I asked a friend from Russia to comment my article because I wanted to have an insider view on this story. Here is her comment, I very much appreciate it:

Hi, Michael!Well, that's an interesting view on international geopolitics concerning Russia. But I have few comments. Nobody needs the second Cold War,including Russia.But like any country, Ryssia would like to be heard by the other countries at least after such a long period of ignoring of its interests. And that doesn't mean that it climbs to world power. But taking into account such factors as world globalisation, economic recession in the american economy, huge prices for oil, gas and energy carriers, like any country having any influence instruments (oil resources in this case),Russia aims at improving its position in the world geopolitics, but not at dominating in the world. And that's normal for any country. Especially for the biggest one in the world. Russia just shows its independence from american influence and that's all. For sure Russia still have some internal problems, but it has to build normal market economy for 20 years the time when other countries had 200 years for that. For sure it makes mistakes like any country made through all its history. Nobody talks about second cold war. Russia just would like to play in the world geopolitics without anyone's orders. That's the deal.

The source of my last article is mostly The Economist, the printed version. However, there are also articles available online.

Not a cold war, but a cold tiff

Feb 15th 2007 | MOSCOW
From The Economist print edition

Here are some sentences from this article:

• Concerning what Mr. Putin said:

"The world, Mr Putin added, was witnessing “an almost uncontained hyper use of force”, which was plunging it into “an abyss of permanent conflicts”. Lest anyone mistake him, he specified that “the United States has overstepped its national borders in every way,” exhibiting “a greater and greater disdain” for international law."

• Concerning the efforts to enlarge its influence on neighbours:

"The Russians saw their defeat in Ukraine as evidence of perfidious American meddling in Russia's sphere of influence. For the Americans, the debacle showed that a truth plain in Mr Putin's domestic policies—that he was not a real democrat—would affect his country's foreign behaviour too."

• Concerning the economic power:

"It [Russia] has the biggest hydrocarbon reserves in the world, which can be used as “tools of intimidation and blackmail”, as Dick Cheney alleged in an aggressive speech in Vilnius in May 2006, to which Mr Putin's Munich address was in part a riposte. It has lots of nuclear arms to underpin its self-esteem. But it does not have the conventional forces, nor the economic and ideological resources to compete with America globally as it did in the cold war."

• Concerning the american influence in Russia:

"He [Putin] again insisted that non-governmental organisations active in Russia but funded from abroad were the tools of foreign governments."

Another article states the following:

Russia and the Middle East

The bear is happy to be back

Feb 8th 2007 | CAIRO
From The Economist print edition

• Cold War:

"[...] Last summer's fight between Israel and the Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbullah echoed the cold war: a clash between proxy forces that tested armaments and tactics. While Israel's American-supplied gadgetry was far more lethal, Hizbullah's Russian weapons were effective too. Its anti-tank missiles knocked out scores of Israel's armoured vehicles."

• Influence on other countries:

"After Russia secured a $7.5 billion deal to supply Algeria with fighter aircraft, tanks and anti-aircraft missiles, its army chief of staff, Yuri Baluyevsky, recently echoed Mr Putin, saying that the American effort to create “a unipolar world” was fomenting crisis."

• Iran:

"Russia would like to think that the recent slight softening of Iran's public tone and the rising domestic criticism of its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, may owe something to fears of losing its only legitimate outside source of nuclear technology [Russia]."

These citations aim only to underline what I said in my previous article. It doesn't mean that everything is right or wrong. It is interesting to follow the last evolutions.
Recently Russia has shown its interest to buy parts of EADS, Europe's pride. It is not very likely, in my opinion, that France and Germany will agree to those plans, but it clearly shows that Russia wants to enlarge its global influence. It seems to be obvious that Mr. Putin wants to make out of Russia a new superpower, opposing or challenging the United States of America.

But Russia is not the only important new player on a geopolitical basis. China is also eager to play the role of the new political superstar.