The Sejm’s Role in the Withdrawal of the Red Army from Poland

Abstract

The article introduces the readers to the issue of the Red Army’s stationing
in Poland in 1944–1993 and focuses on the Sejm’s role in the process of
its withdrawal. The first part of the article outlines the history of the Soviet
troops’ stay via a gradual evolution of the system of commissariats for military
affairs towards the creation of the Northern Group of Forces. The article also
presents the legal basis for the temporary stay of the Soviet troops in Poland,
i.e. an agreement of 1956 and additional ones. Moreover, the first part of the
article discusses economic issues connected with the stay of the Soviet troops
in Poland. The second part of the article is devoted to the intergovernmental
negotiations of terms for the Northern Group of Forces’ withdrawal from
Poland and highlights the differences between the parties’ positions. In the
third part of the article there is a detailed discussion on bringing the issue
of the withdrawal of the Soviet troops to the agenda of the parliamentary
Foreign Affairs and National Defense Commissions and the plenary session
of the Sejm – the Parliament of the Polish Republic.