There, on that stair landing, I got a quick and lasting lesson in the meaning of the word cornered. There were hordes of rats in the front entryway. My friends and I used to chase them around with sticks. Once I spotted a huge rat and pursued it down the hall until I drove it into a corner. It had nowhere to run. Suddenly it lashed around and threw itself at me. I was surprised and frightened. Now the rat was chasing me. It jumped across the landing and down the stairs. Luckily, I was a little faster and managed to slam the door shut in its nose.

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IMAGES:

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, October 20, 2015. Kremlin/Reuters

Russian soldiers. Reuters

Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Russian servicemen, dressed in historical uniform, take part in a military parade rehearsal in Red Square, with St. Basil's Cathedral seen in the background, in Moscow November 5, 2012. Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

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