Of course, what has not been mentioned is that under Putin, the re-badged KGB is up to its old tricks and espionage on foreign countries and recalcitrant citizens abounds. The jury is out on who is behind the murder of journalists who try to expose nepotism and corruption. Furthermore, Putin has placed many of his old KGB colleagues in key administrative positions and "Once a Chekist, always a Chekist." There are plans to re-erect the staue of the KGB's founder Feliks Dzhersinsky (a Pole) back outside the Lubyanka.

Reliable reports from acquaintances who have visited Russia point to the positives mentioned in the article as being limited to Moscow and St Petersberg. Out in the farflung reaches of the country, the statues of Lenin remain; there is nostalgia for "the good old days" under Stalin and an almost universal cry for a strong leader. Putin is that man.

Last week, it was revealed that Russian arms sales had leaped ahead of the US for the first time in some while and Iran has been assisted in its nuclear programs by the Russians and the French.

I have some sympathy for those who want to see a free and democratic Russia in the near future but 70 years of tyranny and centuries of feudalism will take a long time to overcome. Indeed, it may need a Chilean-style system for some while provided Putin does not become another Pinochet. It is most important at least to attempt to keep Russia engaged with Europe and not watch it drift into alliances with other powers which could scarcely be called democratic.