Аннотация: The shtos after the inauguration. A story.
The shtos after the inauguration. A story.
After the inauguration, the president of the small mountainous country, accompanied by the chairman of the parliament, went to his office. Before entering the office he was met by the head of the special service. The President accepted the report.
The President entered the office.
He sat down in a comfortable chair.
Nice wide table.
On the edge of the table was a pile of papers (for signature) - two meters high.
The President took a pencil from the glass and pondered.
According to the election promises, under his leadership, a small mountainous country (as a whole) and its inhabitants (each) will achieve wealth and prosperity ...
The small mountainous country has three main sources of income.
The first is personal taxes. This source of income doesn't solve any problems, but it creates a lot of anxiety.
The second is customs payments. This is a huge resource, but it is divided already.
The third is income from mining (mainly gold mining) companies. The peculiarity of this type of income is in its trinity (three-component) character. Firstly, the reserves of gold in the bowels of a small mountainous country have already been determined and calculated. Secondly, revenues from gold mining companies are already distributed. Thirdly, a strange effect is observed. Even if gold is mined not gradually, but in an accelerated mode, the income for some reason does not increase, but remains at the same level or decreases.
Various trifles, such as external subventions in exchange of the correct turn of some criminal cases, have already been received before the elections and spent. They will, of course, throw more means - but not so much, and everything will go to operating expenses ...
The President pressed the button. The head of the presidential administration entered the office.
- Everything is ready! - The head of the presidential administration took out a facsimile of the president's signature from an elegant precious little box.
The President looked ironically at the facsimile.
The head of the administration was not taken aback and took out two more facsimiles from the precious little box.
The President changed his look from ironic to approving one.
- Invite them!
Three nephews of the president stepped in the office. (In his election program, the president promised to involve young people in solving state affairs).
The head of the administration, along with the three nephews of the president, moved the stack of papers to the recreation room and they began to stamp the signatures on the documents. The nephews worked, and the head of the administration provided a general observation and guidance.
'If anyone will be dissatisfied, then we'll figure it out. In each specific case, ' the President thought and returned the pencil back to the glass.
The President looked into the waiting room:
- Has the head of the special service left yet?
The President and General returned to the office.
- Where is the secret exit here?
The general showed the secret door, explained how it can be opened, said that a secret passage leads towards a large electrical cabinet [wardrobe] [box] (on a city street), and that inside at the exit from the electrical cabinet there are three bags of electricians, and in the bags there are stylish jackets, baseball caps and coils of electrical wires. The emblems of the electric company are placed on bags, jackets, baseball caps. Before leaving the electrical cabinet to the street, it is recommended to put on a jacket, a baseball cap, take a bag in one hand, and a coil of wire in the other. The key to the electrical cabinet is in the pocket of a jacket.
The President thanked the head of the special service and wished him successful work.
Then he went along a secret passage for a walk around the city to get acquainted with the mood of the people and the state of affairs in the capital.
Gradually, the president freed himself from wires, bag, jacket and baseball cap, and continued on his way as an ordinary passer-by in a good English suit and a fashionable French coat.
Everything was calm in the city. Everyone were busy with own tasks and needs and looked very happy after the took place inauguration.
No one recognized the President (he put on big dark glasses).
Good health requires outdoor walks.
The President headed into the park and walked down the alley.
On a park bench sat a man dressed as a mountain (steppe) inhabitant - he was in a hat made of fox fur.
- Hey friend! Let's play shtos!
The President came closer. In the prison cell, they sometimes played shtos for fun.
- I don't seem to have any money with me!
- Okay, come on for a players' interest!
The interlocutor gave the president a deck of cards.
The President chose and put aside the card with the letter R. ("Regina"?)
The banker (the interlocutor in the fox's hat) began to throw cards from his pack right and left.
For some reason, the president began to remember how the Russial revolutionaries decided to make a distant provincial city the capital of the union republic (of the USSR), how the great northern neighbor created the parliament, the government, the central bank and everything, everything, everything ...
The card with the letter R - the card, which was choosen by the punter (that is, by the President) - had fallen to the right of the banker, that is, the banker won.
- Let's once more!
Punter (that is, the president) from his pack chose a card with the letter E ('Elena of Troy'?).
The banker (the interlocutor in the fox hat) began to throw cards from his deck.
The President began to recall how a small mountainous country received from Europe a liberal European-type constitution, economic foreign trade preferences, the position of a goods (products) transportation hub, huge benefits in saving customs payments ...
The card with the letter E - the card, which was choosen by the punter (that is, by the President) - had fallen to the right of the banker, that is, the banker won again.
- Let's again!
Punter (that is, the President) from his deck chose a card with the letters Ch ('Charlemagne'?).
The banker began to throw cards from his deck.
To the President came reflections that his advisers were recommending a Chinese investments in infrastructure projects as a source of income ...
The card with the letters Ch - the card, which was choosen by the punter (that is, by the President) - had fallen to the right of the banker. The banker won the third time.
The President decided to continue his walk.
Having said some polite words to the interlocutor - an inhabitant of the mountains and steppes in a hat made of fox fur - the President headed further through the park.
The huge blue sky looked thoughtfully from above at the President and at the small mountainous country ...
Explanation: The shtos ("Штос") - the Russial gambling card game. It represented, for example, in Alexander Pushkin's story "The Queen of Spades".
January 29, 2021 10:24
Translation from Russian into English: January 29, 2021 15:48.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Штос после инаугурации. Рассказ'.