Josef Stalin hated international travel: He suspected somebody might attempt to kill him. Nikita Khrushchev loved it: He enjoyed shocking foreign hosts with his erratic behavior. Leonid Brezhnev was happy to travel to any country that would give him a new Mercedes as a state gift. Mikhail Gorbachev had no other option but to travel widely, because Raisa felt a constant urge to parade her new clothes in front of smart crowds. Boris Yeltsin did not know whether he liked to travel or not, because after the third shot of vodka all capitals looked the same to him.
Now we have Vladimir Putin, the heir to this awesome row of Russian leaders. He not only likes to travel, but knows how to do it in the right way.
Last week was Putin's prime time. He visited China and North Korea and participated in the G8 summit on Okinawa. Remarkably enough, he arrived at the summit not empty-handed, but bringing an olive branch to the West from North Korean leaders. He charmed everybody with his businesslike and energetic negotiating style and ended the trip with a firm promise to visit Japan to negotiate a peace treaty.