La Russophobe is a fan of cooking shows, and one of her very favorites is Scandinavian Cooking, hosted by a little Norwegian elf named Andreas Viestad, one of the most charming and adorable young fellows LR has ever come across.

In one of the programs, entitled "Artic Cuisine with a Russian Twist," Andreas visits the Svalbard Archipelago above the artic circle, where Norway has a sizeable community, to do some cooking in the ice. Andreas couldn't be cuter, decked out in a huge floppy fur hat.

Andreas is gets a major downer, however, when he visits a community of Russians living on the archipelago; he notes with dismay that "despite the change in government in Russia" the people he finds continue to live in a pathetic, crude Soviet style, without any of the standard elements of civilization enjoyed by the prosperous Norwegians. His pity for the hapless, backward Russians, who seem trapped in a time warp, is palpable.

One daren't imagine what he would think if he went to Chelyabinsk.