The Power of Propaganda
Russia just can’t help it
On the evening of May 3rd, the Estonian police picked up a drunken Russian who claimed to be a member of the duma, the Russian parliament. Police discovered the stumbling man on Tallinn’s Niine Street, who appeared to have both fallen and fought with someone. Blood dripped from the man’s head, and the police summoned an ambulance.The man claimed to be a duma member and demanded a representation from the Russian embassy. The man, Anatoli Sorokin, turned out not be a member of the duma: he was a foreign relations specialist with the Moscow city government. Sorokin swore at the ambulance attendants and refused medical treatment. The police placed Mr. Sorokin in the drunk tank on Tallinn’s Erika Street. The next morning, Sorokin refused to place his signature on the police protocol, and Sorokin departed with a representative of the Russian embassy.
To explain the man’s condition, the Moscow city government claimed that Sorokin was beaten severely while in the custody of Estonian police.
The story was reported in the Estonian media, but drew no special attention. Speaking to City Paper, a representative of Estonia’s Channel 2 characterized Russia’s behavior as business as usual, and therefore, to Estonians, no real surprise. Estonian speakers may view the Channel 2 news broadcast at the bottom of this Postimees story:
http://www.postimees.ee/040507/esileht/siseuudised/258873.php