2010 has seen a change in Russia's relations with the West. The Obama administration came to office promising a "reset" in relations with Moscow, and in the past year, this new mood of cooperation has begun to deliver tangible results. Moscow and Washington are working together to reduce their nuclear arsenals, as well as to combat the proliferation of nuclear weapons to other states.

And it is not just with the United States that Russia has seen a breakthrough in relations. At the NATO summit in Lisbon last month, President Dmitry Medvedev pledged greater Russian cooperation with NATO in Afghanistan and on a joint antimissile shield for Europe. Furthermore, in September, Moscow signed an agreement with Norway, ending a bitter 40 year dispute over maritime borders that will allow both parties to pursue new oil and gas exploration in the Artic.

Nothing better captures this new spirit of detente than the image of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin crooning to an unsuspecting child at a Hollywood charity bash last week, to the visible delight of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. But as so often in Hollywood, looks can be deceiving; beneath an attractive exterior there may be little of substance.