Causes 

The Polish government responds to the food shortage by increasing prices, unmatched by corresponding wage increases. This caused tension to rise among the working class. The government was asked by the people to increase wages or decrease the cost of food. The government refusal caused tension to rise even further. According to MarryJane Osa, a Professor at Northeastern University, the price of food continued to go up, so "This time, party leaders decided to pass on increased costs to the consumer." This was a repeated occurrence resulting in increased tensions throughout Poland.

By 1970s the USSR had become dependent on the export revenues from oil buying large amounts of wheat from the USA and Canada. World oil prices fell sharply when Saudi Arabia opened the tap depriving the USSR of foreign currency revenues. This killed the Soviet economy and threatened starvation because the USSR was now heavily relaint on food imports. To head off the upcoming issues, President Gorbachev announced his plan to fix the economy and instate massive social reform. He called his plan "Prestroika".