Over the last 24 hours I have heard on virtually every news service I can find, English, French, Dutch, (oddly Italian too) commentary and reports of the demonstrations in Germany to mark the G8. But nothing about what happened in St Petersburg. Indeed, if it wasn’t for my good fortune in meeting the organiser only a couple of weeks ago I would have been utterly unaware of its occurrence.

Yesterday the democratic opposition to Putin held a major demonstration in St Petersburg, in attempt to remind international business leaders invited their by the Putin Regime that it is not a democracy, but a despotism.

So well done to AP for running this report. The good news is that the police didn’t go in as they usually do with night sticks and gas. I guess this is because it is possible that one of the billionaires might notice, but I fear it is because Putin feels confident that he has marginalised freedom to such an extent that he no longer cares.

Either way, the new agenda of the mainstream press is extraordinary. Paris Hilton yes, Joseph and Big Brother yes. Even bunches of people in Rostock who hate the west yes. The descent of Russia into a new gangster dictatorship, way too complicated.