George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 162

George W. Bush’s Great America – Episode 161

< Episode 161 >

To define Vladimir Putin, one might say:

He readily feigns generosity and compassion for public image. When faced with administrative choices, he never hesitated, even if the outcomes were drastically different. To counter the cold-blooded image inherited from his background, he worked hard to cultivate a common-man persona, all while subtly building the foundations of a dictatorship.

His demeanor was more befitting a king or Tsar than a president. His supporters openly call him Tsar. If his close aides were to give Putin a nickname, it would undoubtedly be ‘Ice’ – pleasing to the eye, yet cold to the touch, and prolonged exposure could lead to frostbite.

Regardless, the key point is that Vladimir Putin is a man of few words, and when a crisis occurs, his already limited vocabulary shrinks further. For Putin, anger is merely fuel to maintain his composure. Like any fuel, the more you add, the longer it burns. After processing his anger, Putin emerges more astute than ever.

I doubt anyone would dispute this, but there’s an opportunity to witness it firsthand.

Thanks to a ‘certain incident,’ Putin was deeply angered, and he summoned as many officials as possible to the conference room to address it.

With the highest-ranking person keeping silent, the meeting couldn’t begin. Everyone present had to endure the oppressive silence. About a minute after the meeting’s supposed start, a cracking, low voice, like the sound of parched earth in a drought, finally filled the room.

“Briefing.”

Putin’s voice was quieter than usual, yet it possessed a strange power that resonated even with those farthest away.

“The explosion site is Moscow Station, and the damaged vehicle is a Moscow Line 81-717/714 type [a common model of subway car in Moscow].”

Imagine being in the heart of Siberia in the dead of winter. Sharp ice crystals, the size of a man’s fist, sprout from every tree, and even the branches are completely frozen, unyielding in the harsh, minus 70 degrees Celsius Siberian winter.

The cold they felt in the conference room was worse than that. Physical cold can be countered with a stove and warm clothes, but how do you combat the cold that originates from within? It felt like gout in the head, a piercing sensation accompanied by chills in the brain.

“The train car is beyond repair. Forensic analysis estimates that approximately 35 plastic explosives, weighing 3-4kg each, were detonated at regular intervals. Fortunately, two failed to explode.”

He paused, licking his chapped lips. He tasted blood. Perhaps it wasn’t his lips, but his tongue. It was a miracle he could even speak.

“As you know, the attack is attributed to Chechen separatists.”

The situation was graver than initially thought. If there was one positive aspect of the ‘Red Square Terrorist Incident’ [a previous, fictional terrorist attack], it was that no young children died. Here, ‘children’ refers to those under 7. The youngest victim this time was a 16-year-old girl.

This terrorist attack occurred on the Moscow subway line, resulting in 228 victims. Of these, 182 died, 40 were seriously injured, and the remainder sustained minor injuries, though most would suffer lasting psychological trauma. Most tragically, 18 kindergarteners were killed, and ‘twin babies’ would never be seen again.

These children, barely 10 months old, had just begun to babble and say ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa.’ Sadly, of their family, only the father, who had been working overtime and was unaware of the attack, remained.

The perpetrators, disguised as electrical repairmen, deceived ordinary citizens, and one train car was completely destroyed. The vehicle was reduced to broken windows and blown-off doors; it was hell on earth.

In a famous Western movie from a few years ago, didn’t they say that ‘Hell is just a word’? That’s right. Hell is just a word. Even the most seasoned corpse disposal experts, known for their courage, vomited, and most required long-term psychological treatment afterward.

Understandably, the Russian people were enraged by this tragedy. Their anger didn’t stop at internal resentment or complaints among friends; it didn’t even end with demonstrations demanding the eradication of Chechen terrorism.

It escalated to the extreme demand of ‘Expel the Chechen race from Russia!’

This was fueled by unscrupulous individuals who saw an opportunity in this unprecedented tragedy. The most extreme right-wing elements in Russia manipulated and exploited the tragedy for their own propaganda, redirecting the public’s desire for vengeance entirely toward Chechnya. More precisely, they focused the spectrum of anger – directed at terrorists, the Chechen people, and Chechen culture – onto one target: the ‘Chechen people.’

Some radical individuals even called for the complete extermination of the Chechen people, claiming that the blood of terrorists flowed in their veins.

And most importantly, Putin, who held all the power, considered this.

“Сука блять (Suka blyat – Bitch, fuck).”

