Denis Sassou Nguesso has presided over the Republic of Congo since 1979, with a five-year interval after 1992. He has ties to China and Russia, and France has helped prop up his regime. He seems keen on his son taking over. The drive from Brazzaville to his home town of Oyo traverses villages without electricity; the street lights appear only ten kilometres from Oyo.
A Russian-built pipeline from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville has been hashed out between Russia and the ruling Sassou Nguesso family, with a Russian company taking a 90% stake.
marriage, n.: An old, established institution, entered into by two people deeply in love and desiring to make a commitment to each other expressing that love. In short, commitment to an institution.