Your leader on Ukraine and Russia’s other neighbors is a depressing read (“Near-Abroad Blues,” September 13, 2008), but the first line of Ukraine’s national anthem is depressing to boot: “The glory of Ukraine is not dead yet.” Sitting just under your section heading, “Westward Ho,” it cannot but remind one of the opening lines of Samuel Beckett’s Worstward Ho (1983): “All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Luckily, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975) comes to one’s rescue readily enough, as well. “I’m not dead yet” is one of the funniest lines in the entire movie. There is still hope for Ukraine and Russia’s other hapless neighbors, I guess.