Now that Russia has given up its ridiculous ambition to become an advanced capitalist nation in the space of a historical nano-second, Russians can revert to their favourite pursuits: relieving their anguish with sardonic humour and suspecting that their plight is the result of a grand conspiracy.
Not that these pastimes - perfected throughout years of deprivation and communist party politicking - ever really died out. But the strength of the liberal argument did worry a small minority for a short time in the early 1990s that the market might really deliver up what it promised and the jokes would have to be changed. They should not have been concerned.
A combination of Russia's inefficient political system, the desire of a small elite to get rich quick at the nation's expense and the inability of the IMF and others to understand how a state-planned economy can be reformed - even had its advice been followed Russia would still have failed - ensured that everything collapsed bang on schedule. That means the satire can carry on and unlike in Soviet times it is freely published for all to enjoy.
Foreign visitors don't even need to leave their hotel as the Inside Russia Guide tells you everything you wanted to know about Russia but didn't know who to ask, such as the impact of the Nato bombings of Yugoslavia, recent Kremlin sex scandals, opinions on oligarchs and politicians from Boris Berezovsky to Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov, the spread of tuberculosis in Russian prisons and the communist party's view on homosexuals which is not overly positive.