The downing of the Malaysian Airways flight 17 has been bantered about for days. All sorts of theories are afoot. Most of the so-called west sees Russia behind it, but it is quite different in Russia itself. There, stories are rife about conspiracy in the west. Predictably, all fingers are pointed at Ukraine and its western allies. Blaming Russia is perceived as part and parcel of such outlandish conspiracies. But the best story I have chanced upon on the World Wide Web so far comes from Yekaterina Andreyeva, one of Russia’s most famous television anchors. Only hours after news of the crash broke out, she came up with the following theory: traveling home from Brazil, Vladimir Putin passed along the same flight path as the Malaysian passenger jet less than an hour before it was hit, thus suggesting an assassination attempt. Ingenious, no doubt. The Russian knack for fiction has been noted already, and by many, but the stories surrounding the downing of flight 17 are simply delicious. And delicious is indeed the word.