Or, more correctly speaking, not we, and least of all I [being a legal alien with a mere «прописка» allowing for my stay in the country], but the Russian Federation has a new president. The bombastic inauguration ceremony was broadcasted live on TV from the heart of the Motherland, from the inner center of the Holy Capitol of Moscow, at noon (Moscow Time, of course), and contained very few surprises. It was disappointing to see both Владимир Владимирович Путин and Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев driving through (empty!) streets up to the Kremlin in a black Mercedez each – is neither the new nor the old president patriotic enough to forgo comfort and safety in order to turn to the native car of Volga? Putin gave a stern farewell speech, being a master of stern speeches, and Medvedev happened to smile a tiny little bit while inspecting the armed forces at the end of the ceremony. Despite the presence of the patriarch at the ceremony, the new president was not blessed by him after saying his «присяга» [oath] and giving a confident speech full of expectancy, though I suppose there was no need for a second blessing (a second baptism is, after all, a sin also in the Orthodox Church) as he was already blessed by the patriarch last fall after Putin announced he was to be his heir, oh, sorry – successor.
