When you wrote that the Chechen separatists never got much support in the US, i was reminded of a task i was once given and failed to complete.

In St. Petersburg i once hailed a gyspy cab at difficult time to find a ride. The car was the most quivering, smoking, rattle trap Lada i ever managed to ride in. The driver was a gregarious, Chechen doctor who considered himself a Caucasian Schumacher. Either the brakes didn’t work or he refused to use them, because he never did stop at a light or slow down for a corner. At one point we almost ran over a babushka crossing the road; my driver was incensed at her temerity in crossing in front of us…he did his best to lead me in a yelling chant of “Russian swine, Russian swine”. It was slightly embarrassing, because A. i’m of Russian descent and B. all the windows were down to keep us from being asphyxiated by the engine smoke pouring into the passenger cabin. I only relented to half-heartedly chanting because i realized that he wouldn’t start looking at the road again until he could hear my voice. When he made the left turn at my building at 60+ kph, the driver side wheels left the ground. I had horrible visions of barrel rolling into the oncoming bus that had a green light through the intersection. We finally came to a skidding, screeching, smoking, shuddering halt when the passenger side of the Lada slammed into the high curb.

I climbed out of the car, thankful for having lived through the ordeal. I paid the $0.50 the ride cost me…recognizing that it was cheap for one of the most “exciting” experiences i would probably ever have. My driver grinned broadly and told me to say hello to Bill Clinton for him, and make sure i thanked President Clinton for supporting the Chechens. I never got around to that, so here it is:

Dear W.J. Clinton, a bat-shit insane Chechen doctor in St. Petersburg, Russia sends a hearty hello and thanks to you for all that you did for the Chechens. If he is any indication of the Chechen soul, its no wonder the Russians have had a hard time quelling their dissent.

A most moving story, thank you.

Regards,

Mike

If Afghanistan was Russia’s Vietnam, Chechnya is its Iraq. A candidate for bravest woman of this young century, Anna Politkovskaya paid the ultimate price for her reporting on how much the Chechnyan people have suffered….

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