But back to Mr Putin's image. I was intrigued to find how reminiscent of the Blair spin machine some of the press aides were - young, dynamic, approachable, utterly focused on making their leader look good, and completely obsessed with television. A live webcast across the world was something they were relatively relaxed about. Puzzled, I pointed out that you would be able to watch it live on the internet. The internet is still experimental, and the picture on screen is small.
Television is what counts.
Replay an image over and over on TV and its the political equivalent of a nuclear explosion. Image conscious Spilling water seemed to be something they particularly feared. The young man who brought us bottles of sparkling Russian mineral water was smartly ordered to take them away again - for fear we'd fizz all over the president's lap. Within two minutes he was back again, to change the water glasses. It was not the right touch for a Russian president who has worked hard to show he is nothing like his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.