TODAY: The popular Mr Putin; Medvedev trying to sway Uzbeks; Russia could broker Afghan deal with NATO; Human Rights Watch says both sides of the Georgia-Russia war violated the law, accusations continue to fly.

A new poll by the Levada Center says that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has retained ‘sky-high approval ratings‘ despite the economic crisis, and despite the fact that the percentage of Russians who believe that the country is going in the right direction has fallen from 54% to 43% since October.  ‘It’s not for nothing we call him the Teflon president, because criticism doesn’t stick,’ said Lev Gudkov, the Center’s director.  President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Uzbekistan yesterday, amid reports that he will try to persuade the country that it should ignore European efforts to persuade it to transport gas through routes that bypass Russia.  The leaders also discussed regional security in relation to supply routes through Afghanistan.