From the BBC, based on an interview with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev in Sochi:
Mild-mannered and slightly stiff in bearing and walk, you sense a very different style of leader from his predecessor (Vladimir Putin).
Mr Medvedev's self-confidence is more composed.
His English comprehension is good - he clearly didn't need the interpreter who translated my questions for him.
He gazed inscrutably as he composed his responses and answered calmly and methodically, betraying his lawyer's training.
No impassioned rhetorical flourishes, embellished with earthy language, as Mr Putin was prone to.
It is hard to imagine Mr Medvedev letting loose with such colourful language that the Russian translators would feel obliged to edit out choice phrases.
In the end, though, it was hard to gauge whether he wanted to reassure the West or increase its sense of foreboding.
Of course, the big news on the day is that Medvedev said Russia will recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states -- which made the West go ballistic (so to speak).
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev advised the West to accept his country's move.
"We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a new Cold War," Medvedev was quoted as saying Tuesday by the ITAR-Tass news agency. "But we don't want it and in this situation everything depends on the position of our partners."
"If they want to preserve good relations with Russia in the West, they will understand the reason behind our decision," he said.