It was inevitable. Russia's thumoeideutic lawlessness and relentlessly aggressive behavior rankles Europe -- in particular, prim and proper Britain. The oligarchs, tone-deaf to propriety (then again, how else did they become "oligarchs"), have been turning Europe into their illicit playground. The myriad humiliations of the immediate aftermath of the dismantling of the Soviet Union were being payed back in full.
That Georgia thing, however, was probably the tipping point. From Page Six:
"THE ostentatious Russian billionaires who invaded the French and Italian Rivieras in the '90s have become so unpopular that local restaurants are refusing to serve them.
"'From north to south, a rebellion is growing against those who show off their money and power,' said La Stampa, the daily in Turin, Italy.
"Roman Abramovich, the friend of Vladimir Putin said to be worth $23.5 billion, was refused a table the other night at Bistrot in Forte dei Marmi on the Tuscan coast, The Times of London reports.
"When restaurateur David Vaiani told Abramovich his eatery was fully booked and said, 'You can try again tomorrow,' the oil tycoon was so furious that he took off immediately for Sardinia on his yacht, Grand Bleu, which has five cooks and 45 waiters."
Is that nationalistic blowback in the wind?
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