Difficult beginnings in an independent country

Three months after independence, the Legislative Sejm opened its session. The Small Constitution had already been passed (February 1919), agricultural reform introduced, national administrative bodies created, and the educational system and war-damaged industry were  being reconstructed by the time the Silesian Uprisings and the war with Soviet Russia erupted. By March 1921 Poland could boast a modern constitution. However, in the first years of independence the domestic situation was uneasy. Gabriel Narutowicz, the first President of the Republic, was assassinated one week after his election (16 December 1921) by an ultra-conservative fanatic. Numerous political conflicts and a growing economic crisis brought about a loss of credibility for the state authorities. Even the radical and successful state finance reform of 1924 did not alleviate the tensions.