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The officers shrugged, cold to the lover's quarrel.

Would it have made a difference if they'd known that we had just come from Beslan, the site of the 2004 school siege in which 344 people, mostly school children, died in a way that made many wonder if God was all fury and no love?

Did they not hear about the other cops who had turned security checkpoints into private toll booths—those who, for a price, waved through the Beslan-bound terrorists all the way from Chechnya?

Would it have helped if we had told the officers that Sergey is vice president of Russian Ministries, which put crisis counselors in Beslan for a year?

Should we have have told them that a local mullah and a government head had profusely thanked Sergey for the ministry's loyal care in the region?

I don't know. Conscience-dulling maladies are hard to cure.

Putin's PR people joined the Beslan parents in a collective sigh of relief last July, when Russian forces killed Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who planned the siege.

But neither ingenious PR firms nor swift military coups can awaken Russia's soul. Only a lover can do it. Only a Lover can. Someone angry enough to look a conniver in the eyes and tell him the truth, or to throw over a few tables.

Someone furious with love.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

More on Russia is available in our full coverage area.

Agnieszka Tennant's previous columns include:

What (Not All) Women Want | The finicky femininity of Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. (Aug. 10, 2006)

A Velveteen Apologetic | How two creatures dig a rabbit hole in my disbelief. (April 10, 2006)

What Would Jesus Buy? | Saving the world one cashmere sweater at a time. (Jan. 31, 2006)

Agnieszka Tennant's previous articles include:

A Hard Pill to Swallow | How the tiny tablet upset my soul. (Nov. 8, 2005)

Ragamuffin | The patched-up life and unshabby message of Brennan Manning. (June 4, 2004)

'Jesusy' Anne Lamott | Chatting with a born-again paradox. (Jan. 8, 2003)

The Ultimate Language Lesson | Teaching English may well be the 21st century's most promising way to take the Good News to the world. (Dec. 6, 2002)

Possessed or Obsessed? | Many Christians say they are in need of deliverance but some may be giving demons more than their due. (August 24, 2001)

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October 2006, Vol. 50, No. 10