the country) are a good representative example of Magic at the grass roots level in Poland.
18 year old Katowice resident Piotr Konieczny has been playing Magic since the release of Mirage. The area has two stores that sell Magic - The Underground in downtown Katowice and Arka-dim in the nearby suburb of Chorzow. Underground is open 7 days a week and there are usually 5-20 Magic players at any one given time. In addition, many of the players play with friends in school (in Poland you can play Magic during the breaks). Nearly all of the sanctioned events in Katowice are at Underground and are very small.
Since the price of cards is so relatively expensive, most Poles outside of Warsaw play constructed type II and eschew the more expensive formats like draft and sealed. As well, unlike many players around the world, Poles in the regional cities rarely play in the evenings. As Piotr explains, "We are very lucky that we can play from 10 a.m to 8 p.m at Underground (unlike places I’ve seen like England where people play mostly at night). If we do play later, we head off to Burger King or just go home (10 hours a day is usually enough Magic (sometimes)." Due to the younger age level of the Katowice players, no alcohol or smoking is allowed in Underground or Arka-dim . But that doesn’t bother the local players. Piotr succinctly sums up a Magic truism applicable to most of the world: "No smoking or drinking looks rather strict, doesn't it? but it isn't...just people playing CCG have no time for anything else."
The Polish Perspective on the Game
In many ways, the Poles are very similar to their Western counterparts - they play at the local Burger King, they do not like the high price of playing, and they have both serious and beginner player levels. And yet, there is a core to the country that is uniquely and individually Polish that is best seen when a Pole is asked to compare Polish play styles to Western European and American styles.
Gregorz answers, "Generally there's no difference. I often travel around the world and know that there are the same people everywhere as in Poland. We are all the same, only people who do not realize that one truth believe there simply has to be measurable differences. They can say: ‘We are here and they are there - they are different, they've got to be different.’ Those people are usually the hardest to convince otherwise. From that attitude comes the uglier stereotypes." Gregorz continues, "We've got two hands, legs, and heads (... oops of course we've got one head). We have a different language (although Croatians have the most similar language to Polish) and now, after so many transformations in the past 200 years (political and economical) we have found ourselves more similar to the rest of Europe. Granted, Poland has retained many original features from our culture, history, and tradition - but they are generally taking a second seat to the Consumer style of life created by MTV, Big Mac and the Western advertising world. We've got all of the things that are in rest of Europe - TV Satellite, Cars, Cellular Phones, Internet, and more. Big Companies invest in Poland, even Michael Jackson was interested in Poland. We're a big market, which in the near future will come into the EU’s (European Union) structure."
Emil gives his own unique perspective on Poland. "I think that Western Cultures can't perceive any country - only people. In other words, if the Western Culture sees Poland as ambitious and with great potential and Eastern European Cultures view Poland as a cooperative partner and no longer as a province or colony, then I have to agree that they are both correct. So how to do a comparison? By numbers. It's enough to compare our market and economy in 1988 with the market in 1998 - the difference is huge. Poles have reason to be proud of the transformations and changes that have taken place in those ten years. And Poland is far from done changing... "
The vicissitude Emil mentions above is reflected in the game of Magic and how it is played in Poland, though in a very subtle and different way. When most Poles build decks they look to see what it must do and start adding cards from there (although Emil admits to once building a "Polish Flag" deck of red and white colors). Emil notes, "Only thing that I see and which is connected with Poles and stereotypes is that we often have a very untidy and chaotic style of play. Often, Polish players use decks that they do not fully understand or make plays that don’t follow the rules of the game - though this is due more to a lack of experience rather than the nature of the Poles themselves." That chaotic and beginner nature leads to a great difficulty in predicting metagame decks. As Emil notes, "With fewer Magic players as is the situation in Poland, you can expect many really weird decks. For example, Vineyard decks do not work here because you will run into red decks that will start dropping Suq'ata lancers on you first turn."
Despite being relatively new to the game of magic, the Poles have their own unique suggestions on what the game needs to improve.
Jakub muses, "The game (Magic) itself is almost perfect from my point of view. However, the sport needs to be more professional in Poland. I think that it will come with time when players become more experienced and have more contact with foreign competitors during GPs and PTs. In worldwide Magic, we need more professional judges that are paid well (the situation in Europe is here much better for Level III judges: in USA only IV+ are receiving compensation for PT judging). The ideal would be where there is a competitive group of judges constantly improving their knowledge and skills just to be chosen by a tournament organizer."
