I admit that I a fascinated by Russia and Russian culture. Neil knows it far better than I, but I’ve been trying to read as much as I can fit in about the country. I just recently added Warren Beatty’s Reds to my Netflix cue. (I know, can you believe I haven’t seen this yet?). The recent intrigue over radioactive sushi, the growing power of former KGB spook Vladamir Putin, the influence of oil and resource wealth in the country…it all adds up to a modern day Sopranos with an accent. Well, it seems some folks are tired of the Russians.
Take a look at this story from the UK’s Telegraph about how the ski resort of Kitzbühel recently imposed a cap of 10 percent on the number of Russians it allows to stay at the resort. Who in the world was counting them and what criteria were they using? Well, according to the piece the locals claim the Russians are “loud and brash nouveaux riches who lower the tone of the resort”. Ah, I guess there aren’t enough Americans going to Kitzbühel these days. My guess is the cap would be set to 5 percent.