He was truly sick of terrorism. He was among the most knowledgeable about terrorism in the room. After all, he was a former KGB agent. He had learned everything during his time with the organization. That’s why he knew how impossible it was to prevent.

America’s anti-terrorism efforts? They had managed to divert the terrorists’ attention in the first place. Without the EU, it would have been chaos. Similarly, Russia was quickly withdrawing and tacitly supporting the Islamic regime, which was why there was no Middle Eastern terrorism; otherwise, they would be celebrating with terrorism.

‘But no matter what, we can’t do anything about the Chechen ethnicity itself.’

Did anyone think Putin was hesitating due to human ethics? He had abandoned human ethics when he joined the KGB. Putin’s concern was Russia’s international standing. Simply suppressing terrorists and deporting or mistreating ethnic minorities could severely damage Russia’s reputation.

Even with the United States acting recklessly, making it difficult to even voice dissent, how could Russia do this?

“First of all, I need to eliminate those who oppose my will.”

Chechen terrorists were terrorists, but the immediate priority was dealing with the far-right organizations that had complicated matters. Their deeply ingrained nationalism was helpful to Putin’s rule, but elements that didn’t follow his lead only burdened the regime. Uncooperative arms should be severed.

It seemed they should be swept away like the Red Mafia, the weevils that gnaw at the spine of Mother Russia. However, instead of the FSB [Federal Security Service] and Alpha Group [elite counter-terrorism unit], the regular police would be used. Everyone commits some minor infraction growing up, and humans are mysterious creatures capable of fabricating crimes if pressured, so it would be easy.

‘Still, this incident has made things a little easier with Chechnya.’

Originally, the situation was already dire enough to warrant mobilizing troops to suppress Chechen terrorists, but now they could do so without worrying about international scrutiny. It meant that everything except ABC [atomic, biological, chemical] weapons could be used.

This was a golden opportunity for Putin. Public reason was paralyzed, and all social problems were blamed on Chechnya. Now that children had died, who cared about potential food shortages or two months of unpaid wages? What about the increasingly limited political choices? Were those important?

This was the ideal environment for Putin to establish a dictatorship.

But that was that. Even with a sane mind, could anyone maintain perfect composure after the massacre of their country’s citizens if they were president? This incident was difficult even for Putin, a master of emotional control.

It seemed he might act impulsively if anything went wrong.

“For now, just follow the manual until there are special instructions.”

The response manual was often a mere prop used by high-ranking officials in absurd plays to cover up incidents in movies, but the actual response manual was a ‘promised indicator to respond to all situations’ created by experts putting their heads together and thinking hard.

“And we need to allocate more budget to the military. Until we completely eradicate Chechen terrorists.”

There was no objection, let alone opposition. Everyone in the conference room remained silent, pretending to take notes by diligently moving their pens. At this point, it wasn’t a meeting but a unilateral announcement.

Of course, not everyone found this situation strange or difficult. The Siloviki [Russian politicians from the security or military services] were used to this.

However, one person, the one who had been briefing, looked deeply troubled.

“Mr. President, there will be a statement soon, but what should we do with the content?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

That was the end of the meeting. Putin moved to the podium where the reporters were gathered, took a deep breath, and said:

“We will not succumb to terrorism.”

The moment he spoke, Putin felt his emotional control, usually well-managed, wavering. The excessive stress he had been under, to the point of ‘alopecia areata’ [spot baldness], had disrupted most of his bodily functions, including his hormones, leaving him seriously unbalanced.

Realizing this, Putin crumpled up the prepared speech.

The benefits of acting emotionally were reflexively calculated, but the thought that he couldn’t continue this calculation came first.

“So I’m warning you.”

Putin said only this much and felt the blood boiling in his body like a car suddenly accelerating.

“Hey, you reactionary bastards! Stay right there! I’m going to drive a tank and blow your heads off!”

Putin, giving in to his emotions that day, put on a performance of heading to Grozny [capital of Chechnya] on a T-90 tank. Only Putin and God knew if it was just a performance or if he truly intended to blow their heads off.

「The following is a report: The Moscow Line is restarting-.」

“Comrade Leader, what should we do?”

Naturally, the remaining Chechen forces were in a panic.

“He says he’s going to blow our heads off?”

The rebel leader responded calmly.

“What to do?”

He dropped the cigarette, burned to the filter, on the floor. The carelessly discarded cigarette butt seemed to reflect his agony.

“Pack your bags. We’re defecting to another country.”