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17 Russian Officers Poisoned During Navy Day Celebrations in Mariupol
Drinking toasts to Victory and the ‘Motherland’ they dropped like flies
Known in Russia as Military Navy Day, the floating parade that appears along the Neva River in St. Petersburg each year attracts tens of thousands of enthusiasts and veterans.
In 1995, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, there were ships from all over the world and I even toured a frigate from the U.S. Navy. This year the parade was there again and my wife called a close friend of the family, Slava, who had been an officer for 26 years in the Russian Navy, and congratulated him on the holiday.
I had very mixed emotions about that phone call. When she was out of earshot, I also wished the Russian Navy well — on the ocean’s floor. As close as she is to Slava, I have always been a bit hesitant to get close to him. The last time we spoke about politics, on Christmas Day 2020, he let on that he thinks Putin is a great leader.
Navy guys are the biggest drinkers
All Russian military personnel drink an inordinate amount of alcohol. In one battle between an army from Kievan Rus and the Mongols during the 13th century, the future Russians were so hungover on the…
