I am returning to one of my favourite subjects. Vladimir Putin is not shaping up to have a very happy Christmas. His hamfisted intervention in Ukraine, and the subsequent downing of a civilian airliner, ( widely assumed to be the work of the Russian backed insurgents,) did not put him high on Santa’s list. Since then he has decided that being a naughty boy will bring him the attention he clearly craves. He has been flying his airplanes close to the neighbours backyards and was rumoured to have sent a submarine into Swedish waters. Luckily the batteries on his remote control got it home before it was fished out. Now it seems his piggy bank is being squandered. Last night the Russian jacked up interest rates to 17%, to no avail. The rouble is well, ahem, in (t)rouble. Looks like he is going to blow all his pocket money before the big day. No Xmas presents for us then? Well maybe. The problem with Vlad is he is a bully. So when he doesn’t get his own way, he lashes out or comes a hunting. And the odd thing is that the Russian public is oddly tolerant of all these shenanigans, part patriotism and in part because there is nowhere else to turn. Putin has the run of the place. An imploding Russia is a dangerous one and bullies rarely learn empathy unless they take a beating. It’s playground stuff from the Russian leader, but dangerously unfunny. Keep your doors locked this Xmas.

Yee-har