Glossary

The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego, PKWN), also known as the Lublin Committee, was the provisional Polish government created under the direction and auspices of Moscow. It was officially proclaimed on July 21, 1944 in Chełm, under the direction of State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN) in opposition to the Polish government in exile.
The following day, its manifesto was published, announcing radical social, political and economical reform, continuation of the fight against Nazi Germany, nationalisation of industry and a "decent border in the West". It also proclaimed the PKWN to be "the only legitimate Polish government", thus formally rejecting the Polish government in exile. Soon afterwards, the Soviet Union started to transfer power in the Soviet-controlled areas of Lublin, Białystok, Rzeszów and Warsaw Voivodships to the PKWN. Actual control over those areas remained in the hands of the NKVD and the Red Army, however. Beginning August 1, 1944, the Committee was officially headquartered in Lublin. Nikolai Bulganin represented Soviet administration.