March 2, 2012

"There is a constant dialogue between the authoritarian Putin, the tyrant, who has a constant erection..."

"... and the more democratic (anti-Putin), who shows no aggression, no eroticism, and has no penis."

10 comments:

coketown said...

Gogol deserves a wider audience in America. He strikes me as a perfect blend between Tolstoy and Wilde--comedic where Tolstoy was grave and charitable where Wilde was ruthless, but as perceptive of social convention and personal foibles as both.

Also, I wonder what extremity we would separate Obama from to achieve this same comedic effect. How about Romney? We don't have to worry about Santorum because it's already been done.

edutcher said...

Gee, I wonder which one wins.

Hint: the one who proudly proclaims he's a Chekist.

John Stodder said...

The problem with this formulation is that it's focused on the tyrant and whether or not he is feeling aroused by his power or shrunken by his lack of power.

The people, however, are not aroused by being the subjects of a tyrant. Freedom = hundreds of millions of boners. Tyrant = only one.

I'm getting the idea from reading about other 20th century dictators that the dynamic that makes it work is for the populace to identify more with the dictators' lives than their own. Kind of like watching reality TV, except there's only one show and one channel.

So undoubtedly, the idea of a detumescent Putin depresses many Russians, who have long ago given up on having erections of their own.

Irene said...

" ... said Alexander Donskoy, founder of the museum and former mayor of the Arctic port of Arkhangelsk."

Ha ha! He's *already* in Siberia, so, no worries.

traditionalguy said...

Putin is going through his Mid-Tyrant Crisis.

He wants the enslaved proleteriat to love him again the way they did when he was a young Tyrant.

Penny said...

"The play is brought to life by 19-year-old producer Oleg Vorontsov and three actors operating the two $1,500 puppets and a lamp similar to the one used by the Soviet-era KGB to light people's faces during interrogation."

Great use of funds! Perhaps Julie Taymor of Spiderman fame, could adapt this for Broadway and figure out how to lose huge sums of money.

rcocean said...

More absurd Russian bashing. Cold war's over folks, sorry.

Maybe we can turn Iran into the next Nazi German that's TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!!

wyo sis said...

So tired of the endless obsession with the sex lives of world leaders. Or of anyone for that matter. Can we have a break from knowing everyone's sex habits?

kilo papa said...

And then Jesus came upon his disciples and said, "What's this shit I've been hearing about a human sacrifice for sins!!? Who in the goddamned hell came up with that Neanderthal bullshit!!? What are we, living in the goddamn Stone Age!!!?
Blood sacrifice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How dare you embarrass me with that disgusting, sickening, vile, evil, asinine pile of Cro-Magnon donkey shit!!!"--Jesus Christ, the Thinking Mans Gospel

sarge said...

Who in the goddamned hell came up with that Neanderthal bullshit!!? What are we, living in the goddamn Stone Age!!!?"

sarge yar an yessir its the bronze age now