Back in the USSR

Here we go again:

Dmitry Medvedev may be Russia's president but Vladimir Putin has kept his place in the Kremlin.

When Putin came to his old office in the Kremlin on Monday to propose the names of ministers for his government, the former president made for his customary seat on the left of the desk. But he paused before sitting down and told President Medvedev: "Now this is your place," Russia's Kommersant daily reported.

"Oh, what's the difference?" Medvedev answered and immediately sat on the right of the desk, where Putin's guests traditionally perched for the eight years of his presidency.

Medvedev swiftly approved all Putin's proposals for the government, which was filled with the former Kremlin chief's closest advisers and trusted allies.

Just as everything old is new again, nothing ever changes in Russia. I'd sooner stick my hand in a crocodile's mouth than trust a Russian.