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St. Petersburg, Russia’s imperial capital and President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, geared up to welcome President Bush with a mix of unmatched artistic brilliance and edge-of-the-abyss disorder that makes the city a metaphor for Russia at its finest and most exasperating.
Perhaps there was no finer example of this than the display pictured at right, where a street vendor in the center of the city was selling traditional matryoshka dolls portraying Bush, Osama bin Laden and Putin.
Somehow, though, book hero Harry Potter got thrown into the mix. And he looks none too pleased about the company.
Serious issues that will consume Bush and Putin during the summit will include nuclear arms and NATO expansion–as well as bin Laden.
