-- BACK ON TRACK IS THE SLOGAN OF OUR PRESIDENCY IN THE VISÉGRAD GROUP, WHICH HAS BECOME A DECISIVE FACTOR AND THE VOICE OF REASON IN THE EU - PRIME MINISTER MATEUSZ MORAWIECKI IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE HUNGARIAN NEWSPAPER MAGYAR HIRLAP: “Our presidency slogan is “Back on track” because we want to return to the path of dynamic economic development and we want to positively influence the EU – to return to fundamental European values such as economic cooperation, a single market, solidarity, but also understanding for the differences resulting from the historical and social conditions of various European countries. Next year we celebrate 30 years of the Visegrád Group – it will be a time for joint summaries of what has been achieved, but also for sketching out common projects for the future. The last European Council summit clearly showed that the Visegrád Group has the strength to shape the policy of the entire Union. We are a “decisive factor” – a voice of reason, skillfully navigating between the parties to disputes”. -- WE ARE SENSITIVE TO IDEOLOGICAL REVOLUTIONS - MORAWIECKI CONTINUES: "We share common values and historical experiences with Hungary that have shaped us. Particularly important here is the experience of our solidarity in the fight against imposed communism. It has shown Hungarians and Poles how dangerous and destructive social engineering can be. I think that is one of the reasons why we understand each other so well. We are sensitive to ideological revolutions and we understand well the important role of traditional institutions – such as the family". -- FOR MANY YEARS POLAND WAS A COUNTRY TOLD BY OTHERS, NOT TELLING ITS OWN STORY, GIVING UP THE INITIATIVE IN THE MEDIA FIELD TO FOREIGN MEDIA PROVES THIS - MORAWIECKI CONTINUES: “You have drawn attention to an area which – like many other economic and cultural fields – was neglected after Poland broke free from the Eastern Bloc in 1989. For the last 25 years, Poland has been a country told by others, not a country telling its own story. And giving up the initiative in the media field to foreign media proves this. Therefore, the foundation of our actions – as the last 5 years show – is the preservation and strengthening of Polish subjectivity. Fortunately, we have many third-sector institutions for whom this is equally important. I mean foundations, associations, independent institutes, and a lot of talented, young people – I am convinced that they will become the engine of this renewal”. -- WHILE MONUMENTS ARE BEING PULLED DOWN, WE CHERISH VALUES SO THAT CENTRAL EUROPE REMAINS AN OASIS OF REASON AND PEACE - THE PRIME MINISTER CONTINUES: “And when today in the USA or in some places in Europe monuments are being pulled down, we want to oppose this destructive force with a positive program – of mutual respect, building and cherishing values without which Western civilization would never have emerged. That is precisely why we must ensure that Central Europe remains an oasis of reason and peace”. https://www.magyarhirlap.hu/kulfold/20200725-vallt-vallnak-vetve-a-szuverenitasert -- I KNOW THIS IS A SHOCKING THESIS, BUT THESE ELECTIONS ARE AMONG THE MOST DEMOCRATIC IN THE THIRD REPUBLIC - ALEKSANDER SMOLAR IN AN INTERVIEW WITH PAWEŁ SMOLEŃSKI IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: “The ball is in play, but one must be aware that the first round can also mark the second. Paradoxically – I know this is a shocking thesis – these elections are among the most democratic in the Third Republic. Their democratic nature lies in the fact that the arguments of both sides are clear and unambiguous, despite various deceptions by state television. Voters cannot say they don't know what they are choosing. In 2015, the PiS camp based its campaign on the promise of an active social policy, income redistribution, and criticism of the previous administration. But they did not mention a political and legal counter-revolution, or mass personnel purges, at all; they used a lie. They offered Poles a contract that was a fraud from beginning to end: we will do something we cannot tell you about before the election. Today it is different. Everyone knows what PiS is. What it had to give, it has already given. New promises are likely to have a limited impact on voters. In surveys from the beginning of last year, it was already evident that people were skeptical of Kaczyński's promises at the time. This means that in the first round of elections, fear, not hope, plays an important role. Duda's electorate is more afraid that the other side might take something away from them than hopeful that PiS will add more. And the voters of Trzaskowski, as well as other democratic candidates – fear the costs and consequences of Kaczyński's policy and his authoritarian counter-revolution. But the cards on the table laid out by both sides are completely revealed, everyone sees, or can see, what is in the opponent”. -- THE MENTALITY OF POLES IS SHAPED BY TWO PATTERNS - THE LABEL OF COMMUNALISM AND SOLIDARITY, AND THE SECOND IS