MOSCOW -- U.S. President George W. Bush visited Russia just as a new wave of terrorist attacks was expected in North America. This grim background toned down the euphoric atmosphere of the Bush-Putin summit. Yet two things definitely stood out during the visit: the signing of an important arms-reduction treaty and the acknowledgment of the new strategic partnership between Russia and the West. The latter appeared more significant than the former: After all, the nuclear warheads in question will be not destroyed but merely stockpiled, and Russia has coveted the status of being a Western ally since the days of Peter the Great.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is devilishly good at public relations. He selected a perfect setting for the proclamation of partnership with the West -- the magnificent city of St. Petersburg envisioned by its founder, Peter the Great, as Russia's "window into Europe." Bush did not disappoint his Russian host and lavishly praised Putin's openness and hospitality as well as his help in combating global terrorism. A joint declaration issued May 24 proclaimed the era of animosity over and promised "a new strategic relationship" in the future.
Bush's praise for Putin is based on the premise that the Russian president is a man with a pro-Western mind-set who is going to modernize his country along the lines of a free-market economy and Western values in general. This supposition has already met with considerable criticism in the media. What kind of Westernizer silences political opponents, shuts down independent newspapers and TV channels and relies on nationalism as state doctrine as Putin does?