I've Made Up Stuff That's Turned Out

The Most Wounding Insult To An Educated Russian Was To Be Called Nekulturny-uncultured-yet The Same Men Who Sat In The Gilt Boxes At The Moscow State Opera Weeping At The End Of A Performance Of Boris Gudunov Could Immediately Turn Around And Order The Execution Or Imprisonment Of A Hundred Men Without Blinking. A Strange People, Made More Strange By Their Political Philosophy.

In Battle, You Forgive A Man Anything Except An Unwillingness To Take Risks. Sometimes You Have To Put It On The Line.

There Is An Old Saying: In History Nothing Is True But The Names And Dates. In Fiction Everything Is True But The Names And Dates. The Difference Between Reality And Fiction? Fiction Has To Make Sense.

There Was A Time When Nails Were High-tech. There Was A Time When People Had To Be Told How To Use A Telephone. Technology Is Just A Tool. People Use Tools To Improve Their Lives.

Sunday Was The Normal Day For The Political Awareness Session At Sea. Ordinarily Putin Would Have Officiated, Reading Some Pravada Editorials, Followed By Selected Quotations From The Works Of Lenin And A Discussion Of The Lessons To Be Learned From The Readings. It Is Very Much Like A Church Service.