Republic of Kalmykia

Some scholars and scientists maintain that mankind has chosen the wrong path of development and that our road to civilization is a dead-end. There is now a great imbalance between technological achievements and spiritual development. The era of space-flights and nuclear energy started, not with atomic-power stations, but with the obliteration of human beings by the atom bomb. The planet Earth has encountered a fatal barrier.

When I am told about the durability of peace, the dependability of the army and unquestionable honesty of our diplomats, I can hardly believe my ears. I have seen soldiers standing guard next to a rocket launching button after smoking marihuana. I have seen officers giving commands while suffering from the after-effects of the previous night’s drinking bout. Those orders were obeyed since you cannot argue with your superiors in the army. I have seen future diplomats who will stop at nothing for the sake of their careers. And don’t forget the case of my fellow-soldier who was driven to despair by one of the grandads and was ready to kill his antagonist come what may. He had nothing to lose anyway. What difference did it make to him whether he pulled the trigger or pressed the launch button?

Or another case, of a soldier whose fiancée did not want to wait for him. He dreamed of shelling the city where the unfaithful girl was living. If there is no moral law then everything is possible. Everything is permissible.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of Kalmykia