For eight years, Robert Kowalski documented the Smolensk monthlies, a series of gatherings that unexpectedly became direct encounters between the nation’s top politicians and its citizens. These wreath layings and street prayers, organized by authorities, were secured by snipers, anti-terrorist units, the State Protection Service, and mounted police. Opposing Jarosław Kaczyński were loosely organized small groups or even individuals acting alone. While the plane crash was, on one level, a human tragedy, these displays evolved into a form of alternate-reality political marketing. Over time, the nature of the ceremonies shifted—from solemn rituals aimed at consolidating power to grotesque displays of convulsions after that power was lost.