Putin Felt Presence of Other Presidents at Moscow Parade Kept Kyiv from Launching a Drone Attack, Some Russians Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 9 – Most commentators suggest that Putin wanted other presidents to attend the Victory Day parade to add to his status. But some Russians say he had a more compelling reason. According to them, Putin felt the presence of the other presidents made it less likely that Ukraine would launch a drone attack against him.

            That is just one of the anecdotes Russians are telling each other that have been assembled and posted by Moscow journalist Tatyana Pushkaryova (publizist.ru/blogs/107374/45779/-). Among the best of the rest are the following:

·       Russia is a country of great opportunities for some: Only there can Kadyrov become an academician and Putin a president for life.

·       Russians say they’ll vote for United Russia because it is the most honest. Its deputies said “we will live better” and they have.

·       Those who want to label goods produced in unfriendly countries with words indicating that this is “produced by the enemy of Russia” will undoubtedly be surprised just how much they rely on those enemies.

·       Russian democracy is different: There, if the government is dissatisfied with its people, it has the right to dissolve them and choose new ones.

·       Lyudmila Putina was lucky: when she got tired of Vladimir, she could divorce him. What are Russians to do?

·       The Victory Day parade had far more weapons in it that people noticed, the defense ministry says, because it featured in unparalleled numbers invisible stealth camouflage tanks.

·       Russians say: “we defeated the Germans, and we will survive the Nazis.”