Yesterday marked the 41st anniversary of the 1980 Gdańsk Shipyard strikes and the beginning of political changes in Poland and elsewhere in Europe.

On August 14, 1980, at 6:00, workers from the Gdańsk (Lenin) Shipyard Lenin – under the leadership of Bogdan Borusewicz, Jerzy Borowczak, Bogdan Felski, and Ludwik Prądzyński – announced a strike. They demanded the return to work of Anna Walentynowicz and Lech Wałęsa, the construction of a monument to the victims of the December 1970 „Czarny Czwartek” massacre, higher wages, and a guarantee of safety for the strikers.

After nearly two months of strikes across Poland, the „Gdańsk” or „August Agreement” was signed on August 31, 1980. It paved the way for the creation of the „Solidarity” movement and eventually culminated in the collapse of communism in Poland and across the Eastern bloc.

Special events to commemorate the historic strikes are being held throughout the month in Gdansk

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Former Solidarity activist Bogdan Borusewicz has been denied entry into Russia to attend the funeral of Russian dissident and fellow human rights defender Sergei Kovalev.

Borusewicz, who is currently Deputy Speaker of the Polish Senate, planned to go to Moscow to attend the funeral of Kovalev, who passed away last Monday at the age of 91.

Kovalev was one of the leading members of the pro-democracy movement in the former Soviet Union and spent years in Soviet labor camps for his activities. He later co-founded the human rights organization „Memorial,” which sought to record testimonies of Soviet, and later Russian, political repression.

According to Boruswicz, Kovalev was „a role model for members of the Polish democratic opposition in its early years…” The refusal of entry to attend Kovalev’s funeral reportedly took Borusewicz by surprise, prompting him to question if „the struggle against political opponents is being waged in Russia also after their death.”

Source: Radio Poland

Hundreds of breeders and buyers of Arabian thoroughbreds have been in eastern Poland since Friday for the 43rd annual Polish National Arabian Horse Show.

A record 150 horses are expected to be presented this year during events at the state-run stud farm in Janów Podlaski. The highlight of the show is today’s prestigious „Pride of Poland” thoroughbred auction, which annually draws the attention of buyers and some 100,000 viewers from around the world.

Perfinka was the most expensive mare sold last year, fetching a near-record sum of 1.25 million euro. The current record for the most paid during the auction is 1.4 million Euro in 2015, which went toward the purchase of a 10-year-old mare named „Pepita.”

Today’s auction will begin at 16:00 CEST and will be live-streamed on the Pride of Poland website >>>HERE.

Source: Radio Poland, prideofpoland.com

The 17th annual „Chopin and His Europe” festival opened yesterday in Warsaw with a concert version of Stanisław Moniuszko’s opera ‘Verbum nobile’ featuring an Italian period orchestra, a Polish choir, and Czech and Polish soloists.

The Chopin and His Europe Festival aims to showcase the European classical music scene from the perspective of Chopin, with a special emphasis on the trends that shaped Chopin’s individual style and works that were inspired by the music of the Polish composer.

Over 30 events, including symphonic and chamber concerts, opera performances, and piano and vocal recitals, are currently on the festival program. Highlights of the festival include a recital by the duo Rafał Blechacz, winner of the 2005 Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and Bomsori Kim, Second Prize winner of the 2016 Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznań, as well as a performance by the internationally-acclaimed Polish bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny.

The festival is set to run from now until the end of August; more information is available >>>HERE.

Source: Radio Poland, festiwal.nifc.pl

Weather

Today will be mostly sunny and warm, with winds coming in from the west and very little chance of rain. Temperatures will peak around a high of 24°C, or 73°F, cooling off overnight to a low of 14°C or 58°F. There will be a slight chance of rain early tomorrow morning, with a good chance of rain returning Monday afternoon and continuing into the week.

Elizabeth Peck/ua