BROADLY UNDERSTOOD LIBERALISM - EDWIN BENDYK IN A JOINT INTERVIEW WITH SMOLEŃSKI AND SMOLAR IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: “Some explanation can be found in studies showing that the collective mentality of Poles is organized by two patterns. One can be described by the label of communalism and solidarity and attributed mainly to PiS voters. The second is broadly understood liberalism, free from references to strong, passionate values. Both are completely incompatible if we don't find other political themes that they will seek outside this essential division. Stereotypes and mutual prejudices are superimposed on this, and interestingly, as studies show, the liberal side demonizes those belonging to the other camp more, despite believing in the cold objectivity of their assessments. It is different at a lower level, where politics at the local level is not based on such prejudices and similar emotions, but must deal with the concrete challenges of everyday life. Trust in local authorities is systematically growing – it exceeds 70%, which shows that local governments are increasingly learning to manage the lives of local communities. However, this experience does not translate to a greater extent into national political choices, as if they were completely detached from reality. I would not look for explanations in history, i.e., in references to the Russians and Germans. This is rather a syndrome of our times. The return of locality as a source of real agency and the confusion of central politics is observed not only in Poland, just look at France”. -- SMOLAR ADMITS THAT THE CONCEPT OF HOMO SOVIETICUS WAS AN ILLUSTRATION OF A LANGUAGE OF DISMISSAL AND CONTEMPT: “In Poland, the Church also patronizes the symbiosis of our frustrations. Some of these frustrations stem from the pain and mutilation of a large part of society during the transformation era. Most Poles view the transformation itself positively, but at the same time, they have not forgiven those who implemented bitter reforms in Poland, which for many were associated with material and status degradation. PRL propaganda constantly harped on the fact that the best, chosen ones were workers and peasants, although their actual position was not high at all. In this context, it is worth recalling the language of dismissal and contempt often heard in the 90s and later, of which the concept of homo sovieticus was a good illustration”. -- SMOLAR RECOUNTS AN ANECDOTE ILLUSTRATING THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BATORY FOUNDATION AND SOROS: “Soros himself told me years ago about his first meeting with Bujak. Zbyszek, surrounded by the myth of a workers' leader, was very appealing to the left-leaning liberal. Yet Soros was quite surprised when he told him: ‘Listen, George. You give money, but then you don't interfere at all in what we do.’ ‘I didn't want to interfere,’ Soros recounted, ‘but to tell me such things right off the bat, when I come and shell out quite a bit of money. I didn't understand it at all.’ -- SMOLAR'S AMUSING ANECDOTE ABOUT SOROS: “There were also conflicts of an ideological nature, when he sometimes proposed funding projects that we did not accept. This was the case with the methadone program for addicts. I explained to him that our goal is to reach the conservative part of Poles as well, which constitutes a large part of society, that we are not a party directing its offer only to people with liberal beliefs. He accepted it, because he is a person who, although he likes to persuade others to his point of view, does not impose it. In response to my letter informing him of my departure, he wrote to me: ‘We disagreed on various matters, but we always respected each other, and this respect grew over the years.’ https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,26114428,elektorat-dudy-raczej-sie-boi-ze-druga-strona-moze-mu-cos.html -- AND LACK OF GRATITUDE FROM THE GIFTED POPULACE WAS FORECAST - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: “Of course, the issue of trust remains. For eight years in power, the Civic Platform did not have money for social purposes, one could say – systemically. PiS is plundering public institutions as much as it can, distributing to its own more zealously than the former PSL, but it shares with society. This circumstance is still alive, although a lack of gratitude from the gifted populace was forecast. This time, it showed memory. We have another circumstance: the voices of celebrities, full of class superiority, and sometimes sheer contempt, which were an invaluable help to the ruling party. And the vulgarity expressed at the end with the famous eight stars. One can even ask if Tomasz Lis and his witty colleagues are co-authors of Duda's victory. We are not sure, but the suspicion is justified”. -- BOSAK'S FORMATION IS FREE-MARKET ORIENTED, WHILE THE CORE OF POLISH SOCIETY CHOOSES PROTECTIVE CONSERVATISM - IT HAS A CHANCE FOR THIRD PLACE - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “Even Konfederacja is trying to play the role of