Today I turn 43, and I want to say that life is beautiful in its variety. Last birthday, I spent the day in a cell, and the only people who congratulated me were the police officers making their rounds and my cellmate Zhenya. This morning, though, I was greeted by my wife and children, and then by my colleagues at the ACF (Anti-Corruption Foundation). And my former cellmate Zhenya sent me a text, laughing about how we drank celebratory tea with cookies. Of course, the second option is far preferable, but you can fully appreciate its beauty only by comparing it with the first. But besides its variety, life is also beautiful in its constancy. Every year on my birthday, I write: thank you to all the good people I’ve met along the way. I’ve just sat and thought about it, and I’ve decided that over the past year too, I’ve met far more good people than not-so-good ones. So at 43, I’ll say the traditional thing once again: thank you all very much.