Applause, only slightly forced, thunders up to the balcony. El Caudillo waves at beaming faces, tropical-coloured flags raised high. Aside, he quips, “A good leader is bullet-proof; a great leader is ballot-proof.” Snorts and smirks from his junta.

Then: a crack from the tree-line.

…He was but a great leader.

Nikita Linivenko hopes this story didn’t come out too badly.