“What a mighty man he turns out to be! He raped 10 women; I’d never have expected that from him. He surprised us all — we all envy him!” Few Russia watchers will forget this quip Putin in 2006 in reference to Israeli President Moshe Katsav’s rapist proclivities. Nor will his “If they’re in the airport, we’ll kill them there … and excuse me, but if we find them in the toilet, we’ll exterminate them in their outhouses,” in response to Chechen terrorists. That one tops Bush’s “smoke them out of their holes” quip. With Putin leaving office, NPR has compiled a short list and a story to remember him by. Scraps of Moscow has more on the subject. Can we expect Medvedev to top his patron?
