Russians Face Choice Between Putin’s Hell on Earth or His Version of Heaven in Heaven, Some Fear

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 4 – Given Vladimir Putin’s increasingly frequent references to the possibility that he will use nuclear weapons, some Russians are expressing their current fears in an anecdote which suggests they must now choose between Putin’s hell on earth as the Russian Federation has become and his version of heaven in heaven to which they may be headed.

            That is the latest anecdote in the collection offered by Moscow journalist Tatyana Pushkaryova (publizist.ru/blogs/107374/44110/-). Among the best of the rest:

·       In the 1990s, Russians led for the US, Europe and Israel. Now they are headed to Mongolia! And Putin says he hasn’t got started yet.

·       Furniture manufacturers may not survive in Putin’s Russia, but coffin makers certainly are going to experience boom times.

·       The Kremlin is planning a competition in schools to find the best synonyms for ‘retreat’ and ‘defeat.’

·       Now that some men being mobilized are being asked to purchase ammunition on their own, some Russians are asking whether someone will have to find plutonium to make Russia’s nuclear warheads operational.

·       Some military commissars who have exceeded their orders are not being punished but transferred to work in new places. One who was sent from Khabarovsk to Magadan has people in the latter location asking whether the handicapped are safe there.

·       Many governments have advised their citizens to leave Russia because of ‘deteriorating security.’ That raises the question: when will Moscow finally call on the population of Russia to do the same?

·       Russian courts are now imposing harsher sentences against those who refuse to fight in Ukraine than against those who commit murder.

·       Following the retreats in Ukraine, Russian military officials are nonetheless proclaiming victory. After all they say, all of NATO was against us but we prevent the West from attacking Moscow!

·       The State Services portal now allows Russians to complain about violations of the law during mobilization and to sign up to fight in Ukraine. One stop shopping as it were.