Walking in the Center

Saint Ushakov pops up in places. Here at the Omsk Hermitage Museum, I noticed several icons of him. Strange to see a &saint in uniform. And curious the words that he holds in his hand: «Не отчаивайтесь. Сии грозные бури обратятся к славе России. "Do not despair. These terrible storms will turn to Russia&glory."And so here we are, Russia forced to take on the whole of NATO and several other countries, alone. And instead of caving, standing up and winning. I recalled that President Putin used these words at the very start, remember?While in the American army as a typical &for a 4-year stint, I remember one of our basic training sergeants talking about being deployed in Panama. Apparently, being the highest-ranking, he walked in the center of a small group of soldiers. And being in the center and recognized as the probable leader, he came under sniper fire with a bullet that hit his ankle. After that, he said he would never again walk in the center again.Not so the Russian Admiral Ushakov! He placed himself in battle in the center of the greatest danger. This tradition is the hallmark of Russian soldiers, soldiers;s take the lead.I read a brief history of Ushakov and his exploits and glorious wins over the Turkish fleets. His ability to think creatively and expertly and his discipline and use of modern technology helped him defeat navies that had twice the amount of cannons. He was also a very religious man and granted sainthood by the Orthodox church. He gave large sums to the...