Month: October 2021

Song: Polonaise by Ogiński / “Farewell to the Homeland”

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It’s strange, but there aren’t that many songs widely associated with Belarus and the Belarusian people. Most likely, the first songs that come to mind are from the Soviet era, performed by “Pesnyary” with Mulyavin or “Syabry.” I imagine “Belovezhskaya Pushcha” and “Alesya” would be among the first to be mentioned.

What’s rather disheartening is that even Belarusians themselves would likely struggle to recall much. And the piece I want to highlight now isn’t even recognized by many as a song—let alone a Belarusian one. It’s not so simple.

This piece is most commonly known simply as “Ogiński’s Polonaise.” Far fewer people know its second title, “Farewell to the Homeland.”

Even its connection to Belarus is not entirely straightforward. Composer Michał Ogiński is now often considered Polish. This particular polonaise (originally titled simply “Polonaise No. 13,” complete with that “lucky” number) was composed in 1794. According to legend, he wrote it as he was leaving the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after the Russian Empire crushed the Kościuszko Uprising (and there’s debate about whether Kościuszko himself was Polish or Belarusian).

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Book: Babaykin “Retired at 35”

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Another book by yet another popular blogger. Lately, I find myself reading more and more of these. On the other hand, it’s always interesting to see what people like and why. Although this case is a bit different. I have no idea who this Babaykin guy is. He claims to talk a lot about investments and be well-connected in various circles… but a quick search didn’t bring up this so-called “famous blogger,” so I couldn’t figure out what the book is based on (probably just bad at searching). Unlike Alexey Markov, whose book Hoolinomics was clearly grounded in his blog and who pops up instantly in search results. And then there’s the fact that the author is hiding behind a pseudonym, which I always find odd. Maybe he just doesn’t want attention (even though he talks quite a lot about his personal life).

But that’s beside the point. I wasn’t that interested in the blog anyway, given that there’s already a book. Plus, the rating seems pretty high.

The title of the book is intriguing in itself. Everyone’s lazy these days, no one wants to work, and sitting idle at 35 while feeling like a millionaire is the ultimate dream for most ordinary people. I’ll buy the book, read it, and become just like that! (Sounds a bit like some pitches I heard back in the ’90s.)

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Book: Roman Papsuev “Marvelous Wonder” (Volumes 1 and 2)

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I’ve been following Roman Papsuev’s wonderful world of “Old Rus’” almost since the first illustrations appeared, back when it wasn’t even a world yet—just the artist’s fresh take on well-known characters from Slavic folklore. I wrote more about this project earlier this year when I discussed the book “Tales of Old Rus’. Origins.”

By that time, however, Roman had already drawn, written, and released two additional volumes under the collective title “Marvelous Wonder” (Divo Chudnoye). I purchased both in mid-summer, devoured the first volume over a couple of evenings in July, and left the second one lying around, waiting for its time, all the way until September.

These are still art books, where the illustrations and high-quality printing are incredibly important. However, “Marvelous Wonder” already has some distinctions from the earlier books.

The very first volume, “Tales of Old Rus’. The Beginning”, was a pure art book, almost devoid of text. The second book, “Tales of Old Rus’. Origins”, as I mentioned earlier, reused many of the same illustrations, but Roman took the time to describe in detail how he created his characters, pointing out numerous details that one might easily overlook during a casual viewing. In this book, he also began to expand on the world in which his characters live. This turned out to be significantly more engaging than simply looking at the pictures.

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