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The history book may recall how much was really achieved at this week’s G8 world leaders meeting in Germany. They say they made clear progress on fighting poverty in Africa and global warming. But Aid Agency and anti-poverty campaigners suggest the leaders have fallen far short of the pledges made at the G. summit 2 years ago. The campaigner Bob Gildolf was not impressed. But it does seem to have contributed for now at least to a lowering of tension between Russia and the outside world. As Mrs. Putin, Bush and D. gathered at the start of proceedings. Events were overshadowed by Russia’s threat to a missile at Europe if the US went ahead with plans to site rockets there. But later Mr. Putin conceded that we needed to get on together, addressing 21st century security challenges and not resurrecting vows of the past.

A formal Moscow correspondent S.R. was covering the G8 summit and tells us that Russia’s apparent bellicosity was all about gaining respect.

When Russian president threatened to target the missile on Europe, it’s a sign, or rather a dramatic one. The relations with Moscow have turned sour. And although this G8 summit there was smiles and handshakes when George W. Bush met with Vladmir Putin, even talk about a possible compromise over America’s controversial plans for a missile defense shield, President Putin’s threat revives echoes of the Cold War.

To understand why Russia today, this flexing its muscles more than it’s done for years, let me tell you a story about chicken legs.

It was the winter of 1991. The Soviet Union was disintegrating. Its economy was in ruins. Food was disappearing from super market shows as rapidly as communism was collapsing and Moscowers were queuing up in the cold for bread. For being a super power, Russia was suddenly forced to survive on handouts from the West and the humanitarian aid *. Packages of flowers and sugars from Germany, tin meat, too, and from the United States, poultry. Moscow was awash with the American chicken legs. They weren’t given out free. You had to pay for them, but they were relatively cheap. I can remember people queuing up all over the Russian capital for their bags of Uncle Sam’s drumsticks. Russians used to refer them as Bush legs as if it were President George Bush senior was sending his own chickens over to keep the Russian’s fare. At first, the Russian public was grateful for Bush’s legs, but attitudes hardened. They’re not as tasty as Russian chickens. I remember one woman telling me that she bought her latest bags, the rude rubbery and no flavor. I bet Americans only sending us its bad own birds, another *. Very soon, Bush legs have become a symbol of everything bad, the Bush happening to Russia and to its population. The collapse of an empire, the country’s in impoverishment, its instability and its humiliation. Just a few months earlier, America had respected even fared the Soviet nucleus super power. Now it was pitying in it, throwing dodgy chicken legs at it and to blurt lecturing Russia on American-style democracy and economic reforms. Bush legs left a bad taste, not so much in the mouth, but in the minds of millions of Russians. This is a country which craves respect, which demands to be treated as equal. It doesn’t do pity and it doesn’t like being viewed as a second division, which brings this on to today and to another George Bush, this time, George W. Instead of sending chickens to Russia, this American president wants to send Vitas systems and intercept a missile to Eastern Europe to create a missile defense shield to protect American peaces against rogue nations like Iran. The Russians don’t believe him, not only just the Kremlin interpret plans for missile shield based in Poland and the Czech Republic as a direct threat to Russia’s own national security. It considers it in a front, a sign of disrespect. Moscow suspects of the Bush administration, feels it can ride rockshaft over Russia whenever it chooses. And the Russians have plenty of examples at hand, America unilaterally pulling out of the Anti-Ballistics Missile Treaty. The US supporting opposition groups across Russia are now missile defend.