In such a state, initiative, especially political initiative, is worse than futile; it is a crime, as the case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the imprisoned former oil tycoon, has demonstrated. The only freedom Russians have left is to devise bitter jokes that tap the country’s rich historical stores of political pathology.
En tal estado, la iniciativa, en particular la iniciativa&nbsp;política,&nbsp;es peor que&nbsp;inútil: es&nbsp;un crimen,&nbsp;como ha demostrado el&nbsp;caso de Mijaíl Jodorkovsky, el ex magnate&nbsp;petrolero&nbsp;encarcelado.&nbsp;La única libertad que les queda a&nbsp;los rusos&nbsp;es idear&nbsp;bromas&nbsp;amargas que se nutren de su&nbsp;generoso patrimonio histórico&nbsp;de patologías políticas.&nbsp;Si las pudieran&nbsp;exportar,&nbsp;serían tan ricos&nbsp;como los alemanes.