Allusions of Grandeur

Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Gone are the days when Emporers and Czars sold huge territories to balance their budgets, or are they? Surely the world has progressed beyond wholesale bartering of the fate and fortune of millions of people, to secure the status of the rich and powerful, or has it?

Yesterday Garry Kasparov gave a statement to President Obama in which the Chess Master alluded to those bigone days that was steeped in sarcasm, or was it? You be the judge;

Prime Minister Putin and his friends have treated the Russian treasury like their personal bank, but only for withdrawals. They are selling the riches of our country from under our feet. In fact, if, President Obama, you wish to go down in history like Thomas Jefferson or William Seward, I’m sure you can get a good deal on several million acres of Russian land during your visit!...more...

Perhaps Garry was merely expressing his feelings towards the Russian Leadership that is perhaps not performing very well in the World Economy. Or, perhaps he's referring to the recent decision to allow US Military flights over Russian Airspace to supply the war effort in Afghanistan.

I'm not going to pretend to understand the mind and machinations of a Champion Chess Master ( I really don't play the game well ), but I will make a wild guess that there was a real strategy, and deeper meaning to Garry's words. I surely hope so, because I didn't get much else from his statement.

But as long as I'm speculating, how much would the Artic Ocean be worth to Putin? Come on Putin, what's it going to take to make this deal happen?

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