From Pavel Astakhov’s Twitter.
http://www.mk.ru/politics/letters-to-president/article/2013/02/22/816939-gnilyie-instrumentyi.html From what didn’t make it onto Pavel Astakhov’s Twitter, but remained on the University of Pittsburgh website in the form of a thank-you letter from the Fighter Against Ameri(c)ka (a mocking misspelling of “America”). — Pavel, Svetlana, many Russian women now give birth abroad. But you didn’t even take your two-month-old son to Moscow for his christening. Have you finally decided to stay here on the French Riviera?
Pavel: No, of course not. I generally don’t leave Moscow, where the two of us are now living with our middle son, Artyom, for long. I just shuttle here to the French Riviera almost every weekend; otherwise I’m afraid the baby will forget me. And our decision to give birth in France came about spontaneously. It so happened that we were vacationing in Nice in the summer, Svetlana felt wonderful, she was swimming in the sea almost until the very last day, and we decided to stay here; besides, the doctor forbade air travel at that stage. From what never made it onto Pavel Astakhov’s Twitter at all. The family has settled in comfortably abroad, in an elite mansion in Nice. The money is in a Swiss bank account. What more do you need in order to love the Motherland calmly, yet very passionately. Update: A splendid interview with Astakhov’s son. The poor little darling apparently suffered throughout his entire childhood in the U.S. and England. Maybe that’s why his father came to dislike the States so much afterward. They mistreat our children there. F*irst I went to Oxford. But Oxford is very hard for a young man, because it’s boring. The economics they taught at Oxford still helps me a lot to this day. Then, two years later, I moved to London. In London I studied the same field—economics. But in England they teach not practical things, but theoretical ones that haven’t worked for many years already. ... — You went away to study at Oxford... Where did you get such good English—did you go to a specialized school? — No. I think Russian schools only ruined my language skills. When I started going to America, I began speaking properly. I studied for a year at an American school. We had discussion groups. So if necessary, I can do practically any American accent now. ... — Do you play short or long positions? — Both. When I was studying in America, I really liked that my university was located right on Walt Street. It’s the only university on that famous street. And all my friends there were brokers and traders. — So you’re a trader? — Yes, I’m a trader, not a broker. * http://esj.ru/2010/09/03/anton_astahov_odnogo_advokata_dlja/ Update 2: The patriotic Astakhov’s son has SUDDENLY been given a job closer to budget money—on the Presidential Council for Modernization and Innovation. How delightful.
People