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And then there's this cake just to Solzhenitsyn's right hand. But in the picture it appears difficult for anyone to get to it. The man in the wheelchair, still as a statue, doesn't seem to be in any position to cut and serve the cake, which is on a silver tray on a table against a wall. There are no plates. There are no utensils. Who is going to serve this cake and with what? It appears to have been placed there as a prop to make this seem like a more comfortable visit, but without the actual homey touches that would carry off the trick of giving the image this meaning.
No, I find this picture incredibly intriguing. Here's the Russian president skulking behind the Nobel-prize-winning writer, returned to Russia from exile and now old and frail. Not a smile to be seen from anyone. Pictures can convey a lot that is not true, and maybe the two of them had a wonderful time together. But, oh, to have been a fly on the wall and not just an eavesdropper on the photo op.
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