The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), was the Polish state that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day electoral Third Polish Republic. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. It was also where the Warsaw Pact was founded. The largest city and capital was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural capital of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west.