"What's Wrong with Russia?"

[elfichka]

Yes, I know it's not the most appropriate hour for a LJ post, but I was reading this article on MSNBC, and it got me thinking...

Russia has always been trying to catch up, outrun, outdo, outcompete. This has always been the goal, ever since Peter the Great. Back then it was attempted by fixing the facade, and quite literally so, as a matter of fact

Comments

[firemanjason]

wow, your up late.
I'm up late too.

[firemanjason]

Any insite to why Putin kissed the little kid on the belly "like a kitten?"

Are belly kisses standard kremlin protocal o' russian one? :-p

[elfichka]

Hmm... I don't think I can adequately expain to you the misterious ways of my country's top executive. But here below is the explanation of the man himself. And I have a feeling that this is as good as this one will get. Perhaps, the man same as Yeltsin is also starting to loose his mind, which in the long-term could do the country some good (that is if he does not blow it up beforehand)...

Putin says surprised by reaction to boy kissing episodeMOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin admitted Wednesday he had been surprised by the huge public interest generated by his kissing a boy on the stomach in the Kremlin late June

[firemanjason]

wow forever ago I asked you this... and you got back to me. I'm so loved.

My first thought was ewww a grown man kissing a random kids belly. Being a dumb ignorant american I thought maybe there was a cultural thing I was missing! :-p

[elfichka]

Hey, sorry about not getting back to you earlier on that. I know I've been pretty bad about LJ lately - a lot of other things that happen to take priority.

On the Putin issue, yeah, "ewww" was my response too. No, you're not missing any cultural thing. Or else I am missing one too, and I am from there...