ABSTRACT
Viewed from the perspective of Soviet multinational polity, the significance of developments in Poland since the summer of 1980 — the emergence of Solidarity as an independent trade union, its transformation into a national movement of opposition to the established political system, and the resulting crisis in the Polish United Workers’ Party — lies primarily in the realm of ideology. The central preoccupation of Soviet nationalities policy is with unity. It is the underlying theme running through all of Soviet writing on the national question, be it pseudo-scholarly or primitive agitprop. The immediate Soviet reaction to developments in Poland was to insulate the population from outside sources of information. On August 20, 1980, jamming was resumed of radio stations that had previously been exempted from interference. The paucity of reliable information makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about Poland’s impact on Soviet society.
