I'm not stupid enough to think that it was necessarily Russia, though. But seriously, how many people die randomly swimming. Particularly when they probably have some security standing on their every move?
I don't know much about North Korea geography (rivers, lakes) but where I am originally from, swimming was something boys learned when playing as children. It didn't cost anything, you were just using local lake. So this assertion is bullshit, unless this is a cultural thing about North Korea.
Do you know anything about North Korea? Stop trying to find racism in every comment.
I'm getting married to a person born in China and have been enveloped in Asian culture a lot more than most people in Western culture ever will. Trying to paint things with such a broad stroke shows your ignorance about regional issues and the utter smothering existence living under the North Korean regime is.
A group of people oppressed to such a degree does not leave much time for simple pleasures like learning to fucking swim and enjoying life.
But yeah sure, let's be ignorant as fuck... all Asians... yeah that's clearly what I meant.
I may have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. If I took your comment out of context and you were not implying racism, but were simply confused, then I do humbly apologize for this rant.
No, I was not implying racism. Yes, you overreacted big time. Ability to swim is not necessarily related to the wealth of the population. In multiple countries it is lakes and rivers used for swimming so no, I genuinely had no idea what you meant 🙄
Historically, yes. Very few cultures are known for having a large populations of swimmers in the past, even the average Japanese civillian before the 20th century probably never learned to swim despite living on a chain of islands.
It's quite possible that he had taken the opportunity of being in a country with easier access to alcohol and drugs to go on a bender and ended up drowned. Remember Yeltsin standing outside the white house in his underwear pissed out of his gourd trying to hail a taxi to get pizza?
Standing outside in your underwear drunk while hailing a taxi to get pizza sounds like a super American thing to do. He was really going for the true American experience!
It happened in the late 90's, but wasn't revealed until about 2008 or 2009 (a year or two after Boris Yeltsin died). No, there is no video, at least none any of us would have access to.
Agents stopped him, but I'd remind that this was not that long after the USSR was dissolved, and he was apparently fairly skilled (even drunk) at evading his own security detail.
It happened multiple times during the same trip iirc, and agents did get him pizza.
I'm just imagining him climbing out of a bathroom window and sliding down a drain pipe, while screaming, "none of you understand me I hate all of you!"
A lot of people die randomly swimming. Just last week someone drowned in the river near me, and a few months back, there was a drowning in a lake. Both involved alcohol.
My present speculation, if it wasn’t an accident, was that he was trying to defect/escape NK.
Russia isn’t the only place to use political executions.
Alternatively, it could have been a western state- Ukraine features high (if they have the capability?) specifically to impose some strain on relations.
I mean yes random people drown a lot, but it's also how the CIA (allegedly) assassinated the PM of Australia during the 60s, after he was insufficiently supportive of the Vietnam War.