Whilst "en vacances" bicycling around the West Midlands, Boris chanced upon an autobiography of the Archbishop of Canterbury called "Rowan's Rule" in a sale of local library books. Being more spiritual than religious, Boris was not familiar with the Archbishop's affinity for the Orthodox Church and deep interest in Russia's intellectual legacy, failings which this book has now rectified.
It is, therefore, a great shame that BBC Radio 4 did not consult Dr Williams in the making of their epic Russian history series, "The Wild East", the final part of which concluded last week. Whilst some episodes of the series were very good, particularly those dealing with the aftermath of the second 1917 revolution, it is a pity that the central premise of "The Wild East" - civil society in Russia always cedes to the power of the state - came across as BBC propaganda.
The last episode, which focused on the Yeltsin, Putin and Medvedev troika, was especially weak. For whatever the ethical and other shortcomings of post-Soviet government, Russian politicians whilst small in stature have nevertheless succeeded in fulfilling their role in big man politics. However, even the autocratic oligarch nemesis and ever-macho Vladimir Putin, notably during last year's disastrous forest fires across Russia, has been firmly put in his place by those fearless babushkas who beat back the flames engulfing the mother land. It is in these admirable peasant matriarchs and their communities that, in Boris's view, the true and enduring spirit of Russia and sobornost are to be found.
Similarly, when Londoners, and their Mayor, took up brooms to sweep up after the recent riots, the Big Society found something of the same sobornost; which just as well given that the state on the this occasion, both in its government and police, has been found lacking in solidarity: or, put another way "success has many fathers....but failure is a single mother."
