State National Council

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State National Council (Polish Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN) was a parliament-like political body formed in the late stages of the Second World War in the Soviet Union, as part of the formation of a new Communist Polish government. The KRN was to a large extent subjugated and controlled by the Soviet Union.

The KRN was created on the night of 31 December 1943 on the initiative of Josef Stalin and the newly recreated (after the destruction of Polska Partia Komunistyczna in Stalin's pre-war Great Purge) Polish communist party, the Polska Partia Robotnicza. It declared itself to be a "widely representative of anti-fascist democratic movements". From the very beginning, the KRN viewed the members of the pre-war Sanacja government and contemporary Polish government in exile as fascist and denied them representation in the KRN. They, in turn, declared the KRN an illegal body.

The KRN was dominated by pro-Soviet and pro-communist activists from various Polish pre-war parties. The KRN included some members of the Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, Stronnictwo Ludowe, Stronnictwo Demokratyczne, Stronnictwo Pracy, non-aligned and Jewish politicians. Bolesław Bierut of the PPR, nominated by Stalin, became its chairman. The Vice-chairmen were Wincenty Witos (PSL), Stanisław Grabski (nonaligned) and Stanisław Szwalbe (PPS).

On 21 July 1944 the KRN together with the ZPP formed the new government, the Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego, PKWN), which included some former members of the Polish-government-in-exile (like Stanisław Mikołajczyk) and represented a half-hearted attempt by communists to meet the Yalta conference requirements of forming a coalition government and carrying out free elections. On 31 December of that year the KRN transformed the PKWN into Provisional Government of Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Republiki Polskiej, RTRP, both headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski.

On 9 January 1944 the Polish government in exile created its own parliament, Council of National Unity (Rada Jedności Narodowej, RJN).

Until the elections to parliament (Sejm) the KRN held both legislative and executive powers, and Bolesław Bierut was the head of state. In July 1945 KRN had 273 members (97 from PPR, 77 from PPS, 56 from SL, 17 from SD, 26 non-aligned). In October 1946 it was expanded to 444 members (135 from PPR, 111 from PPS, 62 from SL, 57 from PSL, 37 from SD, 4 from SP, 3 Jewish representatives (1 from Bund, communists and zionists), 26 non-aligned).

The Polish legislative elections, 1947 were rigged by the communists, who knew from the Polish people's referenda, 1946 that they could not win any free elections (they had, at best, support from a third of the Polish population). This, combined with extensive repressions and persecution, forced most of the opposition to the communists to leave the country. The new Sejm, which replaced the KRN, was totally dominated by communists and their allies.