Russia wants to restore its superpower status, and that includes putting these countries back into its orbit.

The stakes are high on both sides: for Russia this is a matter of principle and for the Americans that means safeguarding access to energy resources.

Russia is using strong economic levers. With the growth of oil and gas exports it has become much richer than it was in the 1990s and it is translating this economic might into political influence and power.

People in power were brought up under the communist regime. All of this makes democracy weak and civil society still nascent.

The Kremlin is very keen that whoever replaces Luzhkov should be a loyal and malleable figure.

The shoulder-patting is still there, but the mutual trust that existed after Sept. 11 is gone. The reason is objective: there can't be a friendship between the heads of states while the bureaucracies of both nations view each other with distrust.