a more civilized PiS. Paradoxically, with a much more ideological program, leaning to the right, and with the shocking antics of Janusz Korwin-Mikke or Grzegorz Braun, thirty- and forty-year-olds under Krzysztof Bosak's banner dream of this. They emphasize their expertise and republican spirit today, they flirt with the youth. But Konfederacja is crystal clear free-market. It is reaping the rewards of this, gathering amateurs of the 'fight against socialism,' but the core of Polish society is increasingly aligning itself with what political scientist Jarosław Flis calls 'protective conservatism.' Bosak's formation has at most a chance – an increasing one – for third place and the role of a kingmaker”. -- THERE IS NO TRADITION OF GRASSROOTS MOVEMENTS IN POLAND, THE SHIELD WILL FALL OFF, REVEALING BARE PARTY STRUCTURES - ZAREMBA CONTINUES; “If the summit of dreams is to imitate some social movement, New Solidarity, it will exhaust itself after a few months. The shield will fall off, revealing bare party structures. Szymon Hołownia will probably not even succeed in this. There is no tradition of such movements in Poland; mobilization will only concern certain moments and issues. This will be even less successful for politician Trzaskowski. Moreover, Jan Rokita, in an interesting article in „Sieci,” predicts that the mayor of Warsaw will not maintain his position as leader of his milieu. That in three years he will be one of several there”. -- THE LAST CAMPAIGN WAS BASED ON ATTACKING LGBT AND GERMANS - THAT'S PROBABLY TRUE - ZAREMBA CONTINUES IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: “It is impossible to determine whether TVP’s bloody campaign orchestrated by Kurski decisively helped Duda, or whether, as Piotr Osęka claims in OKO.press, he won the election – by a whisker, let's recall – despite it. This is the same question as the role of Lis with his jokes in the opposition's defeat. Another question is more important: can this continue given the demographic market changes? Someone wrote that this is the last campaign that PiS won by attacking LGBT and Germans. And that is probably true”. -- THIS CAMPAIGN STRONGLY BOUND DUDA TO HIS OWN CAMP, HE IS MORE OF A PISEK THAN IN 2017 - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “This campaign strongly bound Duda to his own camp. He feels more like a PiS supporter than in 2017. It is also possible that he will try to secure his future life path from his colleagues. He was never inventive in formulating his own agenda, anyway. Although… I would not completely rule out surprises from him. But even then, they will only be a derivative of the surprises the President will spring on Poles”. https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/307249995-Duda-wygral-Kaczynski-szykuje-niespodzianki.html?cid -- JOURNALISTS DO NOT ACCEPT THE FACT THAT CONSERVATIVE VIEWS CAN BE PRESENTED IN A WAY ACCEPTABLE TO SOCIETY - KRZYSZTOF BOSAK IN AN INTERVIEW WITH PIOTR ZAREMBA IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: “How many of my election rallies did you attend? In almost every speech, I criticized PiS for deserting the conservative outpost. For two years, I've been hearing that I've made some correction. It's simply that journalists don't accept the fact that conservative views can be presented in a way that is acceptable to society”. -- I DON'T HAVE TO PLAY IN PI'S PUPPET THEATRE, WHICH DID NOTHING CONSERVATIVE ON THE ISSUE OF LGBT - BOSAK CONTINUES: “If the PiS campaign team decided on polarization on the LGBT issue, then as a conservative politician, I don't have to play in their puppet theatre. My role was rather to expose their hypocrisy and cynical exploitation of this topic. But, judging by actions, PiS has done nothing conservative on this issue, despite holding full power”. -- ASSERTIVENESS IS NOT ABOUT INSULTING EVERYONE AROUND - BOSAK CONTINUES AT ZAREMBA'S: “We criticize the complete incompetence of this government. We said so during the unnecessary diplomatic affair surrounding the cancellation of Caracal helicopters. Or the incorrectly drafted provisions of the IPN law – the idea that we would detain American citizens abroad for what they wrote in the USA and put them in Polish prisons was somewhat fantastic. We criticized the boastful, foolish anti-German statements of PiS politicians. We said that assertiveness is not about insulting everyone around”. -- IN A DEMOCRACY, A MINORITY OF VOTERS BELONG TO IDEOLOGICAL GROUPS; VOTERS ARE DRAWN BY THE QUALITY OF OUR COOPERATION AND DISCUSSION - BOSAK CONTINUES: “One can arrive at Konfederacja's program through common-sense reasoning. In a democracy, a minority of voters belong to any ideological groups. This also applies to our electorate. Many of our voters are drawn to us not by a specific idea, but by the quality of our cooperation and discussion. A civic ethos, treating citizens seriously…” -- WE HAVE NO OBLIGATIONS TO PIŚ, IT IS A CONGLOMERATE DRIFTING WITH THE POLLS - BOSAK CONTINUES: “PO currently has no program. The vote of half of my voters was not a vote