Nothing but a Circus by Daniel Levin

Author:Daniel Levin
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141984650
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2017-01-25T16:00:00+00:00

Part Two

* * *

Chess à la Russe

‘I have asked a good friend of mine to join us for dinner, if you don’t mind,’ Vitaly said.

‘Of course not,’ I replied. ‘Who is it?’

‘I’ll explain later,’ Vitaly said with a smile. ‘Try to keep an open mind. You won’t be disappointed.’

I had arrived in Moscow a day earlier for a meeting that Vitaly had arranged with the President of the Russian State Social University to discuss a seminar on financial education. The meeting had been interesting, and Vitaly invited me for dinner at Petrovich, my favourite restaurant in Moscow, so that we could discuss the next steps with the university. Petrovich was a members-only club in a basement of a nondescript building, and decorated in a style reminiscent of Soviet times. I was enjoying my herring with beets – Vitaly called the dish ‘herring in a coat’ – and a glass of kvass, the fermented drink made from black rye bread. Vitaly and I had become good friends, and he was always generous in introducing me to his contacts, which often reached into the upper echelons of power in Russia.

‘Ah, here’s Slava,’ Vitaly said with a nod towards the hallway.

A handsome man with striking features came to our table, high cheekbones and a powerful chin. He mumbled something to Vitaly and then looked at me.

‘Vitaly has given me a thorough briefing on you,’ Slava said, as he shook my hand with a firm grip.

I looked at Vitaly with surprise, but he just smiled at me.

‘I wish I could say the same thing about you,’ I said, throwing Vitaly under the bus, ‘but unfortunately our friend here has not told me anything about you, Slava. What do you do?’

‘Good old Vitaly,’ Slava laughed, ‘trying to keep things interesting. Well, Daniel, I am a member of the Duma – you know, that fake parliament we have here in Russia. A fairly well-known member, I might add. But that would be immodest.’

I could hear Vitaly chuckle. These two men were clearly very familiar with each other. There was an air of unspoken mutual understanding between them. Slava waved to the waitress, who immediately came to our table.

‘Bring me the usual, please,’ Slava told her. ‘I have no idea why my new friend here is drinking this Russian horse piss,’ he added, pointing at the glass of kvass that I was holding. ‘It does taste like horse piss, doesn’t it?’

‘I wouldn’t know,’ I said, a little irritated. ‘I have never tasted horse piss.’

‘Oh, your friend has a sense of humour,’ Slava said, looking at Vitaly. ‘Feisty. I like that! Daniel, you will need some vodka to disinfect your throat after drinking that!’

‘It’s not that bad,’ I objected meekly.

‘It’s not that good, either,’ Slava replied with a laugh. ‘Don’t worry, even if your drinking taste leaves something to be desired, you do get high marks for effort and enthusiasm.’

‘That’s very kind of you,’ I said. Slava’s patronizing tone was starting to get on my nerves.

Vitaly must have noticed.

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