Not a lot of new information in this piece by Alastair Gee in US News & World Report, but a succinct summary of what Barack Obama is going to have to deal with in relations with Russia and its inferiority complex:

It’s unclear how much Obama will focus on human rights in Russia, where opposition groups have been excluded from political life. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice notably met with rights activists during visits to Moscow. Taking all that into account, some experts nevertheless say that there’s reason to hope for an improvement in relations. Judging by their biographies, Obama and Medvedev may be able to find common ground, says Rose Gottemoeller, a former adviser to Bill Clinton on post-Soviet nations and head of the Carnegie Moscow Center. “They’re really not trapped by the Cold War mentality,” she suggests, referring to Obama’s coming of age when the Cold War was in its final stages and Medvedev’s career path outside the Communist Party or KGB. “Both have the potential to be very pragmatic, very problem-solving.”