for Trzaskowski, but a vote against PiS and President Duda. I understand them. We have no obligations to PiS. The ruling camp is currently a conglomerate of right-wing, centrist, and left-wing politicians drifting with the polls”. -- I AM AGAINST THE PERSECUTION OF ANYONE - BODAK ON ZAREMBA'S QUESTION ABOUT BRAUN'S REMARKS ON WHIPPING GAYS: “Grzegorz Braun's statement was ironic. I am convinced that as a filmmaker, he has encountered homosexual individuals many times and treated them with respect. He spoke of 'whipping,' it was a literary play on words. And you know perfectly well that I am against the persecution of anyone”. https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/307249996-Krzysztof-Bosak-Dosc-kulturalnej-dominacji-lewicy.html -- ORLEN'S STRATEGY DIRECTION IS CORRECT - JAKUB WIECH AT THE JAGIELLONIAN CLUB: “How to assess Orlen's previous takeovers? The direction is correct – the company has been investing in the electricity sector for some time (including combined heat and power plants) and plans to enter the renewable energy market (through offshore wind farms), so expanding its assets with Energi's capacity is a strong emphasis on the second pillar of the Płock giant's operations, proceeding without objections from the European Commission (as an interesting fact, the head of Orlen, Daniel Obajtek, was previously the CEO of Energi). The takeover of Lotos, on the other hand, signifies the end of internal cannibalism between two state-controlled companies, which did not help development in the Polish market and expansion abroad”. -- ORLEN IS DOING WHAT IS BEING TALKED ABOUT IN FRANCE - MERGING TO COMPETE WITH CHINA - WIECH CONTINUES: “By consolidating assets from various segments within a single company, the government is creating an executor of the country's energy strategy, which – thanks to portfolio diversification – will better withstand the necessity of making investment outlays in specific sectors. The second reason is the aggregation of potential to compete not only at the highest European level, but even at the global level. In Europe itself, there are already voices (including from France) that the key challenge facing the continent's economy is the creation of powerful companies, so-called champions, that will be able to compete with entities from the USA or China. Thanks to this, the European Union will be able to bear the burden of competing with economies that, for example, do not approach climate and environmental protection issues so rigorously, thus allowing themselves greater operational freedom in the extractive or electricity sector”. -- ORLEN WANTS TO BE A MULTI-ENERGY CONGLOMERATE LIKE ENI - WIECH CONTINUES: “Another European multi-energy giant is the Italian company Eni. This entity is effectively controlled by the government in Rome, which makes it structurally similar to the super-conglomerate that Orlen is intended to become. Eni's asset portfolio is even broader than that of Austrian OMV. The company's most important resources are in oil and gas – it exploits fields in Africa, Venezuela, the Barents Sea, Kazakhstan, Iraq, and the Far East, among others. Thanks to its capabilities in the oil sector, this company is a leader in petrochemical product sales in Italy and one of the key players in Central Europe (it has stations and other assets in Austria, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Hungary)”. -- ORLEN'S NEW MODEL IS SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED IN EUROPE - WIECH CONTINUES: “Nevertheless, viewed from this perspective, one can conclude that the business model that Orlen aims for is applied in European conditions and with success. Of course, different conditions and processes stand behind the establishment of OMV or Eni (not subject to, among others, European Commission control), but the model of composing these entities and their business strategy are similar to Orlen's”. https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2020/07/24/orlen-przyszly-globalny-czempion-czy-kolos-na-glinianych-nogach/ -- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON NOWAK - IN POLSAT NEWS: “Nowak was clearly an element of a political-business arrangement dealing with securing contacts and contracts, which was not caught red-handed, beyond the indication of that watch. Even more astonishing was his invitation in the autumn of 2016 by the previous authorities of Ukraine to head the Ukravtodor agency, responsible for building highways in that country. It gave the impression of putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. What decided this? The Ukrainians' belief in the infallibility of Leszek Balcerowicz, who paved Nowak's way to Ukraine, and today calls for a 'PiS political police'? Or perhaps the distrust of Ukrainian politicians towards PiS itself, which in turn led them to trust its Polish enemies, because they were supposed to symbolize true 'modernization'?” -- THE END OF NOWAK'S POLITICAL CAREER IS AS SYMBOLIC AS ITS BEGINNING, WHEN HE PULLED YOUNG DEMOCRATS AWAY FROM THE ETHICAL UNION OF