RUSSIA :
РИССЯ : ЯССИР (RUSSIA : AISSUR) "In the years before the Revolution, Russians had a favourite story about their ambassador to Washington, 'a grand seigneur of the old school' called Yuriy Bakhmetev. Called to the Secretary of State's office, he was surprised when the American, having greeted him politely, lounged back in his chair and crossed his feet on his desk. Sitting on the other side of the desk, Bakhmetev followed suit. The Secretary of State removed one foot; Bakhmetev did the same. And after a slight pause, the American removed the other." (Anna Reid, 2024, A Nasty Little War , John Murray, London, p. 13) "In the first years after he arrived on the international scene, the tsar had stayed on the fringes a bit, with the classic attitudes of the Russian, whose papers are never fully in order and who has to submit to the detailed scrutiny of judges from more civilized parts. It's the age-old complex of the savage from the border-lands who has to a...