In November Russia rescued Belarus's crippled economy with a generous package, as part of Mr Putin's grand plan for a EurasianUnion that will also include Kazakhstan.
So although a significant degree of skepticism is warranted with regards to the EurasianUnion, the Russian government has a very long history of grandiose projects that have floundered on the rocks of reality, its program of liberalization actually strikes me as a modestly progressive one that ought to be welcomed, not a neo-Soviet one that should be mocked.