For some reason, this true story is very popular with people. In the past few weeks, I’ve told it half a dozen times and keep getting requests for a repeat performance. So I decided to publish it on the blog and then direct everybody who wants to hear about this to the published version.
Among the many “New Russian” millionaires and billionaires, there was this one guy who owned a chain of banks. He was extremely rich in spite of his fairly young age (the guy is a couple of years younger than I am.) His wealth is not surprising, however, given that his Daddy held a high rank with the KGB during the Soviet era.
So one day the banker millionaire was driving down the street in his Maybach. Of course, just like any other self-respecting New Russian oligarch, he was accompanied by a cortège of vehicles carrying his bodyguards. As the Maybach was proceeding on its way, a battered old BMW (with no cortège) overtook it.
The New Russian banker was outraged. How come some insignificant little BMW was going to overtake him, an important business leader?
The banker’s posse stopped the BMW, dragged out the driver, and gave him a beating.
What the banker didn’t know, however, is that, even though the driver of the dinky little BMW didn’t have an entourage of bodyguards, he had something better. He had a girlfriend called Katya. And Katya had a father called Vladimir Putin.
Katya told her Daddy about the mean banker who beat her boyfriend and, of course, the doting father took care of the situation.
The banker is in jail now. All of his property, including the chain of banks and the Maybach, has been requisitioned for the benefit of the state.
The moral of the story: even people in dinky little BMWs can turn out to have important connections.
Clarissa's Blog 
The banker in question is fortunate that he was not offered a cup of ‘hot’ tea by Vlady!
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This story is priceless! When has it happened?
Just a joke:
Мужик на запорожце на светофоре врезается в Mersа и думает: Придёться отдавать машину, квартиру хоть повеселюсь на старости!
Достаёт кувалду из багажника, и начинает превращать Mers в металлолом!
Посмотрел, никто не выходит, и уехал. Два новых Русских в Merse сидят как сурки за тёмными стёклами:
Один другому говорит: Прикинь, если б мы врезались
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Who likes the story? Initially, I thought (former) Russians loved it because of understanding the mentality: no enforced laws, you look at your BMW, imagine what would the ex-banker have done to you and are happy that at least in this case нашла коса на камень (the scythe struck a stone).
It’s like small fish – you, big fish – New Russians (are they still called that?) and the whale, which can eat you, but won’t be interested, so you’re happy when your (potential) tormentors are eaten.
Then I thought you probably told it to born in US Americans. Why would they like it? (Except you telling it well.)
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I’d never be able to find a story that would interest a regular fellow Russian-speaker. 🙂
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Last comment on it – it’s so resembling “Politically Correct Bedtime Stories” that you loved, only partly in reverse. One could write a book of fables (like Krulov’s) or of “RL Russia Today – don’t know what PC means – fairy tales”.
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The other moral of the story is that you’ll probably get away with it unless you piss off someone more powerful than you are.
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That’s kind of pessimistic. 🙂
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That reminds me of a story about how a police officer harassed Willie Brown, the (black) mayor of San Francisco, as he was riding a horse to a budget meeting. The officer pulled him over, used a threatening tone and called him “boy.” Mayor Brown then proceeded to the meeting and cut all funding for the police force.
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Reminds me of the Beep Beep Song:
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