Jakub further clarifies, "And when I say Magic is 'almost perfect', I mean only the GAME (the idea, the fact that the rules are relatively simple (well, I am mathematician)) and not the sport. I fully support Emil's opinion (below) on the need for rules clarification, particularly in the judging area. Rules are being constantly developed but good judges can only be honed in competition (similar to the reason the USA has the lowest telephone prices as a result of the Sherman Antitrust Act that divided Bell Company and introduced competition on the field of telecommunication [sic]). Paying the judges will make them compete for being hired. The history of economy shows that free market can make what written rules cannot."
Emil has a different perspective. "What to change? First of all, fix the unwritten and written rules about judges and judging. It is necessary for any sport to have clear and simple rules. It’s also frustrating that the veteran players will almost always be judged far more leniently than ordinary players at local tournaments. The judges almost always cater to the famous players. As for Poland itself, the most frustrating thing for me is the lack of a major tournament venue to play the game like Seattle’s Game Center. Equally sad is the language barrier; if cards were translated into Polish then many of the younger players who do not know English could play the game. Poland is a big market (about 40 million citizens) but the foreign language is the biggest barrier for getting a game like Magic accepted by a larger group."
As for what will keep the Poles playing Magic in the future, you have to turn to Emil Leszczynski for the best answer. "What keeps me playing Magic? It’s a continuous need to prove that you're better then others. Besides, the Polish Championship Cup alone is worth a quite few zloty (dollar or two) even without the heat of pitched battle between hundreds players. With imagination, you can achieve levels you haven’t accessed before. In this way you can achieve some sense of accomplishment and that’s very important."
---- Andrea Kunstt. Contributing to thedojo.com (autumn@ktb.net)
With special thanks to Jakub, Emil, Gregorz, and Piotr for their contributions to this article.
Polish Web Cam (Live pictures in Poland)
- http://www.dziennik.krakow.pl/start.shtml
- http://www.shimon.ids.pl/kamera/
- http://info.cyf-kr.edu.pl/kamera/maly.html
- http://www.zakopane.pl/camera/index.shtml
Polish Magic Pages:
- http://www.polbox.com/u/urtur/inter.html (English/Angelskiu). Ururam Tururam's webpage
- http://www.polbox.com/g/gather (Polska) Michal Macioszczyk's Pro Magic page
- http://www.loiv.torun.pl/~zajar/magic.htm (Polska). Jaroslaw Zarebski's page
- http://www.waw.pdi.net/~amarc/index.html (English/Angelskiu). Varden's homepage
- http://mops.uci.agh.edu.pl/~agrabows/gry/magic.htm (Polska)
Where to Play
For general information, call Level III judge and organizer Jakub Wysoczanski at +48/22/368831. He is available Mondays and Fridays, 11.00-13.00 or email him at: jwysocz@sgh.waw.pl. Contacts for DCI sanctioned events for the following cities:
1. Lodz: Tomasz Doroz, phone +48/42/6823399
2. Krakow: shop "Bard", phone +48/12/6320735
3. Katowice: Jakub Wysoczanski at +48/22/368831
4. Gdansk: shop "Interno" phone +48/58/5560652
5. Szczecin: contact me.Jakub Wysoczanski at +48/22/368831
6. Rzeszow: Jakub Wysoczanski at +48/22/368831
7. Wroclaw, Andrzej Palka, phone +48/71/3421217
8. Zielona Gora: Jakub Wysoczanski at +48/22/368831When To Play
A complete listing of DCI tournaments can be found at the Wizards.be tournament website at: http://www.wizards.be/MTG_DCI/Tournaments/Poland.html
Republic of Poland Facts
Buffered by the Baltic Sea in the north and the Carpathian Mountains in the south, Poland ("pole" means field) enjoys no such natural protection to the east and west. Nazi Germany invaded in 1939 and built the Auschwitz concentration camp, where 1.35 million Jews and more than 100,000 others were murdered. After World War II Joseph Stalin seized a chunk of eastern Poland as a bulwark for the Soviet Union.
Communists took power in 1947 but did not win Poles away from Roman Catholicism. Agricultural collectivization also failed, and most land remained privately owned, though industries, from the shipyards of Gdansk to the steel mills of Kraków, were nationalized. Years of unregulated industrial growth have left severe environmental problems: Sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide levels in the southern coal-and-steel belt are dangerously high.
In 1980 soaring prices and tumbling wages spawned Solidarity, the Eastern bloc's first free-trade union. Membership reached ten million before the government declared martial law and banned the union. Legalized again in 1989, Solidarity swept Poland's first free elections in more than 40 years and began moving the U.S.S.R.'s largest, most populous satellite toward democracy and free enterprise. Faced with triple-digit inflation, Poland in 1990 introduced a bold economic reform plan. By 1993 the inflation rate had dropped to 40 percent and private shops were spreading, but unemployment and price hikes had weakened popular resolve for the plan, seen as a model for former Soviet-bloc nations.
