The odious stench scheduled to descend on Alaska in mid-August carries the deaths of thousands of Russians and Ukraines to US shores. Pretending that Russian leadership is a legitimate entity is an incalculable farce. Yes, these three pieces of offal represent a society with a deranged perception of its role on the world stage.

Proclamations such as “Russia is a great country!” And, “Look at our arts, our ballet, our music!” are calulated misdirection for the routine slaughter of political opponents, dissenters and the catch-all “enemies of the state.”

Thus it has been since the Russian Revolution. Failed Communism imploded the Russian sphere of influence and its vassal states declared independence and severed political ties with the mother ship.

The decimated remains of the USSR enlisted the miniature KGB spy as its last hope. With nuclear weapons and a wealth of natural resources, the peevish little killer was on his way. Down the road he picked up two lickspittles to form the triumvirate that now casually murders at home and abroad, visits war on its neighbors and pretends to be a civilized society.

Smug, frownie-faced and Chaplinesque, the goonery leads an economy about the size of Italy’s, but a criminal enterprise that dwarfs all others. Their league of cohorts includes a drug-addled Ayatollah, the Pillsbury doughboy of North Korea, and the illegitimate kingpin of Venezuelan misery. This league of putrescence worships at the altar of the pariah of Tibet, the Uyghurs, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Chairman Xi shares their cold-eyed avarice, moral vacuity and casual attitudes toward human life.

The latest chapter in the Russian saga of mayhem will be played out in the Great White North. To tee up this confab, Lavrov several weeks previous warned the U.S. against a partnership with Japan and South Korea that would target North Korea. The U.S. response was joint air drills with the two allies and a meeting in Seoul. More recently, Medvedev labeled President Trump’s ultimatum to Russian on Ukraine as “threat and a step toward war” and “Russia is right about everything.” To boot, he declared Russia is not bound by previous agreements regarding missile deployments… just like they weren’t bound by Ukraine’s sovereignty in 2014 and 2022… and China wasn’t bound by its Hong Kong pledge, nor was Iran bound by its nuclear agreements. The kicker is Maduro was not bound by Venezuela elections.

They have at least one, no two, additional common denominators 1 — foreign travelers are routinely detained and held hostage to exchange for local criminals. 2 — no one’s trying to get into these paragons of virtue. Anyone want a second opinion? Check in with Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia or Finland. And Sweden joined NATO to enjoy the soirees in foreign capitals… uh-huh.

Oh yeah, there’s an additional commonality — the citizenry — be they peasants, zeks, campesinos, virtuous Muslims or whatever — are of zero regard nor import to their leadership. They are fodder for wars, repression, dictates and manias of the murderers. Post script — cheating at the Olympic games is just for grins and giggles.

The rot of the Russian version of these monstrosities will shortly arrive in Alaska. God-willing, the crude running down the trans-Alaska pipeline, and the prospect of a gas pipeline dlivering LNG along the Pacific Rim might serve to clear the air once the thuggery has skedaddled.