Not sure if you are aware but it is a Russian tradition that men drink in a party of three to drown their sorrows and explore the heart of existance. I went drinking with Denis and Dan (our lawyer and resident intellectual) to explore this tradition for myself.

First off I want to set the record straight. I am a light weight when it comes to drinking. Even as a tea totalling hanger on I left in a cab and everything looked very blurry. Denis and I met Dan at his 'Best Hotel' in Riga. Dan bought this hotel a year ago when he had no experience as a hotelier but has quickly turned it into a profitable venture. Initially we had designs on going out of the hotel but as we began to drink it quickly became apparent that we were going nowhere externally.

About two hours into the evening Dan, who speaks little english, turned into a version of Hamlet and I decided to script his meanderings as translated by my comerad Denis, the trusty interpreter. Below are the highlights from my notes.

1. "Tell me Kent, you are old enough to remember the cold war. Were you afraid that the Soviets would bomb the shit out of you?"
   
   "No, it did not keep me up at night, I thought it was too stupid for either side to under take."
   
   "Really, we heard the you were very frightened by Russian insanity"
   
   "No, I never considered it a real possibility. I guess I was naive."
   
   "Yes."
   
2. "How does it feel to have won?"
   
   "What do you mean, won at what?"
   
   "Won the idealogical battle. The Soviet Union has collapsed, the free markets are taking hold. Does it make you feel superior?"
   
   "No, I have not thought about it that way until you explained it just now."
   
   "I don't believe you. The west has won and it must make you feel superior."
   
   "I think there is more road to travel. Our superiority as you see it will be short lived."
   
   "The real Russian character is still obsured by this massive change. It will take another 15 or 20 years for the real Russian character to emerge. I don't know what it will be but I am very interested. The character that is deep with in the Master and Margarita (Bulgakov) and Dostoyevsky will shine in some light or another."

Then a game of chess in which Dan was easily the victor. Clearly the superior player, he was taught by his father a KGB man. More drinking. Then more drinking. Now we are in Hamlets soliquey stage. This is all Dan, Denis an I are sitting back and enjoying the magic which is Dan.

• "In the soul of man the apocolypse takes place everyday."
  
• "If you have nothing to complain about you are a loser!", then Dan clarifies, "Imperfections must be recognized or you are ignorant."
  
• "I am afraid I will make a decision that is not in tune with Gods design. I am afraid that I will act in someone elses faith instead of my own."
  
• "Westerners were afraid for too long that is why ther are so arrogant."
  
• "We are all bio-chemical robots."

Note: see the Russian film called "Stalker", Dan's recommendation. An now finally one of Denis's observations for help you readers out there understand the east and what is happening here.

"What you need to understand Kent is that this place was all just one big concentration camp fifteen years ago. People felt like they were imprisioned and now they have been set free. When people cut you off while driving anything else would be sign of weakness. It is a prison mentality. We were all imprisoned for no reason and now were are trying to recover. It will take at least another fifteen years for us to realize our rehabilitation. This is what Dan means when he says we have not seen the true Russian character."