Today the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, is on an official state visit to Russia, attending a series of events alongside President Dmitry Medvedev, who, perhaps grateful for Nicaragua’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia (not even Belarus was up to that task), talked about a number of vague promises of increased ties and aid to the Central American nation.  Ortega, whose party won a landslide of seats in a flawed mayoral election last month (the Netherlands has just announced they will suspend aid because of the vote rigging), last visited Moscow under dramatically different circumstances in 1985, back when Central America occupied a disproportionate amount of real estate within Ronald Reagan’s nightmares and paranoia.  Russia’s effort to recreate Washington-Moscow antagonism over the region couldn’t be clearer – but so far nobody is buying it.