According to Vladimir Putin, the “Eurasian Union” that the Kremlin hopes to forge with two of Russia’s southwestern neighbours will be a family affair, drawing together like-minded states. Others are not so sure, fearing that the Russian president’s wholesome rhetoric of fraternity belies a more sinister truth. In much of Europe, the proposed pact is viewed as an attempt to revive the Soviet Union and rekindle the cold war.

If that is indeed Mr Putin’s aim, one can only guess at his motives. Perhaps the successor to Boris Yeltsin, divider of the Soviet realm, aims to secure a place in history as the leader responsible for its reunification. But the Russian president is also confronting a more prosaic imperative. As the Kremlin confronts a weakening of the props that have enabled it to maintain power, Mr Putin has turned to imperialism as a flying buttress for Russian authoritarianism.

Initially it is a customs union that binds Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. But that is only the beginning. At a summit in Moscow on Christmas Eve, members of the founding troika reaffirmed their intention to create a Eurasian Economic Union by 2015. The new body will mimic the EU’s mantra of integration, as well as copying the outlines of its institutional architecture. It is intended to serve as a bridge between Europe and Asia. Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine – which also sent delegates to Moscow – may join later.