They’re calling themselves “society’s elite,” and also, “neo-nobility” (as announced by one of them, a certain chief of Russia’s secret services Nikolai Patrushev)… But if you look at the concrete results… oops! there are no concrete results. Terrorism is alive and kicking, while the fight on terrorism… Hello-o? Fight on terrorism, where are you-u? They say economy is on the rise. And then they raise—bread prices and customs duties on foreign-made cars. They say our military might is all tip-top. I’d say it’s all tip-flop. Our ballistic missiles are older than Methuselah. They either fly off on a tangent or don’t fly at all. The navy’s commander-in-chief must have really been shaking in his jack boots for his post—because of Kasatonov’s testimony on the causes of the K-159’s sinkingFootnote: Admiral Igor Kasatonov, former deputy commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, harshly criticized Vladimir Kuroyedov, the Navy’s commander-in-chief, for his actions in relation to this submarine’s sinking in August 2003 during a closed court hearing on the causes of the tragedy. Incidentally, Kasatonov’s nephew, Vladimir Kasatonov, is commander of the nuclear-powered battle cruiser Peter the Great. Back to text