I've been keeping an eye on the coronation of Dmitry Medvedev the Russian Presidential Election and, while reports suggest that there has been vote-rigging on an industrial scale, I have to put my hand on my heart and tell you that I can't find it in me to dislike a man who's such a big fan of Deep Purple that, as soon as he got enough power, flew them in to perform for him. We'll see how this shakes out; it depends just how much he's in thrall to Putin. I suspect he might surprise us.