Warhead doldrums

In my younger, formative years I became, as many of my generation were, introduced to the idea that the world was ruled by two polar superpowers, America and the USSR. And what was frightening was that at any time the leaders of these countries could press their respective Big Red Buttons which would instantly detonate the world. I missed some of the details surely but that's how I understood the situation. On one side you had the "goodies" the USA, because they spoke and looked like us and had Rambo on their side, led by seemingly kindly old buffoon Ronnie Reagan and on the other you had the incomprehensible backwardslanguaged world of the Soviets with an apparently radioactively mutated Gorbachov at the helm. Where could you even start with the commies? The used the number 3 and a hat in their alphabet! They ruled from twirly topped archaic palaces playing Tetris all day! Their boxers were seven feet tall steroid monsters who could kill Apollo Creed with one punch! Gorby had a hammer and sickle port wine stain on his head, or so reality was twisted for me by Spitting Image. In any event, they were aliens and we couldn't trust them not to slam a mug of vodka down accidentaly on the red button at any given moment. I came to see annihilation as a arbitrary event after a while; the skies could boil at any second, these were the end of days.
Imagine my mild indifference when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989!
Yes, I fondly recall that day, furtively glancing out the window in maths class, yearning to be home as the teacher droned on about the amazing global socio-political impact of a tonnes of mullet-headed East Gerry Bono lookalikes walking through a gate in a dreary looking city. Many years later I would come back to Berlin and marvel at it's laid-back coolness; apologetic policemen and absence of mullets but that's getting away from the crux of my blatherings.
The thing is this, despite the fall of the Sovbloc and the 'reforming' era of Yeltsin the idea of a any kind of democracy in Russia is a comlete farce, they are still as alien as ever. There are four parties in the Russian political setup - all of them run by Putin. One his one party and the other three are puppets to create the impression of opposition. Just look at the events last month when Gary Kasparov (yes, the chess guy) was arrested for merely forming a political faction that wasn't engineered and approved by Vlad. Not to mention all those students who have disapperared beaten to for taking to the streets to protest the sham system.
Basically right, and I know this might lower the tone here, but Putin, right, is a fucking cunt and no mistake.
When I was a kid, I didn't realise that Perestroika and Glasnost were progressive ideas and Gorby would never have led his folk down the road of mushroom doom, I could have slept soundly. But this Putin is another thing altogether, he needs no agitation at all to start swivelling the turrets our way, he's a judo man, the best defense is offense etc, etc. So, y'know, puttting a missile delivery system on his doorstep and saying it's only for last resorts from unprescribed enemies of freedom is just asking for it really. And I'm not asking for it, I don't want it. We have too many reactors that would make perfect targets here in France.

Say no to mushrooms.