If Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky were Alive, Russians Say, They would have Collaborated to Write ‘War and the Idiot’

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Feb. 24 – On the second anniversary of Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, Russians observe that if Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky were alive now, they would have collaborated to write, War and the Idiot, with no one in any doubt as to what is the war and who is the idiot.

            That is just one of the anecdotes in the latest collection offered by Moscow journalist Tatyana Pushkaryova (publizist.ru/blogs/107374/47863/-). Among the best of the rest are the following:

·       Two years ago, Putin started bombing Ukraine and all of Russia began to shake and bleed.

·       February 24 will become a new Russian holiday because there is no end in sight to that war.

·       European leaders are coming to Kyiv, while terrorists are coming to Moscow. To each his own.

·       Medvedev cracked that Navalny’s widow is smiling. She isn’t, but Medvedev’s widow would be as the wives of binge drinkers always look forward to their departure to another world.

·       Having banned 252 books referring to LGBT people, the Kremlin will soon ban books in general, except for one based on Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson and that will become required reading for all Russians.

·       A Moscow court has now arrested in absentia Columbus for discovering America. Had he not done so, Russia would have escaped all its troubles.

·       They can poison but not cure; they can destroy but not fix; they can steal but not create; and they can lie but not tell the truth. Guess which country.

·       In Russia, people cooperate only when what they want to steal is too heavy for an individual to carry away.

·       Two St. Petersburg men were arrested for holding hands to avoid falling on the ice. They denied they belong to some criminal community but no one believes them.

·       The Russian Embassy in Washington protested to the State Department about Biden’s offensive remarks about Putin. Fortunately, the Americans don’t read Medvedev’s telegram channel or they’ d declare war on Russia.