Main Lesson of October 1993 is that Russian Liberals will Stand for Everything Good Until They Gain Control of Tanks, Some Russians Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 4 – The main historical lesson of the events of October 1993, some Russians say, is that Russian liberals will always be in favor of everything good until they gain control of tanks; but that as soon as they gain control of these tanks, they will be ready to shoot those they promised freedom to.

            That is just one of the anecdotes Russians are telling each other that have been assembled by Moscow journalist Tatyana Pushkaryova (publizist.ru/blogs/107374/46892/-). Among the best of the rest are the following:

·       Dmitry Medvedeve is worried that the number of NATO leaders who are complete idiots is growing, but he forgets that Russia is rapidly catching up and will surpass those in the West.

·       Aleksandr Dugin blames the Z symbol for Russia’s losses in Ukraine and wants to replace it with icons. If that happens, then the Kremlin will begin to punish people who display the letter z.

·       The Russian finance ministry says the decline of the ruble reflects the inflation of the dollar before it bursts.

·       The Kremlin says focusing on the dollar exchange rate is a vestige of the past. Other vestiges include elections, peace, gasoline and food.  

·       When Rupert Murdoch proposed exploding a nuclear weapon over Alaska to intimidate Russia, Russians were unanimous in denouncing this as insanity; but when Russia Today’s Margarita Simonyan proposed exploding a similar weapon over Siberia to frighten the US, they were almost unanimous in support.

·       A new VTsIOM poll finds that 100 percent of the mistresses of senior officials back Vladimir Putin’s Family Values program.