LIBERTY: “For that matter, such an end to Nowak's career reminds us that there is probably no return to the era of Donald Tusk. A politician much more capable than his colleagues, but also one who surrounded himself with figures of this type – Mirosław Drzewiecki and Zbigniew Chlebowski are two other favorite representatives of those circles for me. They were associated with the atmosphere of the 90s, when liberalism was identified with an easy and sometimes shady personal career. Nowak was younger; he brought the organization Młodzi Demokraci to the then-building Civic Platform. This is significant, but he snatched it at the time from the awkward but ethical Union of Freedom. This end to his political path is therefore as symbolic as its beginning”. https://tygodnik.polsatnews.pl/news/2020-07-24/zaremba-nowak-nie-moze-byc-nowym-dochnalem/ -- POLAND CONSIDERS POLAND TO BE A SERIOUS MATTER - JACEK KARNOWSKI ON THE DIFFERENCE FROM POLAND UNDER TUSK: “Fortunately, that world is dead. Poland is different now. It still makes mistakes sometimes, doesn't always choose people well, sometimes it errs. But one thing has changed: today, Poland considers Poland to be a serious matter. Today, it is governed by people who do not believe that all geopolitical, civilizational, and corruption-related challenges can be solved with an infantile smirk. Today, we have a state that has the ambition to face reality and does not limit its activity to image-related gestures”. -- HOW DID POLAND SURVIVE TUSK? - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “The longer we observe Donald Tusk's emigrant activities – especially his Twitter activity, which is perhaps sincere, authentic, real – the more often we ask the question: how is it that Poland survived this? Or more specifically: by what miracle did Poland survive Tusk's government and still exist? Is this not exceptionally strong evidence of God's protection over our Homeland?” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/510716-jakim-cudem-polska-przetrwala-rzady-donalda-tuska -- A CURIOSITY FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH ELIZA OLCZYK AND LECH NIKOLSKI, HEAD OF PRIME MINISTER MILLER'S CABINET - DURING THE EU REFERENDUM, A NON-EXISTENT GOVERNMENT OFFICE SENT SMS MESSAGES TO VOTERS: “In addition, on Saturday and Sunday, in agreement with the National Electoral Commission, we sent SMS messages to people with information that the voting ends at 8 p.m., signed ‘Referendum Office.’ The joke was that such an office did not exist”. -- NIKOLSKI RECALLS TUSK'S CHARACTERISTIC MANNER OF BEING: “We organized a vote via television on the referendum question. I received the result of this poll on the day the debate on ordering the referendum was taking place in the Sejm. Donald Tusk was presenting the matter. I passed on to Marek Borowski which question the viewers had chosen, and Tusk announced it from the parliamentary tribune. He just didn't mention who organized it all. I was resentful about it because the government had terrible press at the time, and good information would have been very useful. I asked Tusk why he didn't mention that he received this result from the government, and he replied with an innocent face: ‘I forgot.’ https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/307249980-Lech-Nikolski-O-czym-nie-wspomnial-Donald-Tusk.html -- ON HOW COVID THREATENS DEMOCRACY - FRAGMENT OF KRASTEW'S BOOK IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “Covid-19 threatens precisely this democratic essence of politics; democracy cannot function if people are to remain in their homes. As technology analyst Benedict Evans recently noted, 'we are all online now, but equally importantly, we would like to use it in every sphere of life, if only appropriate practices are developed and the right business model is chosen.' He may be right, although in my opinion, democracy will not survive without Friedman's 'people of the squares,' and their disappearance – equally importantly – may in the eyes of many signal the end of democracy. I cannot imagine how democracies could survive if we are not allowed to gather in groups larger than fifty people. The loss of angry crowds who can freely express their dissatisfaction and demands on the streets of Western capitals blurs the line between liberal democracy and its toxic substitutes”. -- ON TUESDAY AT 7 PM SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI WILL LEAD A MEETING WITH KRASTEW: https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kultura/czytaj-dalej/nadeszlo-jutro-jak-pandemia-zmienia-europe-iwan-krastew-fragment-ksiazki/ -- THE BIGGEST BLOW TO EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY DOES NOT COME FROM EUROSETPTICS - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: “The founding fathers believed that it was solidarity that could be a counterbalance to national interests, which had led to wars for centuries. And although many eurosceptic parties want to convince citizens that the most important thing is to look out for oneself – such rhetoric is also present in the speeches of politicians governing Poland – it suddenly turns out that the biggest blow to this European solidarity does not come from eurosceptics, but from mainstream European governments of such pro-European countries as: Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, or Sweden. And in this sense, those who claim that this summit was historical may indeed be right”. -- SZUŁDRZYŃSKI HUMOROUSLY ON HOW EURO-ENTHUSIASTS CALL EVERYTHING IN THE EU HISTORIC, AS IF THEY BELIEVED THAT THE VERY CONTINUATION OF THE EU IS A MIRACLE: “Euro-enthusiasts have an unbearable habit of calling every subsequent summit of EU leaders historic. This may indicate that they consider the EU to be such a weak political entity that its continuation is a miracle, that it is still a miracle that heads of government and state manage to agree in the end and no one leaves Brussels announcing that it is the end of the Union. In this respect, every subsequent summit would be historic, but that's probably not what this bon mot is about. Another irritating custom is repeating the cliché that the Union emerges stronger from every crisis. That European consensus is forged in crises. If that were the case, the percentage of respondents in favor of leaving the Union would stop growing constantly. And this is not happening even in the countries that founded European communities. For example, in Italy, where as many as 49% of citizens would like to leave the EU”. https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/307249991-Mark-Rutte-i-pozegnanie-solidarnosci.html -- GERMANY'S NEW NARRATIVE ON NORD STREAM 2 - GERMAN AMBASSADOR ROLF NIKEL, LEAVING HIS POST IN WARSAW AFTER 6 YEARS, INTRODUCES IT IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JĘDRZEJ BIELECKI IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: “I admit that Germany failed to explain this properly to its partners, we made communication mistakes. But in international relations, there are always matters that divide. The Nord Stream 2 issue has taken an ideological turn. Because if Poland wants to completely free itself from the import of energy carriers from Russia by 2022, then its security will not depend on Nord Stream 2 in any way. I also want to ask: what is the difference between Russian gas imported through Nord Stream 2 and coal, which Poland imports from Russia?” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/307249985-Rolf-Nikel-Nie-chodzi-o-wybor-miedzy-Merkel-i-Trumpem.html -- THE DEATH SCENE OF BORIS FROM THE OPERA BORIS GODUNOV BY MUSORGSKY, IN THE LIFE ROLE OF BERNARD ŁADYSZ, WHO DIED YESTERDAY ON HIS 98TH BIRTHDAY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2f-fbvbmoo -- PHOTO. Henri Rousseau, Tiger in a Tropical Storm, 1891, National Gallery, London. The painting depicts a tiger in the midst of a raging storm, illuminated by lightning, preparing to pounce on its chosen prey. The tiger's prey is outside the frame, leaving the outcome of the hunt to the viewer's imagination, although Rousseau's original title, The Surprised!, suggests that the tiger had the advantage. Rousseau later stated that his tiger was about to leap on a group of explorers. Despite its apparent simplicity, Rousseau's jungle paintings were painted with precision, in layers, using a large number of green shades to capture the lushness and abundance of vegetation. Rousseau also invented his own method of depicting torrential rain using silver-painted streaks running diagonally across the canvas; this technique showed inspiration from the precise and smoothly finished paintings of William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Rousseau may have drawn the tiger motif from drawings and paintings by Eugène Delacroix. -- HENRI ROUSSEAU - AN INTERESTING LOOK AT THE PAINTER BY THE PORTAL NIEZŁASZTUKA: "He began painting in the mid-1870s, mainly because he had a lot of free time while working as a clerk in the Paris tax office. Although Rousseau had neither artistic training nor a refined technique, he managed to create a distinctive style, and he mastered the use of color to a masterful degree. He was undoubtedly a talented self-taught artist, and he also had an extraordinary imagination. He retired early, at the age of just 49, to devote himself to painting. In 1885, Henri Rousseau began exhibiting his paintings at the Salon des Indépendants. Not all critics and viewers were favorable to him, but the emerging painter attracted the attention of writer Alfred Jarry and poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who were part of the avant-garde group at the time. It was Jarry who gave Henri his characteristic nickname, 'The Customs Officer.' Shortly thereafter, Pablo Picasso himself bought Rousseau's paintings, claiming that he was the one who discovered 'The Customs Officer'. https://niezlasztuka.net/o-sztuce/henri-rousseau-sen/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Rev. Adam Boniecki, Anne Applebaum, Krzysztof Mazur, Krzysztof Truskolaski, SUNDAY: Anna Godzwon, Zbysław Owczarski, Katarzyna Montgomery.