Source: Ellustrator.

A commenter wrote: "Oh pancakes! [Fiddlesticks!] This strikes me as somewhat simplistic and predictable. I could tell from the first panel what the last would be."

Indeed. And perhaps that was quite the point, and the hidden brilliance of this cartoon (well, hidden from those who can't quite manage to pay attention). As reported earlier this week by Publius Pundit, Economy Minister Roman Gref recently declared: "I can say with a high degree of authority that the basic prerequisites for doing business will remain unchanged [after the 2008 presidential elections]." In other words, he knows the outcome of the election before the cycle even begins. Russia is getting entirely too predictable. You know what will happen in the last frame after you see the first. And you know it won't be good.