It is most interesting that even as Bush and Putin dally with common ground, in front of Red Square, they each revert to traditional nationalisms:
Putin the theme of Russian/Soviet nationalism circling in the wagons to prevent Western penetration of Russian interests in Eastern Europe and along the Russian underbelly of Latvia, Gerogia, even Iran -- and Bush the denunciation of Yalta, the espousal of expanding liberty with the assertion of liberating American power right up around Russia's borders.
The legacies of two great, often expanding continental empires: one recently bled to disintegration -- and the other still in military expansion mode as it fights what it sees as massive potential threats to its survival.
Both may be caught in the past -- as new nations, and new global economies emerge.
Internal dysfunction can be the enemy of empire.
