Lech Walesa impacted Poland very positively and was

the catalyst in many improvements throughout the

country. Here are the impacts he made:

As Soviet power was spreading across Europe,

Lech Walesa tried to end communism. He
brought down the communist government in
Poland, which influenced reforms throughout
Eastern Europe. He also led an anti-communist
organization in 1980 to fight for political,
economic, and civil rights improvements.
Bringing down communism also led to the fall
of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold
War. As a result, democracy and prosperity
rose in Poland.

Polish laborers wanted raised wages and

improved working conditions for a long time.

Walesa created Solidarity, which was a Polish
Trade Union in 1980. He led labor strikes and public protests and it posed a huge
threat to communism. The most famous strike was the Lenin Shipyard strike and it
influenced workers from all
over Poland to
Lech Walesa (1943-present) President of
strike also. These actions
influenced the
Poland (1990-95)
government to sign The
Gdansk
Agreement. The government finally let laborers form independent trade unions, but
not for long. Leaders of Solidarity were thrown in prison and Walesa served one year.
Solidarity was still alive in Poland and in 1989 it was reinstated. Walesa was elected
the president of Poland in 1990 and Solidarity was the main influence in the
government, and Poland was a democracy.

Walesa fought against martial law, which made Solidarity illegal in Poland in 1981. It
was lifted in 1983, but individual freedom still had restrictions. Walesa stood by his
beliefs in democracy and freedom for individuals and all his actions led to the
development of Poland and its freedom for the people. Lech Walesa said, Today we
can say with confidence that we live in a democratic Poland, in a firmly established
free market economic system, in a country built on solid foundations of international
cooperation and in a country of high aspirations and hopes for further development.

He impacted protests in Poland by always keeping them peaceful after a huge riot
broke out during one of his strikes. Many people died and at least 300 were injured.
He knew he would be blamed so he made that that ever protest after would be
peaceful and nonviolent. He stressed the importance of order and strict discipline to
the workers that were there.

As the president of Poland, Walesa led Poland through their very first free elections in
1991 and he saw his economy turn to a free market economy. This would not have
happened without his extreme dedication and great political skills.