A bus stop at Nikitsky Boulevard, between 7 and 8 PM a few days ago, cars moving really slowly, no trolleybus in sight.

A Bentley parks in the middle of the no-parking zone by the bus stop. A stocky, tough-looking, middle-aged driver in a suit gets out, lights a cigarette and starts walking back and forth, occasionally glancing in the direction of a fancy clothing store nearby. Naturally, he has an air of superiority about him.

Five minutes later, a girl emerges from the store and walks towards the Bentley, accompanied by a bodyguard. She looks typically classy; he looks a few degrees tougher than the driver.

The driver's back in the car, the girl's in the backseat, the bodyguard shuts the door after her, but stays outside. The car begins to back out.

But, the traffic jam's still there - and a white SUV is right behind the Bentley.

The Bentley's driver begins to honk like crazy, but the SUV's not moving. For one thing, it's got no space around it to move away to.

Suddenly, the girl's bodyguard gets visibly jittery. He gesticulates to the driver, orders him to use the space in front of him to get out on the road, instead of honking and trying to back all the way out. The driver obeys, the bodyguard gets inside the car, and off they go, slowly but steadily.

When the Bentley's gone, we, the folks at the bus stop, get to see what had unnerved the bodyguard: the white SUV sports a Saudi flag decal on one of its windows - a Quranic inscription and a sword, ominous stuff in the context of Moscow - and the driver doesn't look like a tiny little man, either, judging by the size of his hand (see picture below).



Could be some Kadyrov's buddy, and, in any case, definitely not the type who'd tolerate all that honking business.

P.S. Or, it could be that the guy in the SUV is totally harmless, has nothing to do with any of the thugs, had bought his car somewhere in the Emirates, already with the decal, and decided not to take it off, because, as we've seen, the message it sends works really well.

Like a ladybug with its protective coloration.

P.P.S. Aposematism is the word: "Aposematism has been such a successful adaptation that harmless organisms have repeatedly evolved to mimic aposematic species [...]."

:)