We'll keep the red flag flying here

A new political era in Russia? Hardly. There is a new president and a new prime minister but this rotation is best described by that fitting phrase often used in France ... the more things change the more they stay the same.

Certainly President Dmitry Medvedev's inauguration speech struck all the right chords. He promised to protect the rule of law, and civil liberties. But it would be foolhardy to suspect that the imprisoned oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky is about to be granted his freedom or that dissent will be tolerated in Russia.

Besides, whatever Medvedev says will have to be treated with a large pinch of salt. The real power lies with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who has moved offices across Red Square, taking most of the powerbrokers of his administration with him and, obviously, most of the power. There is no doubt that Russia under Putin progressed from being the sick man of Europe to a country now able to flex its muscles. Neither is there any doubt that the vast majority of Russians appreciate the benefits that came from Putin's leadership. But Europe is more suspicious of Russia than at any time since the Cold War and that is not likely to change despite the new Kremlin arrangements.