Finding Another Putin Palace No Big Deal, Russians Say; But Finding a Putin Room in a Communal Apartment Would Be

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Jan. 18 – Reacting to reports that another Putin palace has been found, Russians say that’s no big deal but that if someone does locate a Putin room in some communal apartment that would be real news.

            This is just one of the jokes Muscovites are telling one another that reveal how they feel and that journalist Tatyana Pushkaryova offers this week (publizist.ru/blogs/107374/44970/-). Among the best of the rest are the following:

·       An IT specialist says the best way to attract his colleagues back to Russia is to ensure that they will have complete security and freedom to do their work. Of course, his words are unlikely to be heeded. After all, he’s been in a pre-trial detention center on charges of treason for 18 months.

·       Putin’s double denies that he has a double.

·       A Russian who asks why he is power and says he had never groveled, never deceived, never robbed and never killed is told that he has answered  his own question.

·       Muscovites wants to know how air defense installations on their apartment blocks will be billed to them. Will these fall under general house expenses or deductions for major repairs?

·       Putin’s achievement in Ukraine is marked by the change in his slogans from “Kyiv in three days” to “we will not surrender Crimea.”

·       Anyone who says he is a real patriot and doesn’t have a house abroad should not be believed, because a real patriot would have them. Instead, such an individual is only a pathetic wimp.

·       Three rules of Russian etiquette: don’t ask a man about his income, a woman about her age, or a Russian patriot how it is that he’s got an American passport.