Rzeczpospolita Polska Rzeczpospolit·a Polska

-ej Polskiej, -e Polskie

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Republic of Poland

Cultural note: rzeczpospolita Rzeczpospolita means ‘republic’, but in Poland the term is used exclusively to refer to the Polish state. The first Rzeczpospolita existed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when Poland formed a union with Lithuania. The second Rzeczpospolita took place during the inter-war period, and the third Rzeczpospolita began after the collapse of the PRL in 1989. In 2005 the ruling party announced the beginning of the fourth Rzeczpospolita. This, however, is seen more as a political catchphrase than as a real creation.