Day 1,635: backdrop, valiantly, wobbling

This is the grim backdrop to our annual “country of the year” award.

One cannot say that life in Ukraine improved, but the country valiantly continued its struggle against Vladimir Putin’s war machine, despite wobbling by its Western supporters.

The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

Artwork of the day 
Portrait of Natalia Petrovna Konchalovskaya, daughter of the artist. Against the backdrop of a winter landscape.
Pyotr Konchalovsky
Original Title: Портрет Натальи Петровны Кончаловской, дочери художника. На фоне зимнего пейзажа.
Date: 1953
Style: Realism
Genre: portrait
Dimensions: 80 x 71 cm

Word of the day 
backdrop: a large piece of cloth with buildings, countryside, etc. painted on it, hung at the back of a stage during a performance ; the view behind something: the general situation in which particular events happen:
valiantly: in a way that is brave or determined when a situation is very difficult:
wobble: to (cause something to) shake or move from side to side in a way that shows poor balance:

Quote of the day
“If you don't like the scene you're in, if you're unhappy, if you're lonely, if you don't feel that things are happening, change your scene. Paint a new backdrop.”

― Leo Buscaglia