WHILE THE EUROPEAN UNION “sighed with relief” and welcomed the “Canadians of American politics” back into control of Congress after a 12-year hiatus, Russian analysts and policymakers found themselves torn between Bush-bashing gleeful postmortems (a “great victory for democracy”) and mild apprehension at the worsening state of bilateral affairs.

For its part, the Russian press largely hailed the political acumen of the American people. “America Returns to Democracy,” declared the headline of the daily Izvestiya; Moskovskiy Komsomolets greeted the election results saying, “Hangover: Democracy Has Won in America.” Komsomol’skaya Pravda had the most novel take: “Hussein’s Harsh Revenge: Americans Rebuff the White House Team That Caused Carnage in Iraq.”