I call my old friend Yuri to Moscow through the Whatsapp phone, which is free, to find out how things are going there. Six degrees below zero even winters are not like they used to be, and, as for the rumble of war drums, he replies: “War? But what war? How are we even going to think of fighting against our Ukrainian or Belarusian brothers? It would be like amputating a leg.” The historical, cultural, linguistic and family ties between the three countries are so close The capital of Rus, the first Orthodox Slavic state, founded in 882, was in Kiev, and Nikolai Gogol, author of Dead Souls’, great pope of letters, was of Ukrainian origin. Pandemic, inflation and war, what was missing. Will Russia bet on the military invasion of Donbas? It seems implausible, but the friend Vladimir Putin, the man who rides bare-chested on a grizzly bear has the gift of unpredictability. He likes to play puzzle.
Keep reading….