Two Pilots

Rolandas Paksas, a politician whose political career has been said to be "characterized by flexibility", an interesting euphemism, ran for president of Lithuania in 2003, and to the surprise of much of the country, won on a politician's promise of prosper

Sometime later he is said to have received a phone call from the Russian Yuri Borisov, also an amateur pilot, demanding to know when his aircraft factory was to receive the very lucrative contract for helicopters. He had financed Paksas's campaign and now

This phone call was among those being monitored by the Lithuanian Department of Security while investigating Russian mafia interest in Lithuania. The call was indiscrete and embarrassing to the office of the president and, together with allegations of bribery and extortion, resulted in the impeachment and resignation of the stunt pilot in 2004.

It might be added that Paksas denied everything and in the true spirit of "flexibility" has continued his political career, very nearly succeeding in becoming mayor of Vilnius in 2007, except that his party withdrew his candidacy at the last moment, at th

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