However, I just belive their achivements should not be ignored, let alone mocked as if they were amateurs.
What achievements? I have a book on the shelf behind me titled "Dragonfly," which documents in great detail how MIR was a deathtrap that was constantly falling apart, and how they managed to ram the station with their own resupply shuttle. The Buran (their version of the Space Shuttle,) was destroyed when the hanger it was stored in collapsed due to lack of maintenance. This is the post-Soviet Russia, and they don't have the money to maintain their surface Navy, much less launch grand, highly complex extra-planetary endeavors.
As for their "achievements," you don't hear much about all the cosmonauts who died in the attempt- no, they only published their successes. Wikipedia "lost cosmonauts" sometime.
Honestly, the whole idea of Russia "leading the charge" to "save the earth from an EVIL ASTEROID" Armageddon is so laughable that it's clearly another attempt by Putin to foster the image of RUSSIA STRONG.
![](http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/9648/1255821122688.png)
Remember when they announced that they were returning to 24/7 Tu-95 patrols? Anybody who knew anything about planes was laughing like mad that day. Ah, yes, if only it was 1955 again and ICBMS hadn't made standing nuclear bomber patrols irrelevant! But no matter, RUSSIA STRONG.
Why spend a huge sum of money and effort on this?
All they really need to do is project an image of Rosie O'Donnell at the asteroid. Surely, it will change direction.
Up in Maine, it keeps the Black Bears out of the garbage cans.
I laughed hard enough to wake up the cat, good job.