Conflicting stories abound from different spokesmen and newspapers concerning New England Patriots' owner Robert Kraft presenting his newest Super Bowl championship ring to Vladimir Putin this week.

More interesting reading than the kerfuffle over the "bling-bling" is Putin's presentation as the upbeat CEO of Russia, Inc. Indeed, Russia's queen cities Moscow and St. Petersburg are booming, but most economists chalk this up to higher global oil prices and not Putin's flat tax reforms. Even if the price of oil continues to climb indefinitely, genuine modernization in the energy sector has been overshadowed in the minds of foreign investors by the Yukos carve-up. Businessmen want to know: is any investment in Russia secure from mafia extortion and the whims of an authoritarian state (with the lines between the two often being blurred since the collapse of the USSR)?

Foreign policy watchers in the English-speaking world will probably be more intrigued by the prominence of FOX/SKY News media mogul Rupert Murdoch looking on at the Putin/Kraft handshake than the fate of the NFL baubles. Will we soon hear about "Faux News" succumbing to the Putin charm offensive? Kommersant's Andrey Kolesnikov claims that most of the American and German businessmen present privately weren't buying Putin's "Russia is stable for investment" pitch. However, the NY Newsday says that Kraft gives Putin's "quarterbacking" of Russia a thumbs up.

Kommersant's Kremlin sources are now saying that Mr. Kraft's ring will be put on display along with gifts from other foreign